TEMPE, Ariz. - Five Wildcats scored in double figures to lead Arizona to a dominant 91-52 win at Arizona State on Sunday. Arizona (8-3, 1-0 Pac-12) begins Pac-12 play with a win for the sixth consecutive season.
Kailyn Gilbert led the way for the Cats with 19 points (7-for-10) and Helena Pueyo posted a season-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Pueyo made five three-pointers on the day to set a career best. Breya Cunningham tallied 11 points while Esmery Martinez and Skylar Jones each totaled 10. Jones' point total was a career high.
While the initial five minutes of play saw the lead change hands a few times, Arizona went on a 9-0 run that included a Courtney Blakely buzzer-beating three to take a 24-16 lead into the second quarter.
Arizona opened the second frame with a 21-4 run led by eight points from Jones and had a 28 point lead at the half. The Cats never looked back, closing out the game with 56.7% shooting and a 65.0% night from behind the arc.
All nine Wildcats scored and all nine players had at least one assist and one rebound. Cunningham was two rebounds shy of a double-double, leading the squad with eight, and additionally tied her career high in blocks with five. Martinez and Isis Beh each had seven rebounds and Gilbert contributed five.
The Wildcats' 13 made three-pointers tied the second-most in a single game in program history, and the squad totaled 24 assists on 34 baskets for its most assists in a game this year.
Arizona returns to action Wednesday, Dec. 20 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., to play No. 21 Gonzaga as part of the Jerry Colangelo Hall of Fame Classic. The game will tip off at 2:30 p.m. MST.
