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SALT LAKE CITY — Big-time players show up in big-time moments.
For BYU women's basketball, Paisley Johnson Harding was a big-time player in the 11th-seeded Cougars' first-round upset of Rutgers at the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
Arizona's Aari McDonald was the big-time player in Round 2.
McDonald had 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals to help the third-seeded Wildcats hold off the Cougars 52-46 on Wednesday evening at the UTSA Convocation Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Cate Reese had 12 points and five rebounds for Arizona (18-5), which shot just 34% from the field but forced 15 turnovers — including 11 steals — in its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1998.
The Wildcats held BYU to one field goal in the final 5:11.
No team led by more than 5 in a game marked by defense, including the two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year McDonald, a finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
BYU held the Wildcats to just 3 points over a 10:33 span bridging the third and fourth quarters, taking a 43-39 advantage with 5:03 left in the game.
But McDonald doubled Arizona's scoring output in that stretch with one 3-pointer, and Sam Thomas drained another 3 with 3:43 to go that gave the lead right back to the Wildcats.
BYU's Tegan Graham cut the deficit back to 1 with her third 3-pointer, but the Cougars never led again.
Shaylee Gonzales had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead BYU, which got 13 points, five rebounds and three assists from Graham. Lauren Gustin added 8 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars (19-6).
"Our team did great at the beginning," Gonzales said. "Our defense was offense, our offense went well. But then we switched up our defense a bit, went from man to a box-and-one, and broke the press well. Then we let them come back into the game, and they hit a bunch of 3s. I feel like the fourth quarter went by like that; it slipped out of our hands."
The Cougars proved they could hang with one of the best defensive teams in the country, holding the Wildcats down for lengthy scoring droughts and holding lead as high as 4 points with five minutes to go.
But Arizona is one of the best defensive teams in the country — the best, if you ask BYU coach Jeff Judkins — and proved it in the final moments.
Perhaps, then, it was fitting when McDonald picked off a pass and raced for a bucket in transition with three seconds left as the Cougars looked for an open 3 in the final minutes, down 4.
"I totally believed in my team," Gonzales said of the Cougars' mid-fourth-quarter lead. "It's so unfortunate; it's very frustrating, to have that lead and to lose it. But I'm so proud of my team for how we played today."
Of BYU's 15 turnovers, Arizona forced 11 of them. On the flip side, the Cougars forced just three of the Wildcats' nine turnovers.
"I think we need to be a little more aggressive defensively," Judkins said. "We were more playing personnel and trying to play team defense.
"I think next year, we can do better at pressuring into them. I have some players who can do that. But of all the teams I've had at BYU, this is probably the most well-rounded. We're a very good defensive team, and a very good offensive team.
Two days after going off for 28 points in a 69-66 upset victory over Rutgers, Harding was held to just 2 points and four rebounds. The senior fell on her hand in the first half, and finished shooting just 1 of 9 in 22 minutes.
Such is the disadvantage of facing two of the top defensive guards in the country in McDonald and Shaina Pellington.
"I think Arizona did a good job on her," Judkins said. "Her hand's a little sore after she fell down on it, and she can't do as many things as she wanted to. But I think she showed a lot of heart. That's what team basketball is all about. That's what she is: she's a special, special player. I'm so lucky to be able to have somebody like that."
Arizona advanced to face No. 2 Texas A&M, which held off 84-82 in overtime. Tipoff in the Sweet 16 is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. MDT.
