Arizona’s Cate Reese, right, will need to have one of her best games of the year for the Wildcats to hang with mighty UConn on Friday.

 Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

The Arizona women’s basketball team’s dream season continues Monday, when the third-seeded Wildcats face fourth-seeded Indiana in the Mercado Region championship.

Both the Wildcats are Hoosiers are playing in their first-ever Elite Eight.

β€œWe’re ready to make more history,” said UA star Aari McDonald, who scored 31 points in Arizona’s Sweet 16 win over Texas A&M on Saturday. β€œThe sky’s the limit. We want to get to the championship game.”

Added McDonald: β€œNobody believed in us. … It’s been a wonderful ride, but it’s not over yet.”

How did Arizona get to this point?

Here’s a look at the biggest moments of the Wildcats’ season:

Sept. 16: The NCAA pushes back start of college basketball season to Nov. 25. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then-unavailable daily rapid testing kits for student-athletes, the Pac-12 postpones all sports until January.

Sept. 24: The Pac-12’s CEO group votes to play football starting Nov. 6, with the men’s and women’s basketball seasons beginning on Nov. 25. The Pac-12 says no fans will be allowed until at least January.

Oct. 15: The Pac-12 announces more conference games will be added to the men’s and women’s basketball seasons. The men’s season will have 20 conference games, while the women will have 22 with room for nonconference opponents.

Nov. 10: The Wildcats check in at No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll β€” the program’s highest-ever preseason ranking. McDonald is named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list after claiming the accolade as the top shooting guard in women’s college basketball.

Nov. 17: UA is voted to finish second in the Pac-12’s preseason media poll. McDonald, wing Sam Thomas and forward Cate Reese are selected to the Pac-12’s preseason team.

Nov. 29: Arizona cruises past Northern Arizona 76-63 in the season opener. Reese scores 11 of her 18 points in the first quarter.

Dec. 4: The Wildcats open Pac-12 play with a 68-65 win over ninth-ranked UCLA, giving Adia Barnes her third win over a top-10 opponent since taking over as head coach.

Dec. 7: Arizona climbs to No. 6 in the AP 25 poll, the highest ranking in program history.

Jan. 1: Top-ranked Stanford beats Arizona by 27 points in McKale Center, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Jan. 14: No. 11 Arizona routs 10th-ranked Oregon 57-41 on ESPN. Calling it a β€œstatement win,” Arizona snaps a 10-game losing to the Ducks.

Jan. 23: Arizona cancels its game against Colorado because of COVID-19 issues within the UA program. Four days later, the Wildcats announce they will not travel to Los Angeles to play USC and UCLA.

Feb. 4: Arizona-Oregon State is postponed because of COVID-19 issues in the OSU program.

Feb. 8: After not playing a game for 17 consecutive days, Arizona returns to the hardwood and destroys No. 12 Oregon 79-59 in Eugene. Reese leads all scorers with 25 points. The win marks Arizona’s first victory in Eugene β€” and sweep of the Ducks β€” in a decade.

Former Arizona Wildcat Trinity Baptiste left Russia shortly after the country invaded Ukraine.

Feb. 14: McDonald plays her final home game as a Wildcat. The Wildcats beat Washington 75-53 behind the All-Pac-12 trio of McDonald, Reese and Thomas, who combine for 52 points.

Feb. 28: Arizona loses at ASU in overtime, concluding the regular season with a 13-4 record.

March 1: McDonald is named Pac-12 Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring (19.4) and steals (2.7), which no other player has accomplished. McDonald, Reese and Thomas are named to the All-Pac-12 First Team; Virginia Tech transfer Trinity Baptiste is an honorable mention selection, while Lauren Ware receives all-freshman honorable mention honors.

March 5: Arizona falls to UCLA in Pac-12 Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas.

March 15: Arizona qualifies for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. The Wildcats earn a No. 3-seed in the Mercado Region in San Antonio, with 14th-seeded Stony Brook as the first-round matchup. Former U.S. president Barack Obama predicts UA will make the Elite Eight.

March 18: Barnes signs a contract extension through the 2025-26 season.

March 22: Third-seeded Arizona uses its suffocating defense to beat 14th-seeded Stony Brook by 35 points. The UA forces 17 steals and 25 turnovers.

Wednesday: Arizona rallies to beat No. 11-seeded BYU in the second round, 52-46, and the Wildcats advance to their first Sweet 16 since 1998. McDonald’s late-game heroics on offense and defense carry the Wildcats.

Saturday: McDonald hits a career-high six 3-pointers and scores 31 points in a 74-59 win over second-seeded Texas A&M. The Wildcats advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.

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