Arizona uses strong fourth quarter to defeat Santa Clara

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For three quarters, the Arizona Wildcats couldn’t buy a 3-point basket. They went 13.3 percent from outside for the first 30 minutes of the game. They took too many and missed a ton.

Then, the fourth quarter happened. After trailing through three quarters, the Wildcats defeated Santa Clara 65-52.

The Wildcats went 4 for 6 from distance over the final period sparked by a Dominique McBryde make at the 7:56 mark. Next up was Sam Thomas, then Thomas again, and, finally, Lucia Alonso. A one-point lead turned into a nine-point lead, and Arizona was off to a victory.

That victory looked none too certain just a few minutes prior.

Arizona came out strong in the first quarter. They scored 20 points on 57.1 percent shooting. They went to the line four times after only shooting three free throws in the their opening game against North Dakota.

They had two issues: fouls and poor perimeter shooting. Those problems didn’t go away for most of the game.

The second quarter was a disaster for the Wildcats. They scored just four points and went 1 for 10 from the field while jacking up seven 3s. No one not named Stanford or Oregon held them to so few points last season.

Meanwhile, the Broncos had settled down. After going 3-10 in the first quarter, they were 6-11 in the second, including a perfect 4-4 from outside. They looked primed to upset the Wildcats, much like Loyola Marymount did in their second game last season.

When horn blew at the half, the Broncos were up 27-24.

Santa Clara remained steady in the third. They started getting the ball inside. For the second straight quarter they shot over 54 percent.

The Wildcats stabilized late in the third quarter, chipping away at what had become an eight-point Broncos’ lead. But it was still a three-point Santa Clara lead when the first 30 minutes were over.

The team finally started playing together. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that it all came together when a very familiar group hit the floor together.

McDonald, Reese, Alonso, McBryde, Thomas. The group that began last year as the starting quintet.

McDonald did her drive-and-get-fouled thing. Thomas did her defensive bulldog thing. Reese grabbed boards and got inside. McBryde and Alonso hit threes. And the Wildcats ran away with a 13-point victory.

McDonald led all scorers with 20 points. She added five assists, five rebounds, and two steaals. Thomas added 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and a steal.

This story will be updated.

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