When the moments get big, Arizona's Shaina Pellington has proved she's ready

Shaina Pellington has been in big moments before — playing in a national championship game, knocking down game-winners — but this time seems different.

Somehow it seems even bigger.

Maybe it’s because the point guard is a senior and her time at Arizona is nearly over.

Maybe it’s because the Wildcats are still trying to prove themselves. Prove that they deserve one of the four byes in the Pac-12 Tournament. Prove that they deserve to host the first rounds of the NCAA Tournament, just like they did last season.

Maybe it’s because others outside of Tucson are recognizing what she’s doing.

During the last three games, Pellington has shown out: Scoring 24 points against Cal; a career-high 35 points, eight rebounds and five steals against then-No. 4 Utah; and 19 points, plus five assists, against No. 21 Colorado to help UA win all three games.

Her performances in last weekend’s sweep over the Mountain schools brought Pac-12 and national honors as Player of the Week from the Pac-12, ESPNW and USBWA, plus a spot on the NCAA’s “Starting Five.”

With a lot on the line down the stretch of the regular season, everyone now gets what she and UA coach Adia Barnes have known all along: Pellington is ready.

“Right now, I’m just super confident and I’m having fun,” Pellington said. “I feel like when I’m having fun, that’s pretty dangerous for anybody. I’m feeling great.

“All these games are really important and set us up for the future. ... I want my teammates to trust me. I want them to know that I’m willing to do everything possible to help us win and get to that next stage.

“All of us have dreams and aspirations of getting to a national championship game again. We’ve got to take it day by day. The improvement and confidence each game, I hope I am showing my teammates and the fans that I am ready. I’m ready for the moment, and I’m prepared for whatever comes next. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get us where we want to be.”

No. 14 Arizona hopes to have even more fun this week, starting out with a game at Oregon on Thursday night. The regular-season finale is Saturday afternoon at Oregon State. The Wildcats have won seven of their last nine games and are on a three-game winning streak.

Family first

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Heading into last weekend, Pellington was averaging 12.7 points per game. She has raised her average to 13.8. She cracked the 1,500-points-scored milestone against Colorado. And she’s dished 91 assists this season for a UA career high.

It means a lot to Pellington to cap off her career like this. Even more meaningful: Her parents, Dennis and Arlene, were at what could be her final games at McKale Center on Sunday. Pellington’s father instilled the love of the game and was her first coach.

It hasn’t been an easy three years without her dad being there in person to watch her play. He’s the one she calls before games, and his message is always the same: Know your strengths. Play to your abilities. Do what you do.

He’s the one she can look at during a game and know that it’s “go time.”

Dennis Pellington hasn’t been able to travel to Tucson as he has been battling kidney failure for most of his daughter’s life. Then COVID hit, and there were restrictions on crossing the border. (The Pellingtons are from Pickering, Ontario, Canada.) When they were lifted, Dennis had a kidney transplant, and that limited his travel because he was susceptible to infections.

“It was hard,” Shaina Pellington said of not having her parents at the majority of her UA games. “Having him be here for my Senior Day and not having to worry about things like that meant a lot for me and my family. It was really cool and a good moment for me. My ‘why’ is to make my family proud, make my dad proud, make my mom proud, take care of my family, take care of myself. That’s what I’ve always strived to do.

“That’s why I try not to read into things, because there are a lot of things that people don’t know about — what we go through as players on a daily basis, what goes on behind the scenes. I feel like sometimes people can forget that we’re humans too. We go through things, and we’re not just college basketball players. That’s something that not a lot of people know about. My dad was sick for a really long time. To have him here meant a lot to me.”

The Pellingtons even helped their daughter bang the drum after the Utah win, when she was named player of the game. That’s just one more memory for Pellington to hold tight.

‘Underdog mentality’

As the Wildcats head into these final games of the regular season, Pellington said that her teammates are digging deep and reaching back for the mentality that brought them success in the past.

“Just that underdog mentality, which is something I don’t think will ever leave my teammates,” Pellington said. “(From) where we started off our first years (at Arizona) to where we are now, being an underdog and having a chip on your shoulder is what has carried us to some great things.

“We’re just able to deal with hard things and bounce back. … It’s going to be really important down the stretch, because it’s going to become about that — what teams can handle getting punched in the face over and over again and bounce back. I think that is one of our super strengths.”