No. 13 Arizona beats No. 4 Stanford 73-72 in overtime

 Aari McDonald scored on a driving layup with 8.5 seconds left and had 20 points, lifting No. 13 Arizona to a 73-72 overtime victory over No. 4 Stanford Friday night.

The Wildcats (23-5, 13-5 Pac-12) rallied from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter with a short run in the fourth to take the lead. McDonald had a chance to win it in regulation, but her 3-pointer hit the front rim and bounced out.

Arizona hit consecutive 3-pointers to go up 71-64 in overtime, but the Cardinal answered with an 8-0 run, going up 72-71 on Lexie Hull's corner 3. After McDonald's basket gave Arizona the lead in the closing seconds, Kiana Williams' runner on Stanford's final shot came up short.

Sam Thomas added 17 points, helping Arizona end a nine-game losing streak to Stanford.

Williams had 27 points for the Cardinal (24-5, 13-4), who had 22 turnovers that led to 23 Arizona points.

The Cardinal and Wildcats already locked up first-round byes for the Pac-12 Tournament, which will be played March 5-8. Both were coming off losses; Stanford to No. 3 Oregon, Arizona to Utah.

Stanford got Friday's game off to a shaky start, turning it over three teams while needing more than three minutes to score. The Cardinal had six turnovers and shot 4 of 14 in the opening quarter.

Arizona also was shaky early before finding an offensive rhythm, hitting six of its final eight shots to lead 18-11 after one quarter.

The Cardinal starting hitting shots in the second quarter — when they weren't turning it over — rallying to pull within 28-26 at halftime behind Williams' 13 points. Stanford had 12 turnovers in the first half, one shy of its season average.

The Cardinal opened the third quarter with two straight turnovers, but locked down Arizona defensively, holding the Wildcats scoreless over the first 5 1/2 minutes. Arizona made three 3-pointers in the final 2:58 to pull within 47-42.

The Wildcats went on a 9-0 run to go up 54-52, but went three minutes without a field as Stanford took the lead back.

BIG PICTURE

The Cardinal were doomed by turnovers to lose for the second time in the past 35 games against Arizona.

The Wildcats picked up another marquee win in a season already filled with them.