Citizen Staff Writer
ARIZONA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KEN BRAZZLE
kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com
When the Arizona women’s basketball team is focused, it’s a completely different squad.
Take the game Saturday against Oregon. The Wildcats set goals going in, and ended up routing the Ducks 68-44 at McKale Center.
“We wanted to get 10 steals and 20 (deflections),” said Arizona coach Niya Butts. “We met that goal and we finished plays. That was the main thing. They decided they wanted to do something and did it. They stepped up to the plate.”
Five players were in double figures for Arizona (9-13, 2-9).
It was the first Pac-10 home win for Arizona following five losses.
The Wildcats shot 48 percent from the floor, their best Pac-10 effort this season. UA finished with 13 steals and had 25 points off turnovers.
“I am extremely proud of the way we played,” Butts said. “We came out and we were aggressive on both ends of the floor.
“We finished plays and we ran the plays in transition. We made good decisions. We had 11 turnovers. I can’t say enough about the overall team effort.”
Amina Njonkou, who did not start, led all scorers with 16 points. Ify Ibewke scored 12 points before leaving with an ankle injury. Reiko Thomas, Ashley Frazier, and Courtney Clements all added 10 points.
“We are more deadly if we have guard and post play,” Frazier said. “We just can’t depend on the post. We just needed to step it up and produce more.”
The 44 points was the second lowest total for Oregon (8-14, 4-7) this season.
“We were doing something good on defense as a team,” Njonkou said. “Everybody was ready to go. It was a group thing.”
Lady Cats’ 13 steals, 25 points off turnovers seal home win
UA WOMEN’S HOOPS
Arizona (9-13, 2-9) at UCLA (15-7, 5-5)
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: Los Angeles
Radio: 1400 AM
PAC-10 WOMEN
School Conf. Overall
California 11-0 20-2
Stanford 10-1 19-4
Arizona State 9-2 18-6
USC 6-4 12-9
UCLA 5-5 15-7
Oregon State 4-7 13-8
Oregon 4-7 8-14
Arizona 2-9 9-13
Washington State 2-9 9-13
Washington 1-10 5-16
Weekend scores: Arizona 68, Oregon 44; USC 87, UCLA 76; California 77, Washington State 57; Stanford 76, Washington 54; Arizona State 65, Oregon State 54
Thursday’s games: Arizona at UCLA, 8 p.m.; Washington State at Oregon, 8 p.m.; Washington at Oregon State, 8 p.m.; Arizona State at USC, 8 p.m.
Saturday’s games: Washington at Oregon, 3 p.m.; Arizona State at UCLA, 3 p.m.; Washington State at Oregon State, 8:30 p.m.; California at Stanford, 9 p.m.
Sunday’s game: Arizona at USC, 1 p.m.