Unranked Wildcats take No. 3 LSU to overtime before falling short, 78-71

For 42 minutes, there was no difference between unranked Arizona and No. 3 LSU.

It wasn't until the final three minutes of overtime that the Tigers were finally able to shake the youthful UA team and squeak out a 78-71 win Friday night in McKale Center in front of 2,651 people.

"We didn't give up," freshman center Shawntinice Polk said. "People are going to know now that this Arizona team is going to come out and fight."

Head coach Joan Bonvicini said that although the game nearly turned out in a victory, and the team gained a lot of confidence from the game, in the end, a loss is a loss.

"I'm not into moral victories at all," Bonvicini said. "This isn't something to get down on, but something to build on, and that's what we want to do."

With 23 seconds left in regulation and the score tied at 65, the Wildcats had possession and were looking to get the last shot. As time was winding down, Aimee Grzyb shot a running right-hander that rimmed out. The Tigers got the ball back with 1.3 seconds and were able to get off a desperation shot, but didn't connect.

As was the case for the majority of the game, LSU was able to capitalize on offensive rebounds. It out-rebounded the Wildcats on the offensive glass, 17-9. With a little more than a minute to go in overtime, and the Wildcats trailing 73-71, LSU senior center Aiysha Smith got a huge offensive put-back and put the Tigers up four. After a missed shot by Arizona, the Wildcats were forced to foul, and LSU made enough of its free throws down the stretch to escape with the 78-71 win.

"We fought hard," sophomore guard Dee-Dee Wheeler said. "It was a great game, and now we know that we can battle with the best in the country."

The game within the game was the premiere of two much-anticipated freshmen, and neither disappointed.

Polk led all scorers with 29 points on 13-of-16 shooting, and added a game-high 11 rebounds. That was the highest point total by an Arizona freshman since 1995, when Adia Barnes scored 31 against ASU.

Guard Seimone Augustus, who also led the Tigers in scoring, put in 27 points, including two huge jumpers that gave LSU the lead for good in overtime. Last year's National High School Player of the Year made 12 of her 17 shots, including six points in the overtime period to propel the Tigers past Arizona.

"We saw two of the top freshmen in the country against each other," Bonvicini said.

Arizona played a zone defense for much of the game against a very quick and athletic LSU squad. The Wildcats were able to hold the Tigers to just 44 percent shooting for the game and only 38 percent in the second half. However, the difference-maker came in overtime when LSU hit five out of its seven shots, while the Wildcats made only three-of-seven. At the end of the first half, Arizona went into halftime trailing 38-32. With less than 16 minutes to go in the game, Arizona scored eight points in three possessions to cut the Tigers' lead. LSU never led in the second half by more than 5 points, and every time it seemed as though the Tigers would break away from Arizona, the Wildcats came back.

Turnovers also hurt the Wildcats' bid for an upset. Arizona turned the ball over 22 times to the Tigers' 13, and LSU was able to capitalize on most of the UA turnovers with fast-break points. Polk said the performance solidified that Arizona will be on the national scene by the end of the season.

"We are going to be good," Polk said. "We don't want any losses, but if we continue to play like this, we will do excellent."