Arizona Wildcats (3-0) vs. UNLV Lady Rebels (2-0) | McKale Center | 6 p.m. Tuesday | ESPN + | 1400-AM
She said it
Arizona coach Adia Barnes on UNLV: “They're really good. They're really fast, good in transition. They run a lot of isolation plays. They get downhill after on ball. I think it's going be really hard matchups for us, but I think it's a good style and good preparation for the Big 12. And they're a solid team. They demolished us last year. … Their guards are really athletic. Their guards are more athletic than ours, and they're fast, and they get downhill really fast. …I'm looking for a good game, and just definitely want to see where we're at right now.”
On the sidelines
Meet and greet: The Wildcats are holding a meet and greet at Charro Chico, 3699 N. Campbell Ave., Monday night from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is doubling as opportunity for fans to meet the players and for some of the proceeds from food and drink purchases to go to the Arizona women’s basketball NIL fund.
“Our players love Charro Chico, and we love everything about every Charro restaurant,” Barnes said. “We wanted to do something for the fans. This year, I'm dedicating it to the fans, because the fans have stuck with us through thick and thin, and they're always there. They always show up, whether we're trying to sell tickets or not. …
“I figured, even if 50 people want to come, you get to spend time with us. And I think there's value to that. And I love Tucson, I love the fans, so I wanted to open things up like this.”
Easing in: With each game that passes, you start to see more of the little things that Montaya Dew has in her toolbox. She’s moving at ease on the court. She is understanding her assignment regardless of the position she’s playing — whether it’s the two, three or four — and the switch over seems natural for her and her teammates. She’s setting up her teammates.
Arizona forward Montaya Dew missed her freshman year with an injury but is expected to play a big role for the Wildcats in 2024-25.
In Sunday’s game, she checked into the game at the start of the second quarter and two possessions in grabbed a defensive rebound. A minute later, she drove to the basket and at the last second in traffic, spun in the air and dished to Breya Cunningham for the sure basket.
In the fourth quarter, after a Wildcat lost the ball, she tracked down her opponent and stripped the ball from behind before the Triton could go in for the easy layup.
Barnes is fine with this step by step improvement and expects Dew to be fully back in a month or two as she gets more reps and gets more comfortable on the court.
“I believe in her; I'm invested in her,” Barnes said.
Adjustments: On Sunday afternoon, the officials called a lot of fouls — 43 in all, with 15 coming in in the first quarter. Many of the fouls — on both Arizona and UC San Diego — were of the ticky-tack kind. Instead of letting the two teams try to get into some kind of rhythm, there was a lot of stoppage of play.
This happens a lot, and while it may annoy fans, it’s just part of the game.
During those times, Barnes has a message for her team, “When there are a lot of touch fouls like that, we say ‘start to drive the ball.’”
“When they are calling a lot of ticky-tack fouls and easy touches that’s the way the game is being called. We, as players, have to adjust,” Barnes said. “Then you start to be really aggressive off the dribble and I think we started to do that.”
Tucson connections: UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque was hired by current UA Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois when she held the same position at that school to head up the women’s basketball team in March 2020. This was after years of watching from afar since her days at Virginia Tech, where Reed-Francois worked with La Rocque’s older sister, Ally.
La Rocque was trained by two top coaches: retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer — where she played point guard for four years and was an assistant — and her father, Al La Rocque, who was a legend at Las Vegas Durango High School.
La Rocque also has a close relationship with another Wildcat, UA men’s basketball associate head coach Jack Murphy. It was La Rocque’s father who helped him get a student manager position at Arizona with former coach Lute Olson. Murphy has known La Rocque since she was 6 years old and calls her his little sister.
Another UNLV-Tucson connection is senior Alyssa Brown, who played at Sahuaro High School. A starter, the 6-1 forward is averaging 7.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists this year.
Moving up: After three wins this week, Arizona received six votes in the AP poll that came out Monday morning. Other Big 12 teams in the poll include Iowa State at No. 8, Kansas State at No. 10, West Virginia at No. 15 and Baylor at No. 7. TCU also received votes (55) and is listed at what would be No. 27.
South Carolina, UConn, USC, Texas and UCLA are the Top 5 in order.
By the numbers
2: Former UA standout Esmery Martinez led the Dominican Republic team to a second-place finish at FIBA Women's AmeriCup, losing in the championship game to Puerto Rico. Martinez was named to the all-tournament team.
1 and 1: Barnes and La Rocque have played against each other twice and have split the games. Last year, UNLV beat Arizona handily, 72-53 in Las Vegas. The Lady Rebels went on to be ranked in the Top 25, win the Mountain West tournament and end up a 10th-seed in the NCAA Tournament. These programs also faced off in March 2022 when UA hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. That one went to the Wildcats, 72-67.
3: Isis Beh has started the first three games of the season, tying the number of times she was in the starting five last season.
