Indiana may not have known much about Aari McDonald before the NCAA Tournament run.
The Hoosiers do now.
“We said to our kids, ‘You can’t be surprised when she scores. That you can’t be surprised when she hits a really, what would be considered a tough shot, if that thing goes in,’” IU coach Teri Moren said.
“She’s a pro. She’s a pro, and we’ve got to be able to guard her.”
No one has been able to do that this season — and certainly not during Arizona’s NCAA Tournament run.
The third-seeded Wildcats face Indiana on Monday in San Antonio with sights set on advancing to the Final Four. They made the program’s first-ever Elite Eight on Saturday night, beating second-seeded Texas A&M 74-59.
In one of her most efficient games of the season, McDonald shot 57% from the field (12 of 21), hit 6 of 12 3-pointers and finished with 31 points. Her third-quarter dagger — a 3-pointer that bounced up in the cylinder before going through the hoop — put Arizona in control.
It was, as teammate Sam Thomas said, “Aari doing Aari things.”
“We expect her to have big games every game — to do her best, but this game obviously she gave us a lot,” Thomas said. “She gave us all those points.”
That wasn’t all. McDonald limited Texas A&M star Jordan Nixon to three points on 1-of-6 shooting, just three days after she scored 35 in the Aggies’ second-round overtime win over Iowa State.
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair called McDonald “the real deal.”
“She’s going to have a long pro career,” he said.
In three NCAA Tournament games in San Antonio, McDonald has scored 68 points. She’s shooting 53% from the field.
Arizona's Aari McDonald reacts after making a three-point basket during the the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M in the Sweet 16 round of the Women's NCAA tournament Saturday, March 27, 2021, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
UA coach Adia Barnes said it simply: “Great players show up on the big stage. That’s what they do and that’s what she does.”
Barnes went on to say that McDonald is the “best point guard in the country.”
“She’s proven it in the tournament,” Barnes said. “There is no other player that has impacted their team more than Aari has impacted Arizona.
“There are other players that are really good and they’ve done a lot of great things but they have a lot of All-Americans next to them, or multiple 40% 3-point shooters. We don’t have that. She takes us on our back and takes us a long way.”
Barnes building the alumni network
When Barnes took over the Arizona program five years ago, her first order of business was to change the culture. Barnes started to bring back former Wildcats who for years had been out of touch with the program.
She took a page from Lorenzo Romar, who was Washington’s men’s basketball coach when Barnes was an assistant there. (He was later a UA assistant under Sean Miller).
Romar “had all the NBA players back,” Barnes said.
“I am doing that Arizona. … It’s my goal to bring these former players back to touch our team,” she said. “If they’re playing pro overseas, I want them to work out in our facilities. That’s what I’m creating and that’s important to me.
“I want it to be like that. I want them to want to come back. I want them to meet us on the road. I want them to come talk to our kids. If there’s alumni that is a doctor — a former player — I want her to inspire the next doctors on my team. All those things. I think that’s what it’s all about.”
Ex-Wildcat LaBrittney Jones was in the stands for Saturday night’s win, a move that Barnes called “so meaningful.”
“Having former players text me and feel part of this program is very meaningful to me and it’s very important to create that environment at Arizona,” she said.
Cats’ Pellington finding her groove
Shaina Pellington has played meaningful minutes off the bench during the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament run. The Canadian National Team member is her quickness to deny on the defensive end, drive to the hoop and find her open teammates.
The duo of McDonald and Pellington in the backcourt is hard to stop.
“Shaina has been incredible. She has brought us a spark from the bench,” Barnes said. “Shaina and Aari defensively, the way they’re creating for each other. It enables me to move Aari off the ball and Aari off the ball commands a lot of attention. She’s giving lanes for Shaina. They’re looking for each other. They’re pressing in the back corner.
“… (Shaina) is taking it to another level and knowing what she needs to do as a point guard to help our team be successful. She’s done that. I’m happy for her. I’m glad she’s here and she’s helping our team win.”
Rim shots
- McDonald likes playing in Texas. She put a program-record 44 points in last season’s win over Texas in Austin.
- Former UA standout Brenda Pantoja, who played with Barnes on the 1997 WNIT Championship team, is a referee in the NCAA Tournament.
- Barnes said she didn’t sleep much Saturday night “just because the adrenaline and being so excited and wanting to turn the page to Indiana.”
- Arizona forced 19 turnovers against Texas A&M — 13 of them steals. The Wildcats also had 28 deflections. “Arizona just had their hands in everything. They were deflecting balls,” Blair said. “ They were a step quicker to almost every loose ball than we were. … They were killing us with our turnovers and their pressure.”
