No. 15 Arizona (12-1, 2-0) at No. 2 Stanford (14-1, 2-0)
12:30 p.m. • Maples Pavilion; Stanford, Calif. •Pac-12 Networks • 1400-AM
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)
STANFORD
G Haley Jones (6-1 senior)
F Cameron Brink (6-4 junior)
G Hannah Jump (6-0 senior)
F Kiki Iriafen (6-3 sophomore)
G Talana Lepolo (5-7 freshman)
Key players
Arizona – Kailyn Gilbert Coming off a tough game against ASU where she didn’t score, Kailyn Gilbert rebounded Saturday night. The freshman scored 10 points and grabbed two rebounds over 15 minutes. During a 12-0 UA run in the second quarter, Gilbert seven points on a layup, fast break and a 3-pointer. Gilbert won the UA’s “money” and “Energizer bunny” awards after the game, marking the first time she has won either of the awards. Gilbert is averaging 7.4 points per game this season and shooting 43% from the field.
Stanford – Haley Jones One of the most complete, all-around players in the nation, Jones can do it all — including playing point guard this season. She filled the stat sheet against ASU, scoring 16 points with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. Over the last seven games, Jones has swatted 5 of her 9 blocked shots, grabbed 8 of her 13 steals and dished 26 of her 56 assists. Jones is averaging 14 points during this time.
Matchup history
UA is 11-73 all-time against Stanford. The Wildcats have lost the last four matchups, including the one-point loss in the 2021 national championship game in San Antonio. Arizona has beaten Stanford just once during the Adia Barnes coaching era — a 73-72 overtime win in February of 2020 at McKale Center. Aari McDonald sunk a game-winning jumper with 9 seconds left. McDonald finished with 20 points, with 13 of them coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. Sam Thomas added17 points, dished six assists, grabbed two steals and blocked a shot in 43 minutes. Dominique McBryde had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She added two assists and a steal. Amari Carter chipped in 10 points and grabbed four steals.
She said it
“It was an ugly game, but we found a way to win. That’s why I am proud of us. We played defense. Our offense wasn’t going, but we figured it out and found a way to win. It’s going to be a really hard game against Stanford Monday. We have to play better than we did today. Just try to find a way to figure it out. The good thing is starting out the Pac-12, 2-0 is good for us.” – UA coach Adia Barnes following Saturday night’s 63-56 win over Cal.
Sidelines
Playing through the pain
Esmery Martinez pulled down four rebounds in the first four minutes against Cal before getting poked in the eye by teammate Jade Loville. Martinez’s eye swelled, forcing trainers to cut her eyelid open and glue it. Martinez returned for the start of the second quarter. She finished the game with two points, four rebounds and one steal before fouling out with less than five minutes in the game. Barnes said Martinez should be fine to play Monday at Stanford Martinez wasn’t the only one playing through some pain. Shaina Pellington has played the last two games with the flu. She’s been extremely efficient, shooting 11 of 17 from the field, dishing eight assists and grabbing four steals. Pellington committed no turnovers against Cal.
Fun facts
Arizona: The Wildcats rang in the New Year with a late dinner and ice cream following their gritty win over Cal.
Stanford: Ashten Prechtel’s mom, Elayne, played volleyball at Drexel. Her dad, Matt, rowed professionally … Hannah Jump took home a silver medal in 3x3 basketball as part of Team England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Numbers game
29 – Heading into this weekend, Arizona’s NET ranking was 29. Four other Pac-12 teams are in the Top 30: Stanford (3), Utah (5), Oregon (11) and UCLA (18).
115 – Pac-12 teams finished with 115 combined wins during nonconference play, losing just 20 times. The league’s winning percentage (85%) is the highest of any conference this season and the best in Pac-12 history.
2 — UA’s longest win streak over Stanford is two. It happened twice: March of 2000 and January of 2001 and December of 1983 and February of 1984.
