Arizona Wildcats (15-10, 6-6) at No. 20 Oklahoma State Cowgirls (19-4, 9-3) | 5:30 p.m. Wednesday | Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Oklahoma | ESPN+ | 1400—AM
She said it
Arizona coach Adia Barnes on Oklahoma State: “They really pack it in defensively. …sometimes we struggle against a sagging, really pack line defense. They can shoot the ball. (I’m) concerned a little bit with some of our matchups on the perimeter because Isis (Beh) is going to guard a three – the difference is she’s going to receive flare screens, receive on balls. She’s a guard so that’s a tough matchup for us.
“They are just a good team but I think they are definitely beatable. Houston beat them but I think they’re good. If we let them get open 3s and we don’t read the defense … initially, it’s going to be a long night.”
On the sidelines
Weather: The original plan was for the Wildcats to fly out of Tucson on a charter to Stillwater, OK, early Tuesday afternoon. Arizona still got out but the weather was throwing a wrinkle in the travel plans.
“We’re going there in perfect timing,” Barnes said Monday afternoon. “(There’s) going to be an ice storm, so we’re already diverting.”
A wintry mix sleet and snow fell Monday night into Tuesday, with the bulk of the storm hitting all day Wednesday.
The National Weather Service predicts there could be an inch of snow/sleet, plus ice.
Getting scouted: In a video of practice last week when UA assistant Bett Shelby was mic’d up, Beh asked her coach if she was on their opponents’ scouting report.
Arizona Wildcats forward Isis Beh (33) goes into a crowd of Arizona State guard Makayla Moore (12) forward Kennedy Basham (0) and guard Tyi Skinner (3) in pursuit of a rebound in their Big 12 game, Tucson, Ariz., February 8, 2025.
The do-it-all sixth senior forward has nothing to be concerned about.
Other coaches have noticed.
When Cincinnati coach Katrina Merriweather was talking about Breya Cunningham ahead of the matchup with Arizona, she dropped in the conversation, “Putting (Breya) and Isis on the floor together, as active as she is, I think we’ve got a four-five combo there that can cause us a problem.”
Ahead of the Kansas State game, coach Jeff Mittie talked about Arizona’s frontline of Cunningham and Beh and how “physical and big” they were.
Just look at the numbers so far this season from the reserve turned starter.
All seven of her made 3s have come in conference play. She is shooting 51% from the field this season. Across the league games, she is averaging nine points and has made 20 of 25 free throws. She has 17 steals, is averaging 2.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds. Then, there are all the things that don’t get into the stat sheet. She’s helped her team make comebacks and has been aggressive on both ends of the court.
Barnes said Beh has done everything she’s asked of her this season.
Connections: Moving to the Big 12, there has been a lot of familiar faces and on the other bench in Gallagher-Iba Arena, it will be the same Wednesday night.
Former UA assistant Ashley Davis is an OSU assistant. She spent two seasons in Tucson before bouncing back to Stillwater. Davis was at OSU for six seasons before joining the Arizona staff.
Sierra Bone, a former UA grad assistant for two seasons, including the NCAA Tournament run, is OSU’s Director of Branding and Player Influence.
In addition, senior guard Anna Gret Asi, who is a native of Estonia, played her freshman season at UA. She is averaging 11.9 points and 2.9 assists per game.
“That's one that's going to be really sad for me,” Barnes said of Asi. “I look back and I’m like 'Oh, she would have really helped us,’ but we were so loaded at the time. She's a great, wonderful human being and a good player. It was just we had so many guards at that time that was right after championship (run in 2021). She's a good player. She could shoot the 3. She has a really nice hesitation. All the reasons why I recruited her. I’m happy for her. She’s had a great career.”
Flu game: OSU beat then-No. 12 Kansas State by 30, 85-55, Saturday. The program earned NCAA’s Team of the Week for the win as Asi led the way with 24 points — all coming on 3s.
OSU coach Jacie Hoyt likened it to Michael Jordan’s flu game as her squad — including Asi — was wiped out with the flu.
Next level: We’re starting to see the early stages of the next level of Jada Williams’ game.
All season, she’s been playing through a nagging Achilles injury, which at times is affecting her shot. It’s hard to plant your feet and drive through your legs for your shot when there is pain. She’s been trying different treatments and hoping that something works.
With this comes playing smarter in other ways. For example, the gritty sophomore point guard is now understanding that “some games the ball is not going to go in the hoop and that’s OK.”
“Just figure out ways to get the ball moving,” Williams said. “Getting it to different people, having other people score.”
She’s also learning that when one shot isn’t falling, like her 3 against ASU on Saturday afternoon, she’s got two other options – the mid-range jumper and driving to the basket.
“When something isn’t working, go to the next thing,” Williams said. “I think I’ve grown a lot with that. Just staying consistent with that is important for us.”
By the numbers
58.3: The Cowgirls are holding their opponents to 58.3 points per game.
18.4: Arizona is scoring 18.4 points per game off opponents’ turnovers.
34: Cunningham has already surpassed her total defensive rebounds from last season by 34 — 132 this season; 98 last year.
