Arizona may just have found its identity in the Big 12 opener as it never gave up in a gutty performance to edge out BYU 57-53 at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Saturday afternoon.
It was an exciting finish that came down to the final minute when Arizona's Breya Cunningham scored on a putback with 21.2 seconds left -- off a missed drive by Jada Williams -- to give the Wildcats a 55-53 edge. Freshman Mailien Rolf pulled down a key defensive rebound with 12.6 seconds left to give Arizona possession. Williams was fouled with a few seconds left on the clock and missed both free throws -- unusual for her as she is an 89% shooter from the line. BYU secured the rebound and called a quick timeout.
It was Cunningham, again, who came up big, forcing the inbounds pass to bounce off BYU's Kemery Congdon's leg to secure the win.
Cunningham, who led all Wildcats with 21 points (10 of 15 from the field), eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals, said after the game on ESPN+ that it was all about "playing as a team, playing harder as a team ... this game was actually really good for us."
People are also reading... This beloved breakfast spot serves up pancakes and Benedicts like you've never seen before Hopes dashed for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens as program is canceled Here's where Daiso will open its second Tucson location Tucson news anchor Ana Orsini dies at 28 A list of places that will be open on Christmas Day 2024 This Marana restaurant made Yelp's list of best Chinese restaurants in U.S. Willcox winery calls it quits, liquidating inventory This Tucson suburb named safest place to retire in U.S. Daughter of country music star Wynonna Judd pleads guilty to drug, theft charges Arizona lawmaker targets panhandlers, others in medians Angie's Lobster, Angie's Prime Grill now open in Tucson Arizona QB Fifita is returning, vows to 'make amends for what happened' in 2024 Complaint: Tucson man burned body to find bullet after shooting Pedestrian struck, killed on Tucson's north side 50 fun events happening in Tucson this weekend Dec. 19-22 🎄🚂
The Wildcats came out hot on both ends of the court in the first quarter. Five minutes in, they had held BYU to only three attempts and forced five turnovers. In the second quarter, things turned as BYU went on a 14-0 run to take a 30-25 lead into half. Reigning Big 12 freshman of the week, Delaney Gibb scored all 13 of her first-half points in that second quarter -- and 11 of those 14 points.
She finished with 23 points but was held to only two points in the final 10 minutes.
The Wildcats made adjustments at the half, as UA coach Adia Barnes knew that BYU was a good third-quarter team. She knew the Wildcats had to come out strong and challenged them in the locker room. They did just that, outscoring BYU 32-23 over the last 20 minutes of the game.
"I thought we made adjustments that were better," Barnes said. "We still have a lot to work on because we're young. We make a lot of young mistakes. But I thought we were able to weather that storm, stop the bleeding and then figure out a way to win the possession game, which is important for us with with some of our key players in foul trouble."
Skylar Jones finished with four fouls, which limited her aggressiveness at times and Cunningham had two first-half fouls, that had both sitting out when Gibb went on her scoring streak.
Williams and Jones both finished with 11 points. Arizona forced 19 turnovers and scored 18 points off them.
Contact sports reporter PJ Brown at pjbrown@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @PJBrown09
Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community.
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PJ Brown
Reporter
Author facebook Author twitter Author email