Arizona women’s basketball takes No. 9 Oregon St to double OT, but falls again

The Wildcats honored their seniors, but weren’t able to pull off the upset.

Arizona hoped to send their three seniors off with their first win over a top 10 team since 2004. From the opening, it looked like they were going to get blown out by Oregon State. Instead, the Wildcats fought to two overtimes, only to fall 65-60 in their third heart breaker in two weeks.

Aari McDonald led all scorers with 23 points. She added six rebounds and four assists, becoming the fourth player in Pac-12 history to score at least 700 points and dish out at least 120 assists in a season.

Although McDonald had the bigger numbers, Dominique McBryde might have been the most important Wildcat on the floor. She put up a season high 20 points, going 4-for-7 from the 3-point line.

When Arizona needed a bucket, it was McBryde who came up big time and again. In the second quarter, when Arizona was working to get into the game, she scored eight of the team’s 13 points.

The Wildcats were out-rebounded 57-34. The Beavers shot 42 percent to Arizona’s 30 percent. Oregon State had four more assists than Arizona. And, yet, it took two overtimes to decide the game because Arizona only gave the ball away four times while forcing the Beavers into 18 turnovers.

The Wildcats looked completely outmatched in the first quarter. The Beavers shot 69 percent and out-rebounded Arizona 12-2. The home team had no answer to the size or the shooting of Oregon State.

Arizona couldn’t stay with OSU’s shooters on the outside, where they were 2-for-2. They couldn’t guard them on the inside, where the Beavers dominated 10-2 on points in the paint.

The only hope the Wildcats had was the tendency of the Beavers to turn the ball over. OSU already had five turnovers by the end of the first 10 minutes, but they also had a nine-point lead.

The Beavers pushed their lead out to 11 points early in the second. With Arizona’s inability to stay with OSU on defense, it looked like the game was going to get out of hand quickly.

But it didn’t. The Wildcats fought back, forcing turnovers and leaning on McBryde.

McBryde had eight of her 10 points in the second quarter, including connecting on two 3-pointers. McDonald had two steals and Tee Tee Starks had one, just three of the Beaver’s nine turnovers.

When the buzzer sounded at the half, the Wildcats had cut the Beavers’ lead to four.

The second half started just as the first ended. A steal by Arizona resulted in no points. On the other end of the floor, the Wildcats played tough defense for exactly 29 seconds before giving up a basket. Rebounds were secured by Joanna Grymek even when there were two Wildcats with their hands on the ball.

Then, the light seemed to go on for the Wildcats. For the second straight quarter, they held the Beavers to single digits. They only lost the rebound game by four. They continued to take care of the ball while forcing turnovers. And McDonald started to take over.

By the end of the third, it was a one-point game.

The Beavers pushed their lead out to six points twice, but the Wildcats reeled them back in each time. A defensive rebound by Starks became two free throws for McDonald with 3:19 to go. The Wildcats had their first lead since 7:09 in the opening quarter.

With 22 seconds to go, McBryde hit her fourth 3-pointer of the day to put the ‘Cats up 52-50, but the defense couldn’t hold it. They allowed Mikayla Pivec to cut down the lane and tie the game.

A 3-point attempt from McDonald was harmless at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime at 52-all.

Both teams struggled in the first extra period. Missed free throws. Turnovers. Poor shooting. Oregon State built a three-point lead, but the Wildcats pulled them back in, tying it up at 56 apiece on a McDonald free throw. Neither team could score over the final 1:08.

The Beavers finally put it together in the second overtime. They had not outscored Arizona in a period since the first quarter. Grymek’s size proved to be the difference.

Senior Day Celebrations

The Wildcats honored the senior managers and players after the game. Starks had previously announced that she would leave with one year of eligibility remaining. She surprised both the crowd and her coach by announcing that she had changed her mind, and she would return for her final year.

This story will be updated.

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