TUCSON, Ariz.---The Wildcats used a furious 13-0 run to whittle what was a 22-point lead down to just six with 8:42 still left to play in the contest, but Arizona couldn't quite finish off the rally, dropping a 79-69 decision to No. 23 Washington, Monday night inside McKale Center.

For the eighth time this season, it was senior guard Candice Warthen who led the offensive charge for the Cats, as she put in a team-high 18 points, with 15 of them coming in the second half. She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists, as she just missed recording a triple-double.  

Sophomore Dejza James and freshman Charise Holloway combined to score 24 of Arizona's 32 bench points. James poured in 13 points on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting from the field, while pulling down six rebounds.

Holloway recorded her second straight double-digit scoring performance, as she chipped in 11 points, while connecting on three treys on the night.

Sophomore LaBrittney Jones recorded her squad-leading third double-digit rebounding game of the season, as she pulled down a team-best 10 boards, while swatting a game and career-high tying three blocks to go along with six points.

Arizona (7-6, 0-2 Pac-12) owned an 18-2 advantage in fast break points, while its bench outscored the Washington (12-2, 1-1 Pac-12) reserves 32-10. The Cats have won the battle of the benches in eight of their last 11 games.

The Wildcats held the nation's leading scorer in sophomore guard Kelsey Plum to just 14 points on 3-of-10 shooting. Plum was averaging 25.8 points per game entering the game.

Arizona hung with the No. 23 team in the nation, as Washington didn't have a double-digit advantage at any point in the game until there was just 1:59 remaining in the first half. The Huskies eventually went into the intermission with a 38-25 lead.

UW opened the second half with a 15-6 run to take a commanding 53-31 advantage with 15:07 left to play in the game.

But Arizona refused to give in, as it battled back with an impressive 23-7 scoring surge of its own to trim the Huskies' lead to just 60-54 with 8:42 left to play.

The Wildcats cut the deficit back down to six on two separate occasions after Warthen treys, but time eventually ran out on the Arizona comeback attempt.

The Wildcats will finish off their season-long four-game homestand, when they play host to in-state rival Arizona State, Thursday at 6 pm MST. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks, while it also can be heard on KTUC AM 1400.

ARIZONA POSTGAME QUOTES

Head Coach Niya Butts

Opening Statement
“This did not end the way I would have liked. I give Washington credit for coming in and doing what they needed to do to get the win. I think they knocked down shots early from the three point line. We blew some assignments there. They did a good job of knocking down those shots and made us pay.  We waited until it was too late to play. Our backs were against the wall; we didn't make enough plays, and made some big mistakes. We got outrebounded and just didn't do enough overall.”

On Arizona's scoring runs to get back in the game
“We have got to playing sooner. We're trying to figure that out.  The one thing I would like to say is that as a team, we got down but we continued to fight and continued to make a run. I thought we had every opportunity there to hang our heads and fold, but we didn't do that. We were able to come back and make it a game. We are just waiting until it's too late to make plays and we have to figure out how to do that sooner.”

On Candice Warthen's clutch second half play
“She tends to play pretty well when our backs are against the wall. The problem is that we are allowing ourselves to get against that wall too much, too often, too early and you run out of clock. We have to figure out a way to play better earlier.”

Looking ahead to Arizona State
“We're at home. We are going to be ready to play and hopefully we can get a full 40 minutes. We played great for eight minutes at a time and then we would go on a hiatus for about six or seven minutes, then we tried to come back. We have to be ready to play for 40 minutes. It's a four minutes at a time game, and sometimes we sleepwalk through what we're doing on the floor. We need to see if we can finish shots on the inside as well as come up with offensive and defensive rebounds.” 

Senior Guard Candice Warthen

On the positive aspect of rallying to get back in the game on two straight nights
“We know we can play with these teams. They can make plays and we can make plays. We just have to come together as a team and make plays down the stretch and get key stops and make key plays. We didn't stop the three ball and we couldn't make plays on the offensive end. We need to, as a team, figure out how we're going to play down the stretch.”

On starting slow offensively
“That's been one of my biggest problems this season, but I know how to put a bad first half behind me. I know my team needs me to score, so I try not to get down on myself, especially after a bad first half. I just have to come out in the second half and score like I'm supposed to.”

Sophomore Forward Dejza James

On playing effective basketball coming off of an ACL injury last year
“Having more days in the gym makes it easier for me and my knee, but it's definitely a process. I continue to feel more confident every game that goes by.”

Looking ahead to Arizona State
“Nothing matters when you face a rival, ranking, record, none of it matters. It's our rival. We just have to go out there and do what we do best. We know we're good enough to compete with these teams.”

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