No. 11 Arizona (3-0) in the first quarter against Texas Southern (0-2) went on a 6-0 run in 16 seconds to take a 9-2 early lead. The Wildcats dominated the Tigers from that point on, winning 93-38, making it three straight wins to open the season.
"We just have to get better, but I'm glad we won and during this time of year, there's a lot of upsets. So you win the games you're supposed to, but sometimes that's challenging.
"Especially I think one of the biggest challenges is we had a really big win a couple of days ago and then you turn around. So we've seen that happen to us before a couple of years ago; we would have probably lost this game. You know, we saw that a couple of years ago with the Cal situation. So you don't want to get too high or too low and be steady and that's what we're working on becoming that team that can do that," said coach Adia Barnes on how she has seen the team grow over the years.
With the Wildcats taking control of the game early, Barnes consistently rotated players throughout the game, causing her starters to have limited minutes.
Forward Cate Reese was a force on the offensive side of the ball for the Wildcats, recording a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 13 minutes.
"I was just waiting for the shots to go up and I was going to get rebounds. I think I'm just being aggressive, honestly. My teammates are finding me. I think that's really what it is right now," said Reese on her scoring ability.
With 6,269 fans in attendance, Arizona honored last year's Final Four team with a banner raising ceremony following the conclusion of the game.
""It's awesome because there isn't another one. So it's always great when you're the first of something, just like when I came here as a player. We were awful my first year and then we got better and then we were the first to make history. So we always talk in our program about leaving a legacy. So those are the things we want to do.
"Unfortunately, it's not a championship manner. So that kind of stings a little bit, but it's a tremendous accomplishment. And it's something that our players did, so it's really cool to see; hopefully, before my career is over, we'll have more banners," said Barnes on her team's run to the title game.
During the team's tournament run, the Wildcats won their first five games by an average of 15.8 points and pulled off perhaps the biggest win in program history with a 69-59 upset victory over one-seed UConn in the Final Four advancing to the title game.
"I think it shows the hard work and I think we should be back there this year, honestly. It's exciting just to see that and know that we were there. But also that we have unfinished business as Adia said, we lost with six seconds left. So I think that's something that should be in the back of our heads and give us a chip on our shoulders," said Reese on what the banner means to her.
Arizona will be back in action Friday as the team will face Marist (2-1) at 6:30 p.m. (MST), before the team's Thanksgiving trip to the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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