TUCSON, Ariz. — Madison Conner scored 16 second-half points to lead five Arizona players in double figures and the 15th-ranked Wildcats beat No. 18 Oregon 79-71 Sunday.
Shaina Pellington had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists, Jade Loville scored 13 points and Esmery Martinez 11 for Arizona (14-2, 4-1 Pac-12). Kate Reese had 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting.
Conner — who did not play in the first half — checked in with 6:26 left in the third quarter and scored 11 points in a 14-3 run that gave the Wildcats a 52-48 lead with about 2 minutes left in the period. There were three lead changes and two ties before Conner hit a 3-pointer that made it 65-63 with 4:10 to play and Arizona never again trailed.
The Wildcats, who entered the game shooting 65.8% from the free-throw line this season (No. 281 nationally), made 8 of 8 foul shots in the final 36 seconds to seal it.
Connor finished shooting 3 of 4 from the field, including three 3s, and hit 7 of 7 from the free-throw line — the last two came after she grabbed her second rebound and made it 77-71 with 12 seconds to go.
Grace VanSlooten led Oregon (12-4, 3-2) with 18 points. Te-Hina Paopao and Endyia Rogers scored 17 apiece, Chance Gray added 10 and Phillipina Kyei had six points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 Kyei has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in eight consecutive games.
The Ducks went into the game averaging 12.0 turnovers per game — best in the Pac-12 and No. 10 nationally — and ranked No. 3 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57) but committed a season-high tying 20 turnovers and finished with 15 assists, nearly four below their season average (18.8).
VanSlooten limped off the court with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter with what appeared to be leg cramps and checked back in a couple minutes later. The freshman, who leads Oregon in scoring at 15.5 per game, made a driving layup with 29 seconds left to trim the Ducks' deficit to 73-71 but again left the game.
UP NEXT
- Oregon plays host to Washington on Friday
- Arizona plays the first of three consecutive road games Friday at Colorado
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AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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