The continued absence of star forward Cate Reese on Saturday was no issue for No. 12 Arizona, which had several players step up in Reese’s absence to help the Wildcats beat USC, 68-59, in front of a crowd of 8,256 fans on senior day at McKale Center.
UA guard Taylor Chavez shined in the game as she hit five 3-pointers to finish the day with 18 points in her best showing with the Wildcats. This was the first game of the season in which she scored in double figures after scoring six points twice earlier in the season in her two previous-best scoring performances of the year.
“Taylor was amazing,” Arizona head coach Adia Barnes said. “Taylor came in for us, hit those big threes, stretched the defense. When we’re able to bring in Taylor and still have a couple athletes, we can still press. Taylor was solid defensively but then she stretches the defense and then that leaves lanes [for Shaina Pellington].”
The last time Chavez had as big of a performance as she did Saturday was when she played at Oregon and had a 25-point game against Utah State in 2019. In that game she hit six 3-pointers for the Ducks.
“Honestly, I felt like our guards were getting me wide open looks,” said Chavez, who has gone scoreless in 11 games this season. “I think that has a huge part in it when you’re left on an island wide open, all you see is the basket. You don’t see anything else and that is all you focus on.”
The junior had made only nine 3-pointers before Saturday in 20 appearances this season.
The Wildcats (20-6, 10-6 Pac 12) struggled early in the contest Saturday only putting up six first-quarter points, which was the fewest in any quarter for UA this season. Arizona scored 28 points in the second quarter thanks to several contributions including a combined 21 points from Pellington (8), Chavez (7) and forward Lauren Ware (6).
“I think the players feel a little bit of pressure right now,” Barnes said. “This was a must-win game and I wasn’t gonna sugar coat it. It was a game we needed to win… I think that in the beginning, they were just a little tight.”
Pellington finished the game with 14 points while Ware contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win. It was the first double-double of the season for the sophomore forward.
UA forward Sam Thomas scored 10 points in her final regular season home game as she is in her final year of eligibility with the Wildcats. Thomas started every single game of her Arizona basketball career.
“Coming in, I didn’t expect to start every game as a freshman, play as many minutes as I have,” she said. “It’s just an honor to play for this university and to have started every game. Luckily, I’ve been pretty healthy so just been blessed with my career that I have had so far and I am excited to continue the few games I have left.”
Offensively, as a whole, Arizona only shot 35% from the field and 39% from the 3-point line against the Trojans (12-15, 5-12).
After the game, guard Bendu Yeaney announced during the team’s senior day ceremony that she will return for the 2022-23 season.
Arizona now awaits the start of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas next week. The Wildcats’ win over USC on Saturday means the team has secured a first-round bye in the event as the No. 4 seed in the tournament. UA will either play fifth-seeded Colorado or No. 12 seed Washington in a 1 p.m. MST matchup at Michelob ULTRA Arena at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans Inside McKale
> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel
> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattRMoreno, @THutch1995, @AverieKlonowski)
> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)
> LIKE us on Facebook
> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)
