TUCSON, Ariz. – Aari McDonald and
Cate Reese recorded double-doubles in their Wildcat debuts on Friday night and led the Wildcats to a 71-46 win over Idaho State in the season opener. Head coach
Adia Barnes is now the first coach in school history to win their first three season-openers.
McDonald finished the game with a game-high 22 points, one shy of her career high, while setting new career highs in rebounds (10) and assists (6). She also added in a pair of steals.
Reese did what she does and scored 21 points while grabbing 10 boards. The freshman showed her shooting ability as well, knocking down a trio of three-pointers.
Sam Thomas also had a stellar night, scoring 15 points, bringing down nine rebounds and recording four steals.
As a team, Arizona locked things down, forcing Idaho State into 29% shooting and 24 turnovers.
After a slow start, Arizona went on a 15-2 run to end the first quarter and take a 20-9 lead into the second period. Reese hit a buzzer beater to give her 10 points in the first quarter. McDonald took over a bit in the second quarter, scoring seven of Arizona's 16 points and helped the Wildcats extend their lead to 36-20 at halftime. Reese hit another shot with four seconds at the end of the quarter.
The third quarter was low scoring with just a combined 20 points between the two teams, but that wasn't the story in the fourth quarter as Arizona scored 23 by themselves and cruised to the first victory of the season. Thirteen of McDonald's 22 points came in the second half.
The Wildcats are back at it for game two of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 13 against Loyola Marymount at 6:30 p.m. MST at McKale Center.
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