Dropping their last four games, three of which came within one possession, the Wildcats with just seven players, managed to find their way on the winning side of the spectrum.

Arizona (11-9, 3-5 Pac-12) were down three points at the half, but outlasted Cal (13-7, 3-5), ousting the Golden Bears 66-55, snapping its four-game losing streak Friday night at McKale Center.

This is UA's fifth consecutive win over the Golden Bears.

"I saw in [the team's] eyes at shootaround," said coach Aida Barnes. "They really wanted to win this game. I knew they were going to pour everything on the line to do it and find a way and they did that."

UA shot 50% from the floor and outscored Cal 36-8 in the paint in the 11-point win.

The Wildcats were also pests on the defensive end, tallying 12 steals and forcing Cal to 23 turnovers.

Arizona was led by Esmery Martinez, who scored 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds and three assists.

Despite a sloppy first quarter that saw four turnovers and allowing the Golden Bears to sink four 3-pointers, Arizona was able to keep up throughout the first half through its presence in the paint.

The Wildcats outscored the Golden 20-2 in the paint in the first half, but Cal's consistent hot 3-point shooting continued to make up for this deficit, nailing eight 3-pointers.

Along with scoring in the paint, Arizona was able to draw 13 fouls, resulting in a efficient 12 of 14 shooting from the free throw line in the first half.

UA’s defense came up huge in the second quarter, forcing nine turnovers, forcing three offensive fouls, and not allowing the Bears to score for three minutes to help stay trailing by a possession at halftime.

Two minutes into the second half, fifth-year senior Helena Pueyo made a highlight over the head pass for an assist to Martinez for a layup. Pueyo then made a jumper followed by two made free throws by Skylar Jones would tie the game at 41 apiece with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter.

With 1:11 left in the third quarter, Jones intercepted a pass, resulting in a Pueyo 3-pointer to take UA’s largest lead of the night and helping lead to a 13-4 run in the last five minutes and a comfortable nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The third quarter, which has been the Wildcats’ kryptonite this season, was arguably their best quarter, shooting 70% from the field with four players with a double digit (+/-).

After allowing the Bears to hit more than 50% of their 3-point attempts in the first half, Arizona made sure not to let this streak continue, with Cal only shooting 2-12 from behind the arc, helping hold onto its lead for the victory.

The Wildcats, who usually start Kailyn Gilbert at their shooting guard, switched the starting lineup and gave freshman Skylar Jones the nod for her first career start. In the opening minutes, Jones recorded a steal and an assist. The Chicago native finished with six points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting, two rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes of play.

“I think she really did some great things defensively," Barnes said. "… I thought she played good minutes and she’s getting experience.”

Barnes said that Gilbert was unavailable to play against the Bears and that she could have possibly played her but didn't want to risk injury.

Jones said that during this past week, the Wildcats saw the potential they had and that they talked about their goal of winning and snapping their losing streak. Jones said that the UA “stood on business” in its win against Cal.

“We all came together; everybody did their part," Jones said.

Arizona will host No. 6 Stanford (18-2, 7-1) Sunday at noon (MST) on Pac-12 Networks.

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