Layana White isn't exactly known for her three-point shooting prowess.
At least, not outside of the Arizona locker room.
Entering Sunday's game against Oregon, White was 2 of 13 from long range.
But that changed against the Ducks. The sophomore went 4 for 4 from the outside in a 100-68 win for the Wildcats at McKale Center.
"I was just more confident today," White said.
White started for Kama Griffitts, Arizona's second-leading scorer who was out for personal reasons, and paced the Wildcats with a career-high 16 points, 14 in the first half.
Her first three-pointer of the day led a barrage of long-range jumpers for the UA. After White's first with 18:34 remaining, over the next 9 1/2 minutes Arizona hit 7 of 13 three-pointers to take a 30-17 lead. Both White and Davellyn Whyte hit threes in that span, and Arizona didn't even hit its first two-point field goal until White hit a floater with 8:16 left in the half. The Wildcats led the Ducks 55-34 at halftime.
"That sparked us in the first half," coach Niya Butts said of White's early three-pointers. "She was flying in there getting her hand on loose balls and was really aggressive. She sparked the whole thing. And sometimes shooting is a confidence thing. One person is hitting them, the other person is hitting them. At some point, you think you're gonna hit some. That's what happened."
Arizona (10-5, 2-2 Pac-12) finished with 12 three-pointers on 27 attempts and outscored the Ducks (2-14, 0-4) 45-34 in the second half for the Wildcats' highest scoring output since they scored 109 against Oregon in 2010.
"Well, with their style of play you're always gonna score a lot," said Whyte, who recorded 13 points and six assists. "Now that we've changed the way we play - we like the fast tempo and the bigs and scoring guards were hitting shots outside - it was bound to happen."
It was a far cry from Arizona's performance against Oregon State on Friday, when the Wildcats missed their first 12 shots, trailed 24-22 at the half and scored 48 points in a nine-point loss.
White and junior forward Alli Gloyd struggled in that game, combining to shoot 2 for 15 with four points, but bounced back nicely against the Ducks. Gloyd led the Wildcats with 17 points and nine rebounds, and White added four rebounds and a steal.
"I think Layana - from an energy stand point, from what we wanna do differently and what we want to do in our game plan - I think we're gonna try and get her some more minutes," Butts said.
Arizona returns to action Friday, when it faces Utah in Salt Lake City at 7 p.m.
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