Arizona is a team that needs to turn opponents over and run in transition to score. If the overtime loss against Arizona State proved anything, it’s that dribbling into the trees and desperately looking for a passing lane or forcing a shot up against bigger players isn’t going to work for this group. The problem for the Wildcats is that the Colorado team that’s up next turned the ball over just 13 times the last time the two squads met.
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Arizona’s first trip away from McKale was to face the Buffaloes in the CU Events Center. The Wildcats spent the entire nonconference season at home and then opened conference play in Tucson. It wasn’t something to write home about.
Up Next for Arizona Women’s Basketball
Colorado Buffaloes @ Arizona Wildcats
When: Tuesday, Feb. 17 @ 6 p.m. MST
Where: McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 1400 AM (KTUC)
Stats: Arizona Live Stats
The Buffaloes won by 19 despite hitting just 22.2 percent of their 3-point shots. Using their athleticism to get Arizona in foul trouble was a big part of that.
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CU shot 25 free throws. The Buffs hit 19 of them, accounting for the entire winning margin.
They also put pressure on Arizona’s depth, especially inside. Daniah Trammell started, but she fouled out in 19 minutes. Blessing ‘Adde’ Adebanjo was disqualified after 12 minutes on the court. Achol Magot was whistled for two fouls in five minutes. Sumayah Sugapong was the lone guard in foul trouble, picking up four whistles in 19 minutes.
Arizona had a complete roster with leading scorer Micky Perdue still available. While Perdue was injured four games into league play and has since announced that her college career is over, she scored 22 points on that night in Boulder. Unfortunately, only two other Wildcats had significant scoring impacts.
Tanyuel Welch showed that she can be effective against athletic teams with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
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As for Lani Cornfield, it was one of three games where she didn’t start (or play) due to a “coach’s decision.” She played almost 36 minutes, but it was foreshadowing for some of the issues Arizona has had trying to develop a cohesive lineup and consistent leadership. If the one player the coach brought with her can’t consistently buy into the culture, it isn’t conducive to winning—especially when the team is in just its second Power 4 game and first road game of the season.
Cornfield still accounted for 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. However, her trouble with turnovers since conference play started rearing its head with four on the night.
Cornfield is one of the best players in the country at setting up her teammates. Her 5.8 assists per game in conference play puts her third in Division I. Her career high coming into this year was 5.6 apg in conference games at Buffalo last season. She has been in the top 10 all four years in Division I.
However, Cornfield’s turnovers have crept up with the move to Power 4 competition. She has 3.9 per game against conference opponents this season. That’s a full point higher than her previous two years, one at Buffalo and the other at Southern Miss.
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Arizona will go into its Tuesday matchup against the Buffaloes with more experience at this level than last time. It will go into the game with a considerable homecourt advantage. It will likely go into the game with Cornfield in the starting lineup.
The Wildcats still need to solve the problems that are the Buffs’ balanced scoring and ability to get to the line. The Buffs are trying to get within a win of their fifth straight season with at least 20 wins. If the Wildcats can’t sort those issues, it could be another difficult hill to climb for the home team as they try to improve to 3-12 in the Big 12.
