TUCSON, Ariz. – Senior Davellyn Whyte (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the Wildcats with 16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals, but Arizona women's basketball (12-16, 4-13) fell to No. 16 UCLA (23-6, 14-4), 68-57, on Sunday afternoon at McKale Center.
"She (Whyte) has meant a lot to what we are trying to do," Arizona Head Coach Niya Butts said. "If you look at her complete body of work aside from post-season play, that's all you can really ask for in a player."
Junior Alli Gloyd (Phoenix, Ariz.) added nine points and eight rebounds, while senior Cheshi Poston (Chicago, Ill.) finished her last game in McKale with five points on 2-of-2 shooting and three rebounds.
As a team, the Wildcats forced 17 Bruin turnovers, while only committing 14 and went to the free throw line 24 times, to UCLA's 12.
Arizona came out strong in the first half, starting the game on a 7-0 run, but UCLA soon followed with an 8-0 run. The Bruins controlled most of the scoring from that point, but the Wildcats stayed close and UCLA went into the locker rooms with a 35-27 edge.
In the second half, Whyte and Barnes scored the first six points for Arizona to narrow the score to within five, but the Bruins answered with a 10-2 run. The Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run of their own, but could not close the gap all the way and UCLA took the game, 68-57.
"In the second half, we did better with offensive rebounds and were able to catch up a little, whether it was because they were missing more shots, or we were making more," Butts said. "It's a tough go--I wanted our seniors to go out with a win. We just have to continue to push forward."
Senior Alyssia Brewer and freshman Nirra Fields led the Bruins with 22 and 21 points, respectively.
Arizona will begin postseason play when it travels to Seattle, Wash. for the Pac-12 Tournament, beginning on Thursday, March 7 and continuing through Sunday, March 10.
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