Arizona stays unbeaten with five-point win at Sun Devils

December 29, 2019

By Scott Mammoser

TEMPE, Ariz. – Aari McDonald scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half, and Cate Reese added 17 points and 10 rebounds to keep the 18^th-ranked Arizona Wildcats undefeated with a 58-53 win at rival Arizona State on Sunday.

Arizona is now 12-0 for the first time in school history and is one of only a handful of undefeated teams left in the nation. The five-point margin was its closest game of the season, lessening the 11 points in its 54-43 win at UTEP. The Sun Devils fell to 10-3, with this being the Pac-12 Conference opener for each squad.

Arizona wins 58-53 over ASU, record 12-0 to start season.

“It’s tough to win a game when you shoot in the twenties,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said of her team’s 20-of-66 shooting performance. “I am disappointed we weren’t sharper, with all of the days off. Credit Arizona, they were tougher, and it’s a good lesson for our younger skids, this league is tough. We were a little late you know closing off on McDonald at times, and then you know some of the other stuff was just a lack of discipline. We need to clean that up, that's just not who we are.”

The Wildcats posted a 26-22 halftime lead, with 20-point per game scorer McDonald held to six. A Cate Reese three pointer allowed the Wildcats to acquire a 37-28 lead midway through the third quarter. It was a rare three-pointer on Sunday, with the teams combining to shoot 6-of-44 from downtown. Iris Mbulito cut the lead to 54-53 with a shot in the post in the final minute, as ASU attempted the comeback, but Sam Thomas iced free throws in the end to claim the finish.

While McDonald and Reese are the breakaway stars for Arizona, ASU’s bench outscored the Cats’ 35-6, something that typically favors teams in the long run.

“It was really fun at the end of the game,” Turner Thorne said. “Our young kids are out there leading the comeback. We have great seniors, but in a game that they didn’t have a best stuff, it was interesting to see the younger kids react. I just thought we didn't play smart.”

Eboni Walker led the Sun Devils with 12 points, one off the freshman’s career-best 13 and twice her average of six. Jamie Ruden was two points behind Walker with 10.

“I owe it to all to my teammates,” said Walker, who also led the Devils with eight rebounds. “I just make sure I do my job for my team. I do things for a team win. I’m a freshman this year, so I need to keep practicing to get to the Pac-12 level. Everyone really pushes me in practice every day.”

Both programs are headed to Southern California next weekend, with the Sun Devils at UCLA at 8 p.m. MT on Friday and at USC at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Wildcats will be at the Trojans on Friday and the Bruins on Sunday, which has a noon tip.

“That game did not come down to us missing our shots, it came down to us not doing the little things we needed to do,” Ruden added. “We didn’t push in transition. We did not do these little things. In Charli’s style of defense, historically we can still win games shooting 20 percent.”