Martinez, Pellington lead No. 19 Arizona women in opener

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Esmery Martinez scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Shaina Pellington scored 20 points and five other players scored in double figures as No. 19 Arizona opened its season with a 113-56 romp past Northern Arizona on Thursday night.

Pellington scored 14 points and Martinez, a transfer from West Virginia, had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double in the first half when the Wildcats shot 55% and raced to a 56-26 lead. They had a 21-0 run early in the second quarter.

The Lumberjacks shot 28% with 11 turnovers and were doubled up on the boards.

Things didn’t change in a second half that included an 11-0 run in a 35-point third quarter. Arizona finished 8 of 14 from 3-point range and shot 54% overall with a rebounding advantage of 20, with 22 offensive boards. The Wildcats also scored 35 points off 24 turnovers.

Sophie Glancey scored 11 points to lead Northern Arizona (0-2). The Lumberjacks finished at 34%.

Arizona, which has a string of four-straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history, will be without Lauren Ware all season after she suffered a patellar dislocation in an August workout. She had the same injury in December and missed five games but elected to have surgery after the recent injury.

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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