Probable starters
ARIZONA
G Shaina Pellington (5-8 senior)
G/F Jade Loville (5-11 senior)
F Esmery Martinez (6-2 senior)
F Lauren Fields (5-9 senior)
F Cate Reese (6-2 senior)
UTAH
G Kennady McQueen (5-10 sophomore)
G Gianna Kneepkens (5-11 sophomore)
F Jenna Johnson (6-2 sophomore)
G Ines Vieira (5-6 sophomore)
F Alissa Pili (6-2 senior)
History of matchup
Arizona is 10-20 against Utah in the series. The Wildcats are on a five-game series winning streak. Last season they played one game against each other, on Jan. 21 in Tucson. It was a Sam Thomas 3-point shooting clinic as she knocked down six of them (tying a UA career high) and finished with 25 points — her season high. Arizona won 76-64. Utah entered that one scoring a Pac-12-leading 84.7 points per game, but the Arizona defense went to work and limited them to 20 points under their average. The Wildcats rebounded after losing a close one to Oregon, 68-66 in overtime, to dominate Utah.
Two years earlier in Salt Lake City, Thomas put up 31 points to lead Arizona in an 85-69 win. She took over when Aari McDonald was out with a foot injury.
Key players
Utah – Alissa Pili
Pili has elevated her game this season in a Ute uniform. The USC transfer landed in the right spot with enough firepower (Johnson, McQueen, Kneepkens) around her to give her space to do her own thing. The Alaska native is averaging 19.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. She has scored at least 14 points in 14 of 15 games. She is shooting at a 62.8% clip from the field and 40.6% from the three. Pili also scored her 1,000th-point earlier this season. She is on multiple midseason watch lists for national awards from best forward to player of the year.
Arizona guard Madison Conner stretches to defend an inlet pass to Kansas forward Ioanna Chatzileonti in the second quarter of their game at McKale Center on Dec. 8, 2022.
Arizona – Madi Conner
Conner has slowly grown into a reserve that provides the spark the Wildcats need, and not just as a shooter. The sophomore has been the catalyst for Arizona on both ends of the court. Over the last four Pac-12 games, Conner is averaging 11.5 points. During that stretch, she has gone 8 for 16 from the 3-point line, 13 of 24 from the field (54.2%) overall and is perfect from the free-throw line (12 of 12). In Friday night’s loss to Colorado, Conner led the fourth-quarter rally with five points, a block and a defensive rebound. In the win over Oregon, she scored eight points, grabbed three defensive rebounds, dished two assists and blocked a shot in the final frame. With those types of stats, plus the intangibles of communicating and hustling, she’s seen an uptick in her minutes, playing 26 against Colorado.
She said it
“We talked about this at the beginning of the year: (Utah) is underrated, because they can always score so well. (Coach) Lynne (Roberts) does a good job. They always can just score the heck out of the ball. I think they’re playing better defense this year. We could do well in transition — moving Pili away from the basket and making her guard our on-ball stuff. That’s where we can be successful.”
—UA coach Adia Barnes
Sidelines
Not giving up: Loville never gets rattled. Not when a hand is in her face while she attempts a jumper — like in the Oregon game — or when her shot isn’t falling, as was the case early against Colorado. Against Oregon, she grinded out 13 points. She put up 12 on Friday against Colorado.
“Teams are obviously going to play me a little bit closer now,” Loville said. “Looking at the percentages of the threes (40.6%) and the shots (42.1%) that I take, it was given that I was going to be played a little bit harder.
“I did force some shots, and I think (it’s) finding that balance in between (where) I can make tough shots but some (instances) I can put it on the floor and create for somebody else. That’s something that I can do to take my game to the next level.
“I practice taking tough shots. I shoot a lot, and I think just staying in my shot and having that confidence when I shoot is what helps me.”
Arizona guard Jade Loville, left, eyes the basket as Long Beach State guard Ma'Qhi Berry defends in the first half on Nov. 20, 2022, at McKale Center.
Utah’s community service: The Utes started a community program — “Utes Beyond the Paint” — to serve the neediest in Salt Lake City. Each week there is an activity with the team and the organization that is highlighted — Food Justice Coalition, Salt Lake City Food Bank, Show Up Utah Unified Sports, the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge — will be invited to the games.
The student-athletes kicked off the program Wednesday with a bingo night for residents of the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. Roberts and her family are donating $100 for each 3-pointer the Utes make during games to the organization of the week.
Deal of the century: Utah had a flash sale on Thursday: a $10 conference pack for the seven home Pac-12 games left on the schedule — Arizona, USC, No. 8 UCLA, UW, WSU, Cal and No. 2 Stanford. Sounds like a great deal to us.
Fun facts
Arizona: Barnes was a clue in last week’s Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. The clue for 34 across was: Arizona Wildcats coach Barnes.
Utah: McQueen is a legacy; her mom, Melanee, played for the Utes … Utah is fourth nationally in scoring, averaging 87.3 points per game. … Utah has not lost at home this season.
Numbers game
7 — Arizona class of 2023 commit Jada Williams finished with multiple of sevens — 14 points, seven rebounds, seven steals — to claim MVP honors in the Spalding Hoophall Classic on Friday night. She led La Jolla Country Day to a 64-47 win over New York Christ the King.
2 — Kneepkens is the second player in Utah history to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Dre’Una Edwards, who is now with Baylor, earned the honor in 2019. Pili took the nod in 2020 while she was at USC.
9 — Utah has been ranked in AP’s Top 25 poll for nine consecutive weeks. That puts this year’s squad in a tie for the school record, which was set during the 2001 season.
The University of Arizona once had a live "Wildcat" mascot; however, the current mascot ─ with a few changes that include wife, Wilma, along the way ─ Wilbur the Wildcat has been a favorite around Tucson for more than 60 years.
