WSU forward combo combines for 52 points
The last time Arizona and Washington State got together, on Dec. 29, the Wildcats forced 35 turnovers in a victory.
This time around, the Cougars only turned it over 20 times, shot 52 percent and nailed 26 of 34 free throws en route to an 84-77 victory - their first in the Pacific 10 Conference this season - in Pullman, Wash., Saturday afternoon.
It took that next-to-perfect effort from Washington State (7-13, 1-10 Pac-10) to topple the Wildcats (7-14, 3-8), who nearly came back from a 13-point deficit in the closing minutes of the game.
Down by nine with time winding down, senior guard Natalie Jones netted two of her 21 second-half points and drew a foul on the play.
But before Jones, who finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, had a chance to attempt the free throw that could have cut the lead to six, freshman forward Whitney Fields was whistled for a lane violation. The Cougars took control of the ball and never looked back.
"It's not that we're not playing hard," Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "We're playing hard and we're playing a lot of young players who at times make freshman mistakes, so it's - particularly on the road - it's more difficult."
Arizona's lack of size stood out even more when sophomore forward Ché Oh left the game about four minutes in after suffering a concussion, her second in as many weeks.
"We started well, pretty well, and then Ché Oh went down," Bonvicini said. "Because of that, it limits us - the depth of our posts."
The Cougars and their upperclassman frontcourt duo of Keisha Moore and Kate Benz took full advantage, lighting up the Cats for a combined 52 points.
Not only did Moore, a senior, and Benz, a junior, both finish with career highs in points (28 and 24, respectively), but the duo broke the Wildcats' collective back by posting double-doubles. Moore grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and Benz contributed 11 more.
"We had two posts suited up (after Oh went down), and it hurt us on the boards," Bonvicini said. "It was really their post play that hurt us, but Natalie played very, very well.
"We've got to do a better job of staying out of foul trouble and rebounding," she added.
Sophomore guard Ashley Whisonant finished with 15 points, her fourth-straight game in double figures. Junior guard Joy Hollingsworth added 15 more points and freshman guard Malia O'Neal dished out a game-high six assists for Arizona.
Notes
Arizona dropped to 2-12 when trailing at the half and 1-8 on the road this season. ... The Wildcats have yet to win a game when their opponent scores more than 70 points (0-12). ... Freshman guard Amanda DuRocher (10 points) was the only player in double figures for WSU besides Moore and Benz. ... Arizona's guards accounted for 68 of the team's 77 points.