TUCSON, Ariz. – Malena Washington poured in a career high 21 points and freshman A'Shanti Coleman added nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks as the Arizona Wildcats beat Pacific 69-56 Saturday afternoon at McKale Center.

The Wildcats moved to 6-1 on the season and 4-0 at home with the victory. Coach Niya Butts' team shot 48 percent from the field and hit six of 13 from 3-point range after entering the game as the top long distance shooting team in the country. Arizona held Pacific to just 22 percent shooting from deep and 35 percent from the floor.

“I was really proud of our defensive effort,” Butts said. “I am just really proud of this group. We share the ball really well. We had 19 assists on 25 made field goals, which is something that can certainly be called teamwork. We shot the ball from the field really well. I am proud of this group. We are going into some days off here, much needed rest. This is day six in a row for us so we will get that rest and then we are on to the next. We will get ready for our next game which is Louisiana Tech.”

The Wildcats led 30-26 at the half in a back-and-forth 20 minutes. The first quarter saw 10 lead changes and eventually ended with Arizona leading 19-18.

Early in the second quarter, both teams continued to match each other. The teams traded buckets to start the quarter with Taryn Griffey connecting on a layup for the Wildcats. Leading 21-20, Coleman hit a basket to put the Wildcats up three. After an answer from the Tigers, Keyahndra Cannon hit a layup to put the Wildcats back up three.

The Wildcats hit 11 of their first 18 shots to start, which spanned into the second quarter. Arizona extended its lead to six after a Coleman free throw and a Farrin Bell basket. Pacific (4-4) hit back-to-back baskets to cut it to two, but Lauren Evans hit a jumper with 18 seconds left in the half to put the Wildcats up four at the break.

Even in a close half, Arizona controlled most of the play, leading for more than 15 of the 20 minutes in the half.

Coleman, a freshman making her seventh straight start, gave the Wildcats valuable minutes in the first half. The freshman finished the first with seven points, five rebounds, three blocks and two assists in 15 minutes. She finished the half just one point shy of her career high of eight set against Howard last month. She showed off her ability on the defensive end all game with the four blocks and seven rebounds.

“She is just so long when she has her hands up,” Butts said of Coleman. “She doesn't have the biggest frame, and we have been trying to get her to be a little bit more physical and pick up a little bit more weight. But she was much more effective today. She watched film with (assistant coach Calamity McEntire) earlier this week and saw some things she could be doing differently, especially in turns of rebounding the basketball. Today, she game out and had seven big ones for us."

Washington, who had five points in 13 minutes in the first half, started to take over in the second half as the Wildcats expanded their lead. After Pacific hit a 3-pointer to open the half, Arizona went on a 10-2 run to create separation. Washington hit a 3-pointer to start the run and Breanna Workman followed with back-to-back layups to extend the lead to 37-29. The Tigers responded with a bucket to cut it to six, but Washington hit another deep ball to make it a nine-point lead.

Later in the third quarter, Washington hit another three to give Arizona its first double digit lead of the game at 49-38. The Wildcats continued to put pressure on the Tigers in the fourth quarter and again extended their lead. Arizona outscored Pacific in each quarter in the win.

Washington was six of 10 from the field and five of eight from 3-point range. She knocked in all four of her free throws and also had three assists in 26 minutes. The 21 points passed her previous career high of 17, which was set last game against New Mexico State.

"It felt good to help my team get over the hump going into the second half,” Washington said. “I know it was close going into the second half, so hitting those threes in a crucial time to give us that momentum felt really good."

The junior guard's 21 points helped the Arizona bench finish with 40 points and post a +15 advantage over the Tigers. Arizona will play next on Thursday against Louisiana Tech and look to move to 7-1.

“After seven games I think we are starting to play together as a team and starting to build our chemistry,” Washington said. “Our communication can be there sometimes, but it needs to be there all the time."