By
Bryan Rosenbaum
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Arizona ends exhibition schedule in convincing fashion
The UA women's basketball team closed out the exhibition portion of its schedule with a win Sunday, defeating Cassovia Bardejov of Slovakia 89-70.
While Arizona's man-to-man defense looked porous at times, the young team also showed positive signs on offense and seemed to begin to gel as a group.
Sophomore forward Krista Warren had a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds and freshman forward Veranda James had a career-high and game-high 23 points, along with eight rebounds.
Both players were big scorers in high school and, to the delight of UA head coach Joan Bonvicini, are adjusting to the college game.
"I get more confident each game, I 'm not as nervous anymore," Warren said, who averaged nine minutes and 3.3 points per game on last year's senior-laden team.
James, a highly-touted recruit from Ganesha High School in Pomona, Calif., has taken little time to make an impact in Arizona's two exhibition games.
Against the "Love and Basketball" club team last weekend, James scored a game-high 19 points.
"With my teammates, I feel like I 'm learning timing-wise with the passes and rebounds (and) where to be," James said. "I thought (college basketball) would be a lot harder. My teammates are just great. We talk a lot and you know when the ball's coming to you."
One teammate James has really seemed to connect well with on the floor is guard Reshea Bristol, the team's only senior.
"The chemistry's there," James said. "I can just read the expression on her face and I know exactly where to go. Reshea's awesome. She's just a very good teammate."
Three other Wildcats reached double-figures, as junior forward Elizabeth Pickney, sophomore guard Tysell Bozeman and freshman guard Aimee Grzyb each had 11 points.
Bozeman also added seven rebounds and six assists, while Bristol had nine points, eight assists and six rebounds. Bristol, however, did commit eight turnovers.
Freshman guard Candice Allen added five points for Arizona.
Cassovia was led by Stela Vaselova, who had 20 points, and Katarina Timkova, who had 19.
After a competitive opening five minutes, Cassovia had a nine-minute scoring drought in the first half. Arizona took advantage of it by going on a 17-0 run, and the Slovakians were never able to come closer than six points.
Bonvicini was encouraged with what she saw from her team.
"We have very good post play and early on, we tried to open it up by shooting more," Bonvicini said. "We're young, and I got upset at times because our intensity was wavering."
Bonvicini was quick to laud the Slovakians' perseverance.
"They battled back," Bonvicini said. "You've got to give them credit."
