Arizona Wildcats (10-5, 1-1 Big 12) vs. UCF Knights (7-5, 0-2 Big 12) | Noon Saturday | Addition Financial Arena, Orlando | ESPN + | 1400-AM
She said it
Arizona assistant Bett Shelby on UCF: “They run wing ball screens, and they try to get downhill on us. They pose a big post presence in size with Hannah Gusters, she's averaging 16 points a game, and they have a really good guard in KP (Kaitlin Peterson), she's at 22 points a game, and they try to get her downhill a lot. They will do a lot of different defensive actions with a 1-3-1 zone and 2-3 zone. That's what they do. And they really, really, really try to score the ball. We've got to be able to guard them off the ball screen and guard their high-low game. They try to go high-low a lot – post to post.
“(This week we focused on) just getting better defensively. Having more awareness, knowing where shooters are, making sure that we're matching up in transition and guarding ball screens.”
On the sidelines
Arizona Wildcats guard Jada Williams (2) attempts to dribble by Utah Utes guard Ines Vieira (2) during the game at McKale Center on Dec. 31, 2024.
Digging deep: Jada Williams was visibly upset after the loss to Utah on Tuesday afternoon when she faced the media. For someone who leaves it all on the floor, she always digs deep to bring the energy even when things aren’t going the Wildcats’ way.
“(It’s my) love for the game,” Williams said. “I'm passionate. I put my whole life into this. I've sacrificed a lot. I know my team feeds off my energy. If I'm down, that means we're really down, so I just try to focus on that. That's a maturity thing for me. I've always played up. I'm a point guard. My job is not to always score, it’s to assist, to have good energy, things like that. I don't think it's pressure. I think that's my role. That's my job. So just handling my business and then everything else will fall.”
Handling her business is a lot for this sophomore point guard. Not only does Williams run the offense, but she is also drawing charges, trapping on defense, getting steals and scores. This season most of her stats have shown an increase. She is averaging 11.5 points per game — up from 9.4 last season. She’s dishing out assists at an average of 2.9 per game — up from 2.3 per game last season. She is averaging 3.1 rebounds per game — up from 1.7 last season. And she already has 28 steals — last season she finished with 35.
Her 3-point shot has been slow to show itself — most likely because of the nagging tendonitis in her Achilles.
Missing spark: Against Utah, Arizona got down early and had a hard time finding a way back into the game. Shots weren’t falling, and the defense didn’t pick up until the halftime adjustment.
Coach Adia Barnes said that she felt the low energy and called a timeout in the second quarter. In the huddle she told her team ,“You can be down (but) there are still 25 minutes of basketball.”
“You can be down 30 points, you're still in the game, but if you don't have some passion and some enthusiasm out there, you're not going to come back,” Barnes said. “… sprinting the floor, crashing, rebounding when you're supposed to, those are controllable. … I think it makes up a lot when you go hard because you're going to get some hustle plays to energize you. When you're down and shots aren’t falling, you dive for a ball, you go get an offensive rebound, you get a foul and then get to the free-throw line. Those are things that ignite you.”
Game mentality: For freshman post Katarina Kneževic, doing a little bit of everything every day — watching film, skills development — has helped, but she credits her mentality of attacking practice like it’s a game as a key in her growth over the last few months.
Arizona forward Katarina Knezevic looks to take a shot against Utah at McKale Center on Dec. 31, 2024.
“Every single day in practice, we're playing five-on-five I just want to treat it as a game — having that mentality, and it is totally helping me, because then I feel more comfortable in a game,” Kneževic said. “I think that the most important thing is that I am getting better every single day, and even in practices that you feel it and everybody can see. It’s just constant improvement. And I think that that is the crucial part of the journey.”
Learning the rules of American basketball and the Arizona system took some time. Kneževic said it’s helped that her teammates and coaches are there for her and in the trenches with her every day.
A long vacation: Mike Carey, a UCF assistant coach, left for the Christmas break and never returned. His profile has been removed on this season’s roster page on the UCF Athletics website, after being with the program for a few years.
Carey was the former head coach at West Virginia for 22 years before retiring after the 2020-21 season. UA assistant Shelby spent three seasons on Carey’s staff and coached former UA standout Esmery Martinez and current starter Isis Beh when they both were Mountaineers.
Round two: Arizona will be holding another meet and greet for fans on Monday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Charro Chico, 3699 N. Campbell Ave. In addition, Barnes’ radio show starts up again on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Sands Club and will be broadcast on 1400-AM with Derrick Palmer.
By the numbers
1,290: UCF averages 1,290 fans per game. Across eight home games, the Knights have drawn 10,323 people.
3: The Knights have three players averaging in double-figures. Peterson is at nearly 22 points, Gusters is around 16 points and Emely Rodriguez around 12 points per game.
2,028: This away game at UCF is the farthest trip the Wildcats will take this year as Orlando is 2,028 miles from Tucson.
1: This is the first-ever matchup between the Knights and the Wildcats.
