TUCSON, Ariz.---After trailing by as many as 20 points in the second half, Arizona strung together a furious rally and outscored Bakersfield 32-16 over the final 18 minutes of play to eventually tie the game, but it wasn't quite enough as the Wildcats dropped a 76-72 heartbreaker to Bakersfield to open the season, Monday night at the newly renovated McKale Center.

Senior guard Candice Warthen paced Arizona (0-1), scoring a team-leading 18 points and dishing out a game-high equaling five assists, while sophomore forward LaBrittney Jones racked up her third career-double-double, going for 14 points and grabbing game-high 13 rebounds on the night.

Senior forward Alli Gloyd had a strong season debut, nearly notching a double-double herself, as she put in 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds in her first game back since March 7, 2013, after being forced to sit out all of last season due to an ACL injury.

Freshman guard Charise Holloway also chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds, and two steals in her Arizona debut to round out the double figure scorers for the Wildcats.

Bakersfield (2-0) received a large contribution from senior forward Tyonna Outland, as she led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting from the field. Senior guard Dajy Vines also chipped in with 19 points and four steals, as the only other double-digit scorer for the Roadrunners.

The Roadrunners led for most of the first half, eventually going up by as many as 17 points with 3:27 remaining in the half. Bakersfield took a 52-37 advantage into the intermission, as it shot 52.6 percent (20-of-38) from the field and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from three-point range.

But the game was far from over, as Arizona launched a 16-2 run of its own over a seven-plus minute span to get within 60-54 with 10:31 remaining. The Cats then made it a one possession game as Holloway knocked down the second of her two treys on the night from the left corner to bring Arizona within 64-61 with 5:30 remaining.  

Gloyd finished off the comeback, as she took it to the basket and converted on an and-one opportunity to tie the game up at 66-66 with just 3:20 remaining, capping off what was a 28-8 scoring run since the 17:59 mark of the first half.

Trailing 72-70 with 12.8 seconds remaining, the Cats held the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, but couldn't manage to score.

Arizona ended up outscoring Bakersfield 35-24 in the second half and out rebounding the Roadrunners 49-37 for the contest. The Wildcats also shot a superb 19-of-22 from the free throw line for 86.4 percent. 

The Cats will get back after it Friday, as they'll head to Lubbock, Texas to take on Texas Tech at 6 p.m. MST, in the team's first road test of the season. 

GAME NOTES: Four Wildcats made collegiate debuts on Monday in Charise Holloway, Malena Washington, JaLea Bennett, and Chy Cunningham….Cats suffer just second loss in last six season openers and first in last five home openers…Monday marked first time Arizona had opened season at home since 2006-07 campaign, also first time in Butts era…Nine players saw game action on Monday, the most in 20 straight games going back to last season (Dec. 21, 2013 vs. UC Riverside) 

ARIZONA POSTGAME QUOTES

Head Coach- Niya Butts

Opening Statement
"First of all, let me give credit to Bakersfield. They came out hot and did what they needed to do to win. They made some big shots and shot lights out in the first half. We didn't defend very well and it didn't help how disciplined they were offensively."

On some of the bigger problems Arizona had starting off the game
"We could not defend or guard. We had no answer for them defensively. But after adjusting and going to a zone, it helped us, and gave us life even offensively, and we were able to get some stops and get some things going too. We started to make some plays, just not enough to make it over the hump."

 On what was clicking during the 14-0 run in the second half
"We were making shots. We were able to make some plays and calm down. We got some open looks under the basket to start a run which always helps, complimented by a few three pointers. But we just didn't have enough. Bakersfield was hands down the better team tonight."

 On rallying from such a large deficit
“We made a run and were able to make a few stops which created some sparks, especially since it was our second defense out there during that stretch, so we didn't expect that. Tonight though, I thought we got exactly what we deserved to be honest. If you can't make stops defensively, you won't do well. We did do well at the free throw line though, but did not get to the line nearly enough."

 On how crucial turnovers are in a game
"I mean we had 13 in the first half, they only had seven. They definitely did a better job carrying the ball and were disciplined on the drives. We certainly didn't help ourselves out allowing them to go right by us. You're going to have a rough night if you can't defend and make your field goals."

 On Bakersfield's Tyonna Outland and her play
"She thinks she's better than everybody on the floor. She is a confident kid and very disciplined with the ball and plays with a chip on her shoulder. I like her. I like how she plays the game. She's a tough kid, tough player."

Senior Guard- Candice Warthen

On responding after a poor first half
“We tried not to think about the first half going into the second half, when the first half was over we didn't really think about it moving forward, we just knew we had 20 minutes of basketball to play so we had to stay positive and finish the game.”

On the issues tonight
“I do agree, defense is always the most important thing, but we didn't play very well offensively either. We didn't make very many shots, we didn't run our offense, we didn't execute, so defense is important but offense played a big role too.”

On embracing a leadership role
“Not only me, but everybody, we just have to make sure we have good practices. It starts in practice, we can't just have one person go out and say 'alright, we'll have a good practice,' everyone has to have the same mindset. Being a leader, it's important for me to talk and speak up, but I feel as if everybody needs to be on the same page, everybody needs to have the same mindset.”

On what coach Butts told the team in the halftime locker room
“She told us we need to be tougher, which is true. We played very weak in the first half, they got everything they wanted, we didn't play defense well, we didn't intimidate them or stop them at all so she told us we needed to be tougher and we came out with more energy and more toughness in the second half, but obviously we didn't get the results that we wanted.”

Sophomore Forward- LaBrittney Jones

On her double-double performance
“I was pretty comfortable around the glass, but I have to do a better job finishing. I got a lot of offensive rebounds, but I didn't finish a lot of my shots, so I have to do better with that.”

On constantly fighting for the ball
“Yes, that is my major role on this team. I just try to get rebounds and everything just goes after that.”

Freshman Guard- Charise Holloway

On her first career start
I only had one thing on my mind and that's to win, we didn't execute plays, and that's the result.

On the key to the second half rally
“Like Candice said, we only thought of 20 minutes left. We went out there and executed plays, we had energy, but we just fell a little short.”

On moving forward
“We have to focus and work on our discipline because like coach said, we had five bad days of practice so we have to make sure next practice we go in with the right mindset to win the next game.”