March Madness 2022: Arizona outlasts UNLV in women's tourney opener

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Arizona looked like the inexperienced team early, not one that played for a national championship a year ago. Even when the Wildcats shook off the jitters, they had a hard time pulling away from UNLV.

Once the fourth quarter arrived, Shaina Pellington and Cate Reese took over, making sure Arizona's long-awaited NCAA Tournament homecoming wasn't a dud.

Pellington and Reese scored all but two of Arizona's points in the fourth quarter, leading the Wildcats to a gritty 72-67 win over UNLV on Saturday night in the opening round of the women's NCAA Tournament.

Pellington finished with 30 points and Reese had 16 after missing the previous three games with a separated shoulder.

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Arizona forward Cate Reese (25) moves around UNLV center Desi-Rae Young (23) while looking for a shot during a first-round game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Tucson, Ariz. (Rebecca Sasnett/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

"When the game was on the line, we needed to come together as a team and get some stops," said Pellington, who had four assists and four steals. "We needed to connect stops with scores and that’s what we did."

The Wildcats (21-7), the No. 4 seed in the Greensboro Region, were jittery early in their first home NCAA Tournament game since 1998, when coach Adia Barnes was still playing. Arizona bounced back after Barnes went deep into her bench — 11 players in the first half — but had a hard time shaking UNLV even as the McKale Center crowd roared.

Two of Arizona's best players were the difference down the stretch.

Taking turns late, Pellington and Reese keyed a 15-3