Last week, reporter Michelle Smith wrote a story for Pac-12.com profiling the conference’s six unsung heroes. Players who were the glue, who teams “rely on for connection and hustle and critical minutes on the floor.”
Arizona’s Trinity Baptiste made the list.
She has a strong physical presence inside, a mid-range jumpshot and the ability to hit a 3-pointer. Baptiste is averaging 5.7 rebounds per game, tops on the team, and is third with 8.5 points per game.
Baptiste turned it up a level in Thursday’s Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal win over Washington State, scoring 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. She scored seven of the Wildcats’ first nine points and had 13 at halftime.
The 11th-ranked Wildcats are hoping for more of the same from Baptiste as they prepare for a deep NCAA Tournament run. She scored five points on 2-of-7 shooting in Friday night's 58-49 loss to UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.
“I did expect her to have a presence; I expected her to be aggressive. I mean, she wants to win,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “If I tell Trinity, you’re not going to shoot; you’re just going to set screens and rebounds, she’ll do whatever it takes to win. She’s selfless; that’s just who she is.
“If she wouldn’t have been hitting her shots, she would have been setting great screens and doing other things. She had it going. I loved the fact her teammates found her and looked for her. I’m not surprised. I’m actually really impressed and happy because I think she can do this every game.”
Baptiste added six rebounds and six steals.
“She did a really good job … denying,” Barnes said.
Those steals are the latest thing that Baptiste has been working on. She watched film with her coaches to see where she could improve.
“I was out of position a lot on when we trap on ball screens — I was out of position a lot and the next man over,” Baptiste said. “… I made adjustments to make sure I’m in the passing lane more and I’m denying the next pass so it’s not an easy skip to the corner for a 3. … I just made an adjustment and made sure that I was ready to go.”
Her six steals Thursday night tied Aari McDonald and Sam Thomas for the most by any Wildcat this season. McDonald, who leads the league in steals with 2.7 per game, had six against Utah and ASU, while Thomas, who averages 2.1 steals per game, got hers in the Wildcats’ second meeting with Utah.
“She’s trying to catch up with me on the steals, so I’m like, ‘hold on,’” McDonald joked.
“Trinity brings toughness. She beats us up a little in practice, but I think it prepares us for the games. … Her defense has gotten better over time … I’m proud of her and I’m going to have to buy her a gift. She played amazing. I’ve got to buy her some jalapeño chips; she loves them.”
Southern California head coach Mark Trakh, left, and Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer speak following an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Pac-12 women’s tournament Thursday, March 4, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
Tara: I’m masking up
Texas governor Greg Abbott lifted the state’s mask mandate this week, leading many to wonder if they’ll be required for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
However, the NCAA said this week that masks will still be part of its COVID-19 protocols, along with social distancing.
The Sweet 16 will include a very limited number of fans — 17% of the Alamodome’s capacity. With the bubble-like environment, teams won’t be in contact with the general public.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer is one of many coaches who will still mask up, regardless of what Texas’ politicians say. The Cardinals advanced to Sunday's Pac-12 Championship Game with a 79-45 win over Oregon State.
“I don’t think they have a rule that you can’t wear a mask, so I double mask, our staff all double-masks, our team all double-masks, and I’m really hopeful that everyone that we’re around will mask or we won’t be around them,” VanDerveer said.
“Our team has worked really hard. … I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to keep wearing masks when it’s proven that it helps you stay healthy. You know, I’m not the governor, but we’re wearing our masks.”
Going to the bench
This time of year, teams may need more from their bench players.
Each coach has a different view on how many they need. Barnes, who typically plays only eight or nine, went a little deeper into her bench in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Madi Conner, Mara Mote, Derin Erdogan and Semaj Smith all saw time in the Wildcats’ runaway win.
UCLA coach Cori Close hasn’t had much of a bench to turn to this season. She gave eight players significant minutes in a quarterfinal win over Washington. The short bench could make it tougher to play back-to-back games.
“I think you’ll have to see what we’re made of,” Close said.
“I don’t think you can rely on how you feel. How you feel doesn’t really matter. How bad do you want it? And how bad do you want to prepare with your mind and heart? Anything else is just not an option if you want to get to the finals.
“Is it hard? Yeah, but we’ve been dealing with that all year. It really is just how bad you want it. … Bottom line it’s up to your mind and your heart. And if your mind and your heart is strong enough, then your body will follow.”
Rim shots
- Barnes thinks it will take more than defense to win the Pac-12 Tournament title. “You have to play great defense and you have to be able to convert,” Barnes said. “I think defense will be a staple. You look at UCLA and Stanford plays great defense. But I think that you have to go hit shots — especially when you’re when you’re meeting another good defensive team to be able to convert. … For us, we’re not going to be a 45% 3-point shooting team. That’s not our identity. But we’re going to defend. I think for us, hitting the shots — getting the shots that we want. It doesn’t have to be 3s. Getting the shots, how we want them off of our defense, it creates easy scoring opportunities for us.”
- Close on McDonald, the Pac-12’s Player of the Year: “Aari is the fastest guard in the country with the ball in her hands. No question about it. “Her relentless pressure, the way she flies around the court and gets traps and pokes the ball and she just — she gets her team extra possessions.”
- USC coach Mark Trakh lingered at half-court talking to VanDerveer after Stanford beat the Trojans 92-53 Thursday in the quarterfinals. Trakh shared his conversation with the Pac-12 Coach of the Year: “Oh, just told her she had a great team. I wished her luck and said, ‘Go out and win the National Championship,’ because I really believe that they’re that good.”
