Arizona claws past Auburn in NCAA Tournament First Four
STORRS, Conn. — For the Arizona Wildcats, it all came down to experience.
When Auburn started climbing back into the game with less than three minutes to go, the Wildcats turned to a fifth year senior to get the job done.
Helena Pueyo shifted over to the point guard position and turned it up a notch to lead Arizona (18-15) to a 69-59 win over Auburn (20-12) Thursday night in a First Four, play-in style matchup to open up the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Up next for the 11th-seeded Wildcats: a matchup with sixth-seeded Syracuse in the tournament’s official first round Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at UConn’s Gampel Pavilion. The game will air on ESPN 2.
UA coach Adia Barnes collected her 150th career win as a head coach — all of them coming at Arizona. She is also 4-0 in opening round games of the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.
The Wildcats, who led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, saw their lead dwindle down to five as the Tigers shots started falling in the final minutes of the game.
That's when Barnes made the key strategic move of the game — switching Pueyo to point guard as Auburn’s Marshaun Bostic was pressuring Jada Williams a little too much.
Pueyo took over. She scored six of her eight points in the last four minutes and 30 seconds, pulled down a defensive rebound, had two assists and a block. She finished with 16 points (6 of 10 from the field) and two from long distance, collected four assists, three steals and that one block – all in 39 minutes of action.
Williams said things started getting a little “chippy” and it was evident that Pueyo got a little mad.
“When you get Helena mad, then I think it’s over for you,” Williams said with a laugh. “She doesn’t get mad (too often), but she has the ability to take
over a game.”
Williams was Arizona’s leading scorer with 17 points, even though her shot really wasn’t falling early. Instead, she kept at it driving to the hoop and drawing fouls; the Tigers fouled her 10 times in all. She went 8 for 11 from the line. Aggressive was just how she played on both ends of the court, as she was getting deflections, taking charges and just having active hands.
“Jada did a great job of finding a way to score when it wasn't with soothing,” Barnes said. “It wasn't with her shot. It wasn't just spot-up threes or pull-up jumpers — those weren't falling. So, what did she do? She knows that they're aggressive, she's really smart, and she started attacking the rim. And that was that's a good way to get confidence and get back into the game.”
Esmery Martinez, who played with four fouls, scored 14 points, pulled down seven rebounds — including two down the stretch — and picked five steals.
Skylar Jones finished with 13 points (4 of 8 from the field) and added three steals and a block. When Arizona was pulling away in the fourth quarter, Jones had back-to-back layups. On one she caught a pass from Pueyo when she was up in the air and somehow scored.