On a day where the temperature was in single digits in Ames, offense was toasty warm both the Wildcats and the Cyclones. But ultimately, Bill Fenelly’s group was too much for first-year head coach Becky Burke and Co., which struggled with foul trouble throughout the contest. Check out our takeaways from Arizona Women’s Basketball’s 90-65 loss to Iowa State.
1) Foul trouble foils Wildcats…again
For the second straight game, foul trouble plagued Arizona. This time though, the Wildcats were so limited by fouls that they finished the game with four players on the court. Arizona continues to struggle playing with discipline, and the lack there of continues to impact the outcome of games, especially as Big 12 competition ramps up.
In the first half, Achol Magot picked up four fouls, while veteran guard Noelani Cornfield had three. The Wildcats finished with five players fouling out, including Magot and Cornfield, as well as Molly Ladwig, Nora Francois, and Kamryn Kitchen.
Not only was the lack of availability an issue for the Wildcats, the UA’s 31 fouls sent Iowa State to the free throw line 31 times, where it connected on 20 attempts from the stripe.
Winning is already tough enough, especially on the road, but not having your best players like Cornfield available in critical moments only makes things more challenging.
2) Arizona stymied by lack of size and strength
Before jumping into any of the stats, just watching the game, Arizona was undersized at every position against Iowa State. No one had a tougher time though than Nora Francois, who faced off against the nation’s leading scorer in 6-foot-3 Audi Crooks.
By the numbers, the Cyclones had the edge on the glass, out-rebounding the Wildcats 37-to-29. Where Iowa State really made Arizona feel its size was in the paint, where ISU outscored the UA 38-to-22. Crooks picked up some foul trouble and the Wildcats’ offense warmed up in the second half, but through the first 20 minutes, the Cyclones had a 28-to-8 advantage in the paint, a gap that Arizona was never able to overcome.
There’s nothing Arizona can do to increase its size or strength during the season, which makes obstacles like foul trouble that much more critical. The Wildcats need to continue getting strong play from players like Sumayah Sugapong in the absence of Mickayla Perude, and hope that Tanyuel Welch, who left the game with an ankle injury, is able to return to action quickly.
3) Offense was hot in an otherwise freezing day in Ames
Arizona had more bad than good in the loss in Ames, but its offensive production was something Becky Burke and the staff can absolutely build on and look to carry over the rest of the season. The Wildcats connected on nearly 50% of its field goals for most of the game, finishing with 25-of-59 (42.4%) shots on the road.
Three players scored in double figures, including Cornfield, who was tied with Ex-Wildcat Jada Williams for a game-high 19 points. Sugapong and Ladwig finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Wildcats connected on just 4-of-17 from beyond the arc, but Sugapong knocked down two of those triples as she continues to step up offensively in place of the injured Perdue, scoring in double figures in five straight games.
“Yeah, she’s stepped up in a big way. Had to shoulder more on the load,” said Becky Burke after the game.
“She’s taken way more shots, being a lot more aggressive. And we needed that from her with the Micky going out. It’s kind of fun to see the group step up, and certain players and certain people, knowing that Micky went down. That was a huge, huge piece of our offensive production, which already wasn’t super, super high. So it’s been a challenge, but I think they’re figuring it out. I think Sumayah has shouldered a lot of that load.”