Aari McDonald scores 36 points as Arizona upsets No. 24 Cal

Aari McDonald scored 36 points as the Arizona Wildcats upset the No. 24 California Golden Bears 60-55 on Friday night in McKale Center.

It is the Wildcats’ second win over a ranked team this season. They improve to 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the Pac-12.

McDonald scored 16 of her 23 second-half points in the fourth quarter, sinking seven free throws down the stretch after Cal’s Kristine Anigwe scored inside to tie it at 53 with 1:08 left.McDonald was 11 for 17 from the field, 5 for 8 from 3, and 9 for 11 from the charity stripe. It was her third straight 30-point game, a school record.

Anigwe led the Bears with 19 points and 20 rebounds. Cal outrebounded Arizona 42-30 but were plagued by 18 turnovers to UA’s six. Both teams shot under 40 percent.

Freshman Cate Reese was the other Wildcat in double figures, dropping 10 points and nine rebounds.

Arizona led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter, propelled by eight points from McDonald including a pair of 3s. Sam Thomas chipped in with five first-quarter points, crashing to the rim for an and-one to make it 17-9 Arizona with 3:59 left.

Cal began the second quarter on a 5-0 run, forcing the Wildcats to take a timeout. Whatever Adia Barnes said seemed to energize the Wildcats, who roared back with a 14-1 run to extend their lead to 33-19.

Cal’s Recee’ Caldwell stopped the bleeding by sinking a corner 3 to make it a 33-22 ballgame heading into the locker room.

McDonald had 14 points on seven shots in the first half. The UA defense held Cal to 29 percent shooting and forced 11 turnovers. Reese had six points. Thomas had seven.

Anigwe, who did not score until midway through the first quarter, had eight points and 10 rebounds in the first half.

The Bears broke off a 12-0 run to cut Arizona’s lead to 38-36 in a low-scoring third quarter, but McDonald answered with her fourth 3 of the game to push UA’s lead back to five heading into the fourth.

McDonald then scored Arizona’s first nine points of the fourth quarter.

Anigwe airballed a 3 that would have given Cal the lead with under three minutes to play. The Bears had a 2-on-1 on their next possession but a potential game-tying bucket was foiled by an errant pass.

Anigwe scored over two Wildcats to tie it up in the final minute, but McDonald always had an answer. She forced her way into the lane, drew a foul, and sank both free throws to put UA up 55-53 with 59.8 seconds left.

After UA forced a stop, McDonald corralled the rebound and made two more free throws to make it a four-point lead with 33 seconds left.

This story will be updated.

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