Micky Perdue set a career high and T Welch had a double-double
Coming into Monday evening’s game in McKale Center, Chicago State had gone 44-360 since its last winning season. That came in 2010-11 when the Cougars went 24-10. They had won one or fewer games in five of the 14 full seasons since. This year, they have averaged 57.5 points per game while being outscored by 23.3 over 10 contests.
That didn’t mean the Cougars were going to just lie down.
Arizona got out to a fast start, but the visitors didn’t give up. They just couldn’t maintain momentum when they needed to, eventually falling to the Wildcats by the score of 89-70. In the end, 30 turnovers (including six offensive fouls) did them in.
“I’m grateful for the win and thankful for how we closed out the fourth quarter,” said Arizona head coach Becky Burke. “I think we took [the lead] from two to 20 in a hurry, which was good. I’m just not excited by the fact that it was two at one point.”
Even with 30 turnovers by its opponents, Arizona needed some heroic efforts. Mickayla Perdue had 34 points on 10-for-18 shooting. She went 4 for 10 from 3-point distance and 10 for 12 from the line. She also had two rebounds, one assist, and drew three of the Cougars’ six offensive fouls.
“I just knew that they were a driving team,” Perdue said. “[Burke’s] always preaching midline, midline, midline, especially to me, because sometimes I’m not on the midline. And I really want to focus on my defensive game. And I knew they were getting downhill, like I said, so I kind of just stepped over at the right time.”
It’s one of the things Burke has harped on with Perdue, both in practice and games. The coach saw it pay dividends on Monday.
“Defensively, she had a much, much better presence and competitiveness and was making plays that had nothing to do with her scoring today, which I was proud of her for,” Burke said.
Tanyuel Welch continued the strong play she has displayed of late with a double-double. She had 18 points on 70 percent shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. She added one assist and two steals.
The development of Welch has been one of the brightest spots in recent games. She has played over 30 minutes in the last three contests, including twice off the bench. In those two games when she was a reserve, she worked her way into starting the second half. This time, she got to start the first half, as well.
“It’s been really solid,” Burke said about Welch’s development. “I mean, obviously it started with her coming off the bench the last couple games and giving us really solid, good, meaningful minutes where she’s building my trust, and that’s what it’s all about. You know, coming in and doing your job and being steady and just making smart plays and being patient and poised. And she’s done that. So when she’s solid, doing what we asked her to do, just builds trust, game by game, practice by practice. And she had a great week of practice. Was excited to see what she did at the start today, and was really happy with her.”
Perdue’s 34 points eclipsed her career high of 33 set last season when she was a member of the Cleveland State Vikings. Welch’s 18 points were her most as a Wildcat. Her career high of 21 was set last year as a member of the Memphis Tigers.
Lani Cornfield was the third Wildcat in double figures. She had 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting. She added seven rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Her lone weak spot came in the turnover column, where she had six.
While Arizona didn’t have as many problems with turnovers as Chicago State did, it was still an area of concern. The Wildcats turned the ball over 20 times. Three of those came on offensive fouls, making a total of nine offensive fouls between both teams.
Achol Magot picked up two of the three offensive fouls for UA. They were half of her fouls. The four whistles came in less than five minutes on the court.
The game was one of frustration for Chicago State. The Cougars would go on a run to cut the lead to single digits, then have a rash of turnovers or give up a critical offensive rebound to allow Arizona to push it back out to double figures. Sometimes they would do both in a series.
The Wildcats started the game on a 7-0 run, but Chicago State responded. The Cougars cut the lead to two about halfway through the first quarter, then promptly turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions. Arizona’s lead was back out to 10 after 10 minutes.
The pattern would repeat itself throughout the game. Chicago State once again cut it to two points with 7:09 left in the game. From that point, Arizona went on an 11-0 run to take control again.
Part of that run included a blocking foul called on Brianna Hill. The play was a legitimate foul with Hill reaching in. However, the officials went to the monitor and upgraded it to a flagrant foul when that did not appear warranted. It turned into five straight points for Arizona when Perdue hit both free throws and followed it with a 3-point basket on the ensuing possession. Those five points made up almost half of Arizona’s 11-0 run.
That was Chicago State’s last gasp. Arizona pushed the lead to a game-high 19 with 31 seconds left.
“I just am looking forward to this team just being a little bit more consistent, and coming in and just beating somebody from start to finish, and not making it as interesting as we love to make it,” Burke said. “And I feel like those days are ahead of us, but…we’re just not there quite yet.”
The Cougars tried to make the score more respectable. Natalia Williams was fouled on an offensive rebound and hit one of two from the line. Then Aiyana Culver hit a 3 with 16 seconds left.
Arizona responded each time. Williams’ first foul shot cut the lead to 18, but Welch grabbed the rebound on the second one and drove the length of the court. She was fouled and hit both free throws, then was subbed out.
Culver’s 3 cut Arizona’s lead to 16. Arizona just had to dribble it out to take the comfortable win, but Nora Francois passed to Molly Ladwig. The freshman opted to shoot the 3 with two seconds on the clock. The made shot accounted for the final margin.
Arizona improved to 8-2 on the season while Chicago State fell to 1-10. The Wildcats will finish nonconference play on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. MST when Bellarmine comes to town. Big 12 play starts next Monday at noon against Utah.
Category: General Sports
