Poor free throw shooting, rebounding doom Arizona in triple OT loss to UCLA

Poor free throw shooting and rebounding doomed the Arizona Wildcats Sunday when they were outlasted by the UCLA Bruins 98-93 in triple overtime.

The Bruins turned 27 offensive boards into 27 second-chance points, while the Wildcats went 11 for 27 from the charity stripe.

UA senior Destiny Graham missed two free throws that could have given UA a one-point lead with 1:42 left in third overtime period, then missed two more with 28 seconds left that would have tied it.

It wasted a stellar effort by Aari McDonald who finished with 35 points 12 rebounds, and seven assists. The star point guard forced a third overtime by draining a 3 at the buzzer in double OT.

McDonald opened the third OT with her fourth triple, but UCLA responded with a 9-2 run, capped by a Kennedy Burke corner 3 to take a 93-89 lead with 1:26 left. McDonald knifed for a layup on UA’s next possession, but the Wildcats were unable to pull even from there.

The key play in the final period transpired when Burke intercepted a pass and blew a breakaway layup, before Japreece Dean collected it, scored, and drew a foul for good measure. She made the free throw to give the Bruins a 90-89.

It is UCLA’s 12th straight win over the Wildcats, who fall to 14-6 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12.

Sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere thrashed the Wildcats for 28 points and 13 rebounds, coming up big in some of the game’s most critical moments.

Onyenwere made a putback with 3.2 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime, scored with 16 seconds left in the first overtime period to force double OT, then sank a jumper early in the second OT period to give the Bruins a five-point lead.

That is when McDonald scored five straight points to knot the game at 78. But Onyenwere earned two free throws after battling for an offensive board, and sank both to put the Bruins back ahead.

McDonald split a pair of free throws to bring UA within one, but then turned the ball over after grabbing a defensive rebound, forcing UA to foul with 16.2 seconds left.

Dean buried both free throws to extend UCLA’s lead to three, but McDonald drilled a 3 after a timeout to force triple OT.

Despite the loss, it was another balanced scoring effort for Arizona. Sam Thomas had 17 points, Cate Reese had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Lucia Alonso added 14 of her own in her most extended action since twisting her ankle last Sunday against Oregon.

Alonso made a 3 to give UA a 61-59 lead with a minute left in regulation, before Onyenwere tied it in the final seconds.

The Bruins fouled twice on the inbounds pass to prevent UA from getting a shot off. One of the hacks appeared to occur when McDonald was beginning her shooting motion. The free throws were not awarded, despite UA’s coaching staff making its effort to convince the refs otherwise.

UCLA scored the first points of the first OT period, but Alonso drained another corner 3 off a dish from McDonald to put UA on top.

Two layups gave the Bruins a 67-64 lead with 2:51 left, then Thomas tied it by grabbing an outlet pass from Tee Tee Starks and laying it in for an and-one.

McDonald hoisted a deep 3 at the buzzer, but it clanked off the back iron to force a second overtime.

This story will be updated.

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