McDonald nets 36, lifts Arizona women past No. 24 Cal 60-55

Jan 12, 2019, 04:19 am

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Aari McDonald surpassed 30 points for a school record fifth time this season, getting there by making 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute, and Arizona defeated No. 24 California 60-55 on Friday night.

McDonald scored the Wildcats' last seven points to finish with 36 and break a tie with her third-year coach Adia Barnes, the school's all-time leading scorer, for the most 30-point games in a season. The redshirt sophomore transfer from Washington was 11 of 17 from the field, matching her career high with five 3-pointers, and was 9 of 11 from the line to reach 30 points for the third-straight game. She came in as the second-leading scorer in the nation at 25.4 points a game.

Arizona (13-2, 3-1 Pac-12), coming off a loss at Utah that snapped its school record 11-game winning streak, used a 9-0 run in the first period to take the lead for good. A 14-1 run in the second period helped push the lead to 14 just before the half.

The Golden Bears (10-4, 1-2) battled back behind Kristine Anigwe, who tied the game at 53 on a jumper with 1:08 to play. Anigwe finished with 19 points, to pass Ashley Walker for second on the Cal career scoring list, grabbed 20 rebounds to pad her nation-leading average of 13.1 and tied her career-best with seven blocked shots.

Cal had a 42-30 rebound advantage but Arizona had just six turnovers to 18 for the Golden Bears.