March was spring training in Arizona, and not just for professional baseball players.
The UA women’s basketball team started its spring workouts two weeks after its season ended with a loss in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Wildcats’ training time was limited — NCAA rules say players can spend no more than eight hours per week on strength and conditioning and two hours on the court per week — but they still managed to squeeze a lot in.
There, of course, is a balance to strike. Arizona players want to get stronger and faster without putting more wear and tear on their bodies following a long season.
Coach Adia Barnes said her players focused on “corrective exercises” designed to gain more flexibility and mobility during the spring workouts.
“We’re working on posture and running techniques and being more explosive and having more power,” forward Dominique McBryde said. “It’s about who can get to the ball on hustle plays.”
The drills were designed to boost other players’ speed to match that of the UA’s strongest player, guard Aarion McDonald.
“On one, we have to start on the ground, two people get up and go and then Aari goes and you try not to let her catch you, as she is the fastest,” McBryde said. “Other times, Aari starts first off the line and others try to catch her.”
Next month, the team will begin incorporating sand and water into their running workouts.
The Wildcats are also focusing on breathing techniques and core strength. It’s been of particular help to McBryde, who battles back problems. The Purdue transfer has learned how to breathe differently while doing back squats, a skill that is “definitely helping me,” she said.
“At Purdue I was having pain, and now I am experiencing less pain when I lift,” she said. “And I’m feeling stronger. It helps with my overall strength.”
Cats add Latvian guard to ’19 recruiting class
The UA staff spent much of March on the road.
Barnes traveled to the Czech Republic, Serbia and Latvia. While there, she picked up a verbal commitment from Latvian guard Mara Mote. ProspectsNation.com rates Mote as a four-star prospect in the class of 2019.
UA assistant Salvo Coppa led the recruiting efforts.
Mote was the youngest Latvian player at last summer’s FIBA U19 World Cup event in Italy, but averaged nearly 18 minutes and 9.1 points per game. Mote’s team lost 64-56 to a United States team that included Oregon’s Ruthy Hebard and South Carolina’s Tyasha Harris.
After the game, Harris told USA Basketball that Mote “took control of the game, and she took advantage of us going below screens. She would pull up for the 3, and that’s what helped them get back into the game.”
Mote plays for TTT Riga in the Latvian junior league, where she averages 12.9 points and 5 rebounds per game.
Rim shots
- The Wildcats took home awards at Monday’s CATSYs. Sam Thomas was named Freshman Female Athlete of the Year and Eugenie Simonet-Keller won the Wildcat Way Award of Excellence. The team won its second consecutive Athletic Director’s Cup Community Service Cup. The Wildcats put in 3,277 hours of service as a team.
- Bryce Nixon, a UA signee from Phoenix’s Arcadia High School, was named first team 5A All-Conference for the second consecutive year.
- Former Wildcat Dejza James is having a standout season playing for Benfica in Lisbon, Portugal. She was named a Portuguese Liga Feminina All-Star and leads her team with 18 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
- Another ex-Cat, LaBrittney Jones, is playing for AEO Proteas Voulas in Greece. Jones is averaging 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Proteas has two game remaining on its schedule this season.
- Barnes is one of three coaches expected to speak Thursday at the first stop on Arizona’s road tour. Athletic director Dave Heeke, football coach Kevin Sumlin, soccer coach Tony Amato and Barnes will all take part in the free event, held at the Eddie Lynch Pavilion. The tour stop begins at 5:30 p.m.
