Arizona Nearly Takes Down California after Furious Rally

BERKELEY, Calif.--- The Wildcats mounted a furious rally to overcome what was a 17-point deficit, eventually claiming a two-point lead with just 5:47 remaining in the game, but couldn’t quite hang on, as Arizona fell to California, 68-56, Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.

Senior guard Candice Warthen led Arizona (7-10, 0-6 Pac-12) in scoring for the 11th time this season, as she poured in 14 points, including scoring 10 in the second half, while dishing out a team-best three assists and pulling down a team-high tying seven rebounds.

Sophomore forward Breanna Workman notched her second straight double-digit scoring game, as she went for a season-high equaling 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while pulling down six rebounds in her first start of the season.

Freshman guard Charise Holloway also chipped in with her sixth double-digit scoring performance of the year, as she recorded 12 points and converted on three treys on the day in what was a homecoming game for her.

The Wildcats shot superb 19-of-23 from the free throw line, while they won the rebounding battle 45-42 and scored 15 points off of 10 forced turnovers.

Arizona won the battle of the benches 18-15, while it boasted a double-figure scorer off the bench for the ninth time this season. The Cats also won second chance point battle, 14-13 and held California (12-5, 4-2 Pac-12) to just 1-of-15 from three-point land.

The Wildcats came out ready to play right from the very beginning, matching the Bears bucket for bucket, as Cal didn’t claim its first double-digit lead until the 6:57 mark of the first half.

The Bears eventually built their lead as high as 29-12 with 3:41 left to play in the first half, but the Cats outscored Cal 6-2 the rest of the period, as UA went into the halftime locker room facing a 31-18 deficit.

Arizona came out of the halftime locker room reenergized, as it scored the first six points of the second half, which turned into a 21-8 scoring run leading to a 39-39 ballgame with 10:46 remaining, after Holloway knocked down a pair of free throws.

Minutes later, Warthen splashed home a jumper from the left wing to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 48-46 with just 5:47 remaining in the contest.

The game continued to stay close until its conclusion, but Cal was able to escape with the victory.

The Wildcats now return home to take on No. 9 Oregon State, Friday at 8 pm MST. The game can be seen on the Pac-12 Networks and be heard locally on KTUC 1400 AM.

Follow the Cats!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Arizona athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics), Twitter (@AZATHLETICS), Instagram (azathletics) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/ArizonaAthletics). In addition, the women’s basketball team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaWomensBasketball), Twitter (@ArizonaWBBall), and Instagram (ArizonaWBBall) accounts.