HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The Arizona Wildcats raced out to an early lead and dealt the Portland Pilots women's basketball team a 92-70 loss in the final game of the Bank of Hawai'i Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center. Freshman point guard Haylee Andrews led three Pilots in double figures with 15 points.
The Pilots defeated host Hawai'i on Friday, 72-65, and are now 3-1 this year. The Wildcats, who defeated Seattle U. by an 84-54 margin on Friday, improve to 3-1 on the season as well.
Arizona sophomore guard Aari McDonald came into the game averaging 28.7 points and finished with a game-high 32 points on 10-of-16 shooting and dished out seven assists.
Andrews was 6-for-12 from the field and made 2-of-3 three-pointers. Sophomore Maddie Muhlheim and senior Darian Slaga added 14 points each for Portland.
Andrews put the Pilots on the board first with a layup to open the game, but three straight three-pointers from McDonald and a layup by Lucia Alonzo gave the Wildcats a 25-9 lead. Back-to-back threes from Portland sophomore Josie Matz and Andrews cut the margin to 30-18 at the end of the first quarter.
Muhlheim's jumper made it an 11-point deficit late in the second period, but Arizona closed the half on a 12-0 run over the final 3:52 to carry a 55-32 lead into the break.
The lead grew to as much as 29 points in the second half. A 7-0 Pilots run brought the margin down to 89-70 in the fourth quarter, but that would be as close as it would get.
Arizona forced Portland into 18 turnovers in the game and racked up an 18-2 margin in points off of turnovers.
The Pilots shot 45 percent from the floor and knocked down 10-of-21 three-pointers. Muhlheim led the way going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Arizona shot 51 percent overall and 12-of-32 from three-point range.
Freshmen Liana Kaitu'u and Elena Alaix made their collegiate debuts for Portland on Sunday. Kaitu'u made 1-of-2 free throws in six minutes of action, while Alaix recorded a steal in three minutes on the court.
Portland returns home to host six of the team's seven remaining non-conference games at the Chiles Center. The Pilots host Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Nov. 22 at noon. Tickets for all upcoming home games are available at
PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.