Arizona guard Aari McDonald (2) smiles at Arizona forward Cate Reese (25) during a timeout in the second half of the Arizona Wildcats 58-53 win over ASU at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Ariz., on December 29th, 2019.

 Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Daily Star

Arizona Wildcats star Aari McDonald continues to make history in Tucson.Β 

On Thursday, the UA guard was named to the preseason Associated Press All-American team, the first player in school history to receive those honors.Β 

McDonald, who earned 27 votes from the 30-person panel, joined Rhyne Howard (Kentucky), Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Dana Evans (Louisville) andΒ Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA).Β 

In her second year with the program, McDonald averaged 20.6 points, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and was named an AP Second Team All-American. McDonald also won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which is given to the nation's top shooting guard, and was named the 2020 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.Β 

McDonald enters her final season at Arizona ranked sixth on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,486 points, and has a 66-game double-figure scoring streak, which is the longest active in the nation.Β 

McDonald's teammate Cate Reese was named to theΒ Katrina McClain Award watch list, which is given to the top power forward in women's college basketball.Β 

The former McDonald's All-American averaged 13.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and became an All-Pac-12 selection in 2020.Β 

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Contact sports content producer Justin Spears at 573-4312 or jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter @justinesports