Oregon staves off Arizona as Wildcats suffer third straight loss to top-10 team

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Sabrina Ionescu posted her 22nd-career triple double

After struggling with her shot in Friday’s loss to Oregon State, Aari McDonald was spotted hoisting jumpers at 6:52 a.m. in McKale Center on Sunday, a little over five hours before a showdown with the Oregon Ducks.

McDonald knew she needed to be sharp to give her team a chance. And while her morning shootaround resulted in a hot start, it was not enough to upset the No. 2 team in the country.

The UA point guard scored 10 of her 25 points in the first quarter, but the Ducks held off the 18th-ranked Wildcats for a 71-64 victory, returning to the win column after being stunned by Arizona State on Friday.

The Wildcats fall to 13-3 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-12. They have lost three straight, all to top-10 teams. The Ducks improve to 13-3 and 3-1, respectively.

McDonald swiped two steals and sank two 3s to give UA an early 10-8 lead, her energy bringing the red-clad crowd of 7,680 to its feet. She shot 8 for 17 from the field and 5 for 10 from 3.

After seeing a 13-point lead narrowed down to five entering the fourth, the Ducks led by eight midway through period. Lucia Alonso buried a 3 from the top of the arc to cut the deficit to 60-57 with 3:51 left.

Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu knifed for an and-one to push the lead back to six. The senior only had two points in the first half, but finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, her fourth triple-double of the season and NCAA-record 22nd of her career.

Ionescu made a runner in the lane to make it 65-59 with 1:31 left. McDonald answered with a 3 but Minyon Moore drove the lane for a layup to put Oregon up five with 50 seconds left.

Sam Thomas cooly sank two free throws to pull Arizona within three with 38.8 left. A 90 percent free throw shooter, Ionescu buried a pair of free throws to push the lead back to five with 20.7 seconds left. She drilled two more to ice the game after an Arizona turnover.

Ionescu scored nine of Oregon’s final 11 points.

Behind McDonald and some stingy defense, the Wildcats hung tight with the Ducks for most of the first half, leading for more than seven minutes.

But the Ducks, using an apparent size advantage, capped the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 35-26 lead at the break. It was powered by Satou Sabally and Ruthy Hebard, who combined for 25 first-half points.

The Ducks bruised for 18 points in the paint and outrebounded UA 24-10 in the first half. Oregon won the second quarter, 16-6. Arizona shot 20 percent and committed eight turnovers in the period, Oregon’s length bothering them.

The scoring picked up for both teams in the third quarter. Two Sabally free throws put the Ducks up 47-34 with 5:41 left in the third, but the Wildcats made five of their next six shots to pull within 51-44 with 2:32 left in the period.

Dominique McBryde, in her second game back from a nagging ankle injury, scored underneath over a horde of Oregon defenders, flexing her arms as the Wildcats cut Oregon’s lead to 53-48 heading into the fourth.

Arizona shot 43 percent from the field and was outrebounded 39-23. The Wildcats were 9 for 23 from the 3-point line, despite being without their top shooter.

Freshman guard Helena Pueyo was out with a left ankle sprain. That forced Adia Barnes to dig deeper into the bench, and the results were less than ideal.

Freshman guards Mara Mote and Tara Manumaleuga committed three turnovers in a two-minute span, helping spark Oregon’s late second-quarter run.

Arizona will face the Washington schools on the road next weekend.

This story will be updated.

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