Connect with us

Arizona

Arizona women’s basketball controls Kansas with balanced attack

Published

on

Arizona women’s basketball controls Kansas with balanced attack


The Arizona Wildcats dominated every aspect of the game as they defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 74-59 in Phog Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats led wire-to-wire, ending with superior numbers in field goal percentage, 3-point shooting, turnovers, points off turnovers, assists, bench scoring, and total rebounds as five players scored in double figures.

Arizona head coach Adia Barnes moved back to her original starting lineup of Jada Williams, Skylar Jones, Paulina Paris, Isis Beh, and Breya Cunningham for the first time since facing Utah in their second Big 12 contest. She also got big contributions off the bench from Lauryn Swann and Montaya Dew.

Williams had a strong showing as she played less than an hour from her hometown of Kansas City, Mo. The sophomore point guard scored 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting while dishing out five assists and only turning the ball over once in 35 minutes of play. She added four rebounds and a block.

Beh had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She added three steals and three assists.

Advertisement

Paris matched Williams’ 5-for-12 shooting to gather 11 points. She also had one rebound and one assist.

Swann and Dew were difference-makers off the bench, which outscored the KU bench 32-2. The pair of first-year players accounted for 28 of the 32 points for the Wildcats.

Swann returned to a reserve role last Thursday against Kansas State after starting three games. It seemed to suit her. She had a team-high 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including going 3 for 5 from the 3-point line. She grabbed four boards and one steal in 27 minutes.

Dew showed the kind of offensive aggressiveness she isn’t known for, hitting from outside and in the paint. She scored a career-high 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting. She hit 2 of 3 shots from beyond the arc and went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line. She filled the stat sheet with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

The 3-point shooting was on for most of the lineup. The Wildcats went 6-for-14 from outside in the first half to open up a 37-23 lead after 20 minutes. They ended the game 9 for 22 from 3-point range with even Beh connecting on an outside shot. It kept the distance between themselves and a Jayhawks team that was just 2 for 14 from outside.

Advertisement

On Thursday against K-State, Arizona had stretches of moving the ball well but also reverted to old habits of overdribbling and holding onto the ball. After that, Barnes pointed to improvements and said they wanted to see a little more of those gains each game. The Wildcats avoided that against the Jayhawks, leading to 18 assists on 27 made buckets. KU had just six assists.

In their game in Manhattan, the Wildcats started cold as ice. They were down 8-0 before hitting their first bucket with 4:12 left in the opening quarter. They turned that on its head in Lawrence.

UA opened on an 8-2 run in the first four minutes of the first period. It had its first double-digit lead at 19-9 when Dew hit her first 3-point shot at the 1:25 mark.

The Wildcats’ biggest lead of the half came when Paris hit a layup with 26 seconds left in the second quarter to go ahead by 16. They went into the locker room up by 14.

The third quarter started a bit shaky with two straight turnovers, but Arizona settled down. KU got the lead down to 10 a couple of times in the period but could never cut it to single digits. Jayhawks star S’Mya Nichols hit a 3 at the buzzer but the Wildcats still led by 12 going to the final 10 minutes.

Advertisement

The Jayhawks cut the lead to 10 twice to open the fourth quarter, but Williams responded each time with a bucket on the other end. The Arizona lead never dropped below 12 points again. The Wildcats’ largest lead of 17 came on a Paris jumper with 18 seconds to go.

Arizona improved to 12-8 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12. Kansas moved to 12-6 on the year and 2-5 in conference play.

The Wildcats and Colorado are tied with the ninth-best records in the league, half a game behind Arizona’s next opponent. Arizona was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12.

The Cincinnati Bearcats (11-5, 3-3 Big 12) come to McKale Center on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

This story will be updated.

Advertisement



Source link

Arizona

Conservative think tank challenges Arizona AG on rental price-fixing records

Published

on

Conservative think tank challenges Arizona AG on rental price-fixing records


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A conservative-leaning think tank is suing Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes over her office’s refusal to fully disclose records related to allegations of rental price-fixing involving major landlords and a property management software company.

The Goldwater Institute filed a public records lawsuit against Mayes, demanding she reveal how many people have filed complaints related to the allegations.

In a news release, the think tank said Mayes has refused to state how many Arizonans claimed the alleged conspiracy actually harmed them.

In February 2024, the AG’s office sued nine landlords, including Avenue5, Greystar, RPM Living, and Weider. State officials also named RealPage, a property management software company, in the lawsuit, alleging it colluded with others to inflate rental prices across metro Phoenix.

Advertisement

The Goldwater Institute said it had requested full complaint records from Mayes’ office but reportedly only received a numerical count of complaints, without the underlying records.

“I firmly believe in vindicating Arizona’s Public Records Law, which exists to ensure that government remains accountable to the people it serves,” said Michael Bloom, an attorney for the American Freedom Network, which is representing the Goldwater Institute. “Transparency is the cornerstone of public trust.”

Goldwater officials said the AG’s office claimed the information was confidential, but they argue it is not protected under public records law.

The think tank also noted that Mayes’ lawsuit mirrors similar cases filed by other Democratic attorneys general, and partnered with a private law firm to pursue the case, similar to approaches taken in those other states.

Last year, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, accusing it of an illegal scheme that allowed landlords to coordinate and hike up rent prices.

Advertisement

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Arizona

Arizona presses for federal help as new report reveals $33.5M loss in floods

Published

on

Arizona presses for federal help as new report reveals .5M loss in floods


GLOBE, AZ (AZFamily) — Arizona lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have sent a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to swiftly approve Gov. Katie Hobbs’ request for a major disaster declaration for Gila and Mohave counties.

The move brings hope to communities like Globe, which are grappling with the aftermath of destructive and deadly floods in September and October.

Globe Mayor Al Gameros expressed his appreciation for the bipartisan effort.

“It’s amazing that letter was written in this shorter period of time,” Gameros said. “I’m glad that it’s a bipartisan letter. I’m glad that it’s urging the president to immediately sign this and not delay it, because it is important to our rural community.”

Advertisement

Included in the correspondence is a newly released damage assessment compiled by FEMA, the state, and local leaders.

The assessment of the two counties details significant destruction, including that 312 homes were damaged, with 64 destroyed, 89 suffering major damage, and 159 receiving minor damage. The total estimated loss in dollars is $33,579,081.

Gameros noted the challenges communities face in securing aid.

“We (other mayors) tried to learn, at the same time, learning what the complexity of filing for reimbursement,” he said.

He explained that while the state will reimburse towns up to 75% of costs, federal approval could mean up to 90% is paid back.

Advertisement

Now, Gameros is anxiously awaiting the Trump administration’s decision, hoping that if the disaster declaration is approved, the process won’t be slow.

“That would really put a hurt in our community as far as us being able to move forward,” he said.

In the meantime, he said they have restaurants open in Globe and urges Arizonans to pay them a visit.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Arizona

Kansas football bowl projections following Big 12 Conference loss on road against Arizona

Published

on

Kansas football bowl projections following Big 12 Conference loss on road against Arizona


play

LAWRENCE — Kansas football lost 24-20 on the road this past weekend against Arizona.

The Big 12 Conference defeat saw the Jayhawks (5-5, 3-4 in Big 12) come up short on what could have been the day it became bowl eligible this season. Coach Lance Leipold and company gave up a late lead against the Wildcats and suffered a disappointing defeat. Bowl eligibility is still possible, as KU navigates an open week, but with the loss, reaching that point has become all the more challenging.

Advertisement

Before Kansas’ season resumes Nov. 22 on the road against Iowa State, here are some bowl projections for the Jayhawks:

This projection places Kansas in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, scheduled for December 26 in Dallas, Texas. It would put the Jayhawks up against Boise State (6-3, 4-1 in Mountain West Conference). Boise State most recently lost against Fresno State, but is still in contention to play for its conference title.

These projections place Kansas in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, scheduled for December 30 in Shreveport, Louisiana. One has KU facing Kennesaw State (7-2, 5-0 in Conference USA), while the other has KU facing Louisiana Tech (5-4, 3-3 in Conference USA). Kennesaw State beat Louisiana Tech earlier this season.

This projection places Kansas in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, which is set for Dec. 23 in Frisco, Texas. It would put the Jayhawks up against California (6-4, 3-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference). California is coming off of a win against now-No. 21 Louisville.

Advertisement

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending