No. 18 Arizona uses balance to beat Long Beach St. 86-64

TUCSON (AP) — Esmery Martinez scored 19 points and Jade Loville scored 18 points and No. 18 Arizona beat Long Beach State 86-64 on Sunday.

Arizona broke open a close game outscoring Long Beach State 28-12 in the fourth quarter.

Shaina Pellington scored 15 points for the Wildcats (4-0), Cate Reese scored 14 and Lauren Fields 10. Arizona’s starters all reached double figures and combined to shoot 27 for 55 while its bench shot 4 for 6. Arizona had nine players enter the scoring column.

The Beach led 16-10 after the first quarter and started the second with a 9-2 run for a 13-point lead before Arizona proceeded to outscore Long Beach State 28-14 over the final eight minutes of the half for a 40-39 lead at halftime.

It’s the fourth-straight season the Wildcats have won their first four contests. Last year they won their first 11, seven the year before that and 13 in the 2019-20 season.

Malia Bambrick scored 14 points and Tori Harris 12 for the Beach (1-2).

___

AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25