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Wildcats fall in Shootout championship |
By Michael Schwartz
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, November 24, 2005
After rolling to a 33-point victory
the night before against Furman, the
Arizona women’s basketball team fell
to Central Connecticut State 69-65
in overtime yesterday in the
championship game of the Great
Alaska Shootout.
The Wildcats’ offense was as cold as
the weather in Anchorage, as the
team shot only 31.5 percent from the
field and a frigid 19 percent
(4-of-21) from 3-point range.
“We were flat the whole game,”
said Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini. “We didn’t play with the
same intensity we had (Tuesday). We just weren’t in sync
offensively. When we’re not able to score, we’re not able to press,
and they got confidence.”
After taking a 30-17 halftime
lead, the Wildcats were out-rebounded 22-11 in the second half and
shot only 30 percent from the field, while allowing the Blue Devils
to shoot 54 percent.
Anchorage native and senior guard
Natalie Jones especially struggled, finishing 2-of-14 in her final
game back home.
Still, Arizona led throughout the
half, until Central Connecticut tied the score at 55 with nine
seconds remaining in the game to force the extra period.
The Blue Devils continued their
hot shooting in overtime, out-shooting the Wildcats 67 percent to 25
percent.
“They learned they have to respect
every opponent and be intense, more vocal and consistent,” Bonvicini
said.
Sophomore guard Ashley Whisonant
led Arizona with 18 points, while redshirt junior Joy Hollingsworth
scored 14.
Whisonant, Hollingsworth and Jones
earned all-tournament team honors despite the loss.
“We’ve got to move on from this,”
Bonvicini said. “We know we’re a better team than what we showed.
We’ve got to prepare for our game Saturday. It’s a disappointing
loss, but there’s a lot of games ahead of us.”
The Wildcats host Utah Saturday
night at 7:35 in McKale Center for an FSN Arizona-televised game, at
which the first 2,000 fans will receive “Polkey #00” wristbands in
tribute of the late Shawntinice Polk.
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