TUCSON, Ariz. – In her second career game at Arizona, Aari McDonald tied the single-game school record with a career-high 39 points tonight, but it was not enough as Loyola Marymount (2-0) hung on to beat the Arizona Wildcats (1-1) 66-64 in McKale Center on Tuesday night.
 
The Lions took the lead in the first quarter and never gave it back, keeping the Wildcats at a distance for most of the game. LMU's defense did a good job holding the rest of the Wildcats at bay, forcing Arizona to shoot 31% from the field as a team. The Lions also did a good job on the offensive glass, bringing down 18 offensive rebounds. Jasmine Jones led the way for LMU with 19 points off the bench.
 
Loyola Marymount took a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter on the back of a 14-1 run to end the period and held the Wildcats to 8% shooting. The second quarter was even on both ends, but the Lions went into the locker room with some momentum after hitting a buzzer-beating three to take a 36-24 lead.
 
Arizona fought back and scored 18 points in the third quarter, but LMU was able to keep up and scored 17 themselves and took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter. That's where things got interesting.
 
The Wildcats took advantage of the early bonus and got to the line 13 times in the fourth quarter, making 11 of them. Arizona cut the lead to one with 15 seconds left after Dominique McBryde sunk an open layup. LMU made a pair of free throws to go up three and fouled McDonald on the ensuing possession. She made one and intentionally missed the second, but the ball tipped off LMU and the Wildcats had a chance down two with the ball and one second left. Cate Reese got a look on a fadeaway jumper in the paint, but the shot didn't fall to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
 
The Cats hit the road tomorrow morning to travel to Honolulu for the Bank of Hawaii Classic. Arizona will take the court against Seattle on Friday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. MST.
 
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