No. 20 Arizona defeats Monmouth, but loses multiple players to injury

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Fresh off their first appearance in the top 20 of the AP poll since 2003, the Arizona Wildcats (8-0) took the court against the Monmouth Hawks (1-5). In games like this, the hope is to get the victory, get some experience and emerge without injuries. Arizona could only accomplish two out of three.

The Wildcats got the 86-34 victory. All of their available players got into the game. As for injuries, they came into the game with two. They ended with four.

Neither team looked ready to start the game. The Wildcats held the Hawks to 28.6 percent shooting in the first quarter, but were only able to connect on 31.6 percent of their own shots.

A bigger problem for the Wildcats was that they were losing players quickly. Senior forward Tee Tee Starks hasn’t played all year, but Arizona also started the game without freshman forward Sevval Gül who missed the game with a concussion.

Aari McDonald picked up her second foul halfway through the first period, but Arizona has plenty of depth at the guard position this season.

Then, Mara Mote came in with just 90 seconds to go in the quarter. Thirty seconds later, she was being taken off the court with an ankle injury. She did not return to the game.

Arizona settled down in the second quarter. They allowed the Hawks to score just three points on 9.1 percent shooting and built a 41-13 lead.

The injuries didn’t stop, though. With just over four minutes to go in the half, Dominique McBryde went to the floor under the south basket. She didn’t get up.

McBryde had to be helped off the court and to the locker room. She returned to the bench on crutches after halftime.

The Hawks picked up their shooting in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. Despite being depleted by injuries, the Wildcats just kept pulling away, shooting 80 percent in the fourth quarter including 4-for-4 from 3.

This story will be updated

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