There’s a reason folks say there’s no place like home. After a two-game road trip for the Wildcats, that couldn’t have been more true. A ferocious defense, coupled with a balanced offensive attack, led the Arizona Women’s Basketball team to its first Big 12 victory under first-year head coach Becky Burke, as the Wildcats defeated the BYU Cougars 75-72 on Tuesday night.
On defense, the UA forced 27 turnovers, a new-season high for BYU. That defense pressure was part of the game plan coming into the game for the Wildcats.
“We just said we’re gonna shake some stuff up. We’re not gonna let them use ball screens and do what they want. We are going to dictate defensively.”
Burke said she knew Arizona could turn BYU over, but she didn’t expect it to be that high.
“It was just a tremendous effort by them, but to force them into 27 turnovers, it’s really hard to win when you turn the ball over that many times. So just just credit to our group for doing that and causing those.”
On the other end of the floor, the Wildcats had five players in double figures, including season-high performances from Nora Francois, who scored 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, and Sumayah Sugapong, who added 18 points and shot 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Francois filled the stat sheet on Tuesday night, finishing with four rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and five steals.
Tanyuel Welch and Lani Cornfield both finished with double-doubles in the Wildcats’ victory. Welch dropped in 13 points while securing 14 rebounds, while Lani once again finished with double-digit assists (10) along with 10 points. Mickayla Perdue also finished with 13 points, shooting 2-of-6 from downtown.
Arizona finally shrugged off its issues with slow starts, leading BYU 22-20 after the first quarter. But BYU kept things close, as the Wildcats and Cougars went to the locker room tied at 33 apiece. BYU led by six heading into the fourth quarter, but Francois and Sugapong combined for 17 of the Wildcats’ 24 points, willing them to a victory.
Sugapong made her lone three-point shot of the night with 1:08 left to play, tying the game at 71, before calmly knocking down two pairs of free throws, the second of which were set up by a Francois steal with 17 seconds remaining, to turn one-point deficit into a three-point lead.
“My teammates trust me with the ball down the stretch, which does a lot for my confidence,” said Sugapong after the game on her 9-of-9 outing at the free throw line. “And then, you know, all the hours in the gym, just getting up free throws and free throws, that’s what gave me the confidence to step up to those shots and knock them down.”
While defense set the tone for the Wildcats, free throw shooting was the difference in the game. Arizona shot 30-of-33 from the charity stripe – a season-best 90.9%. BYU shot just 15-of-25 (60.0%) from the free throw line.
Arizona (10-5, 1-3) is back at home on Saturday against the UCF Knights. The game tips off at 2:00 PM MST on ESPN+.