TRUJILO ALTO, Puerto Rico – The Arizona Wildcats had their five-game winning streak snapped Saturday afternoon, falling to SMU 58-46 at the Ruben Zayas Montanez Coliseum. The game was Arizona's first in the Puerto Rico Classic.

Taryn Griffey, who missed Arizona's previous game with a minor injury, led the Cats with 16 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals in 28 minutes. LaBrittney Jones, making her season debut, had seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes.

“You have to do a good job of getting stops and rebounding, and we didn't do that tonight,” coach Niya Butts said after the setback. “We had an opportunity to break the game open in the third, and we had a turnover and then gave up an offensive rebound back-to-back, and couldn't get it done.”

The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw four ties and five lead changes between the two teams. After being knotted at 13 after the opening quarter, SMU opened up a three-point lead at halftime. Both teams struggled from the floor in the first with SMU shooting 33 percent and Arizona at a 28 percent clip.

Griffey led the way for the Wildcats in the first, scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds in 13 minutes. Griffey opened the game with an and-one on a layup to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. She hit a 3-pointer later in the quarter as well.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats (7-2) scored the first six points of the frame to take a three-point lead at 30-27. A pair of Griffey jumpers sandwiched two free throws from Breanna Workman. After SMU (4-5) scored six straight points, Arizona went on a 10-2 run to grab a 40-35 lead. Griffey had five points during that stretch and Jones added three on free throws.

Right before the end of the quarter, SMU's Ashley Gibson hit two free throws to cut it to a three-point game at the end of the quarter.

The Wildcats led by as many as five in the fourth, but SMU closed the game on a 15-2 run over the last seven-plus minutes. Arizona had just one field goal over the last seven.

The game did have one major positive with Jones returning to the lineup. The junior from Cedar Hill, Texas missed the first eight games of the season with a foot injury, but is now at full strength. Her seven rebounds led the team. Dejza James and Griffey each added six and Keyahndra Cannon and Lauren Evans each had five.

Defensively, the Wildcats were able to hold SMU to 33.9 percent shooting. Arizona's bench outscored SMU's 21-2. The Wildcats' bench is now outscoring the opposition 266 to 113 on the season.  

Arizona will return to action Sunday at 9 a.m., MST with a matchup against Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles lost to No. 9 Mississippi State 65-60 Saturday.

“We have to be able to forget what happened in this game, and hopefully make adjustments after we watch film,” Butts said. “We have to be more physical. Hopefully we can make that adjustment going forward.”