No. 22 Arizona held off No. 6 Louisville down the stretch, denying Hailey Van Lith in the final seconds of Friday’s game to secure the team a 61-59 overtime victory in an early-season thriller for NCAA women’s basketball.
🐻 ⬇️No. 22 @ArizonaWBB upsets No. 6 Louisville 61-59‼️ pic.twitter.com/xUbvk6xDTB— espnW (@espnW) November 13, 2021
🐻 ⬇️No. 22 @ArizonaWBB upsets No. 6 Louisville 61-59‼️ pic.twitter.com/xUbvk6xDTB
Cat Reese led Arizona in points with 21, shooting 6-for-21 from the field and going 3-for-5 from deep. Bendu Yeaney added 12 points for the Wildcats, hitting a three-pointer and then a jumper in overtime to give Arizona the late-game lead.
Both teams struggled on offense, each notching 17 turnovers, with Louisville shooting 28.6 percent from the field and Arizona shooting 36.7 percent. The 22nd ranked Wildcats, however, were able to outlast the Cardinals for an early-season upset.
“I’ve always been optimistic,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said after the game. “Everybody always doubts Arizona and the Pac-12. They always doubt what we do, and I think we’re pretty good. I think that we earned some respect today, which is good. I like that. But I don’t mind being the underdogs; it’s kind of fun.”
Next up: Arizona will head back to Tucson to host Texas Southern on Monday. Louisville will look to get back to their winning ways when they face off against Bellarmine on Tuesday.