Candice Warthen had never experienced a win over powerhouse Stanford in her four years at Arizona. In fact, no Arizona team had beaten the Cardinal since 2004.
That all changed on Sunday when Warthen hit a go-ahead jumper with three seconds remaining in Arizona women’s basketball’s 60-57 victory over No. 12 Stanford in McKale Center. It was the UA’s first win over a ranked opponent this season.
Down one with eight seconds left, Arizona inbounded the ball to Warthen. The senior point guard dribbled into the lane before letting go of a floater that swished through the net.
Stanford turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, and Warthen sealed the game with two free throws. The Wildcats jumped and hugged in celebration, joined by a few students who rushed the court.
The win moved the Wildcats to 9-14 overall and 2-10 in Pac-12 Conference play.
“This is a great win for us,” Warthen said. “For me, it’s also frustrating, because we can play with the teams in the Pac-12. We can play with the best of them.”
While Warthen led the team with 19 points and nine rebounds, Breanna Workman was just as vital, scoring 17 points on 8-13 attempts. Workman, at 6-foot-1, continuously attacked the Cardinal inside, leading Arizona to a 26-20 advantage on points in the paint.
“[Workman] had a huge game against Stanford [in Palo Alto], so I wasn’t shocked today,” Arizona head coach Niya Butts said. “She’s capable, but we just have to get that on a more consistent basis.”
Arizona’s chances of pulling off the historic upset didn’t look promising for much of the day. The Wildcats shot just 25 percent in the first half and trailed 30-18 at halftime.
The UA made some adjustments on both sides of the ball out of the locker room and incrementally cut into the deficit.
Arizona fell behind 57-50 with 1:17 left after momentarily grabbing the lead. That’s when the Wildcats’ clutch gene came into effect — first a 3-pointer by Charise Holloway and then a jumper from Warthen with 38 seconds to go.
Stanford missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Warthen drew contact on the other end to earn a trip to the charity stripe. She made the first and missed the second, but Stanford dribbled the ball out of bounds, giving the possession back to Arizona.
That mistake set up Warthen’s game-winner.
The Wildcats fell 65-46 to Cal on Friday night in a contest that was never close from the beginning. Behind a trio of 3-pointers, the Bears took a 17-8 lead midway through the first half, and that margin grew to 33-16 by halftime.
Arizona got off to an ice-cold start from the field, making just three of its first 19 attempts, and committed 13 first-half turnovers.
The Wildcats heated up in the second half, but sloppy play and lack of interior defense allowed Cal to maintain a comfortable distance down the stretch. The lead grew to as many as 26 points with under six minutes to go.
UA forward LaBrittney Jones contributed 13 points and seven rebounds, and Warthen led the team in scoring with 17 points.
Warthen was honored as the program’s 18th 1,000-point scorer before the game.
“That’s a huge accomplishment,” Warthen said. “Not many people can do that, and I’m just thankful and blessed to have these tremendous offensive abilities.”
Two days later, Warthen scored some of the biggest points of her career and further sealed her legacy in the program.
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