Shaina Pellington makes everything look easy, whether she is putting defensive pressure on her opponent or finding a seam to slash to the basket.
Her most recent feat: Starting after missing two games and hitting the game-winning shot in last Thursday’s game against Oregon State in Corvallis. The UA guard’s heroics led to a handful of accolades: She was named player of the week by Canada Basketball, and the highlight was named the NCAA’s No. 2 play of the week and Jay Bilas’ buzzer-beater of the week.
It was a cool moment. It was also a tough one.
Pellington didn’t really have her basketball legs after missing a month due to COVID-19 protocols within the Arizona program and the first two games of Pac-12 play for what the UA said were undisclosed reasons.
Somehow, Pellington just turned it up a notch and after 20 minutes of action and nailed a mid-range jumper to beat the Beavers, 55-53. She followed that up by playing 37 minutes against Oregon on Saturday in an overtime loss.
How did she do it?
“I don’t know, adrenaline,” Pellington laughed. “Just excited being back and finally playing the game. I love playing. I think I had like one practice before the games. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy at all. I struggled a lot, actually.”
The Wildcats hope that adrenaline continues on Friday, when No. 10-ranked Arizona (12-2, 2-2) plays Utah (9-4, 0-1 Pac-12) in McKale Center.
Pellington wouldn’t say why exactly she missed two games, except to say that she was “focusing on my health and getting my health back in check. I was struggling with something everybody else across the globe is struggling with right now.”
“It has impacted me in ways, and it still has in different ways,” Pellington said. “And I said before, I’m glad to be back. And I know with some more games, some more time, I’ll be back to 100% again.”
From the outside, it appears as if Pellington has already turned the corner. She scored 12 points against Oregon State and 14 against Oregon. So far this season, she’s averaging 8.0 points, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Pellington’s improved play is the result of hard work — and a summer spent playing for Canada’s national team. She learned how to read defenses better, when to speed up and how to let the game come to her.
“It left an imprint on her that shows and what I see as her coach,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “She’s a 180 from how she was a couple years ago, just as far as coachability work ethic, mentality, leadership — all those things. She’s grown so much. I’m so proud of her because this is what we need, and this is my expectation for Shaina consistently. And she can do that. She’s won games for us, which are big shots that she hasn’t shied away from or been afraid to take. I think that says a lot about her, too.”
Pellington thinks there is something else at play — confidence.
“What Coach Adia says (is) ‘All it takes is one game to get yourself in the groove and just feel comfortable with yourself again,’” Pellington said. “I feel like I’ve hit that point where I feel comfortable (with) what I can do — using my strengths to my advantage on the court when I’m playing.”
This confidence has been on display at the end of the two games this season. Pellington sunk Vanderbilt during the Paradise Jam on Thanksgiving before beating the Beavers last week.
While it may be “the best feeling ever” to hit the game-winners, Pellington knows a lot more goes into that shot than meets the eye.
“I can genuinely say, us winning the game has nothing to do with just one great shot,” Pellington said. “There’s a lot of different things throughout the game that we had to do to even be in that position. There’s a lot of different plays that could have led to winning that game. I can’t take all the credit for just one shot.”
However, knowing that Barnes and her teammates look to her to take that shot is something that means a lot to Pellington.
“To know that your coach believes in you, in your abilities when you’re playing on the court. It allows you to play free,” Pellington said. “It’s a great feeling to know that my teammates and my coaches trust me enough to have the ball in my hand in moments like that.
“In those moments, where the game might be on the line, I try my best to make something happen. I’m pretty cool and collected in (these) situations. … I mean, I can’t always save the day all the time. But I can confidently say I am very comfortable in situations like that.’
Rim shots
Cate Reese joined the 1,300-point, 700-rebound club on Saturday. Only four other UA women’s basketball players have achieved this during their careers: Barnes, Ify Ibekwe, Shawntinice Polk and Liz Pickney.
Friday’s game features the Pac-12’s best scoring offense — Utah is averaging 84.7 points per game — against Arizona’s top scoring defense. The Wildcats are allowing just 53.3 points per game.
Arizona is hitting just 67.4% of its free throws this season. The Wildcats aren’t alone: Colorado is at 67.3% and Stanford is at 65.9%.
Barnes said she is “trying everything” to get those numbers better.
“I try to pressure situations or put them in conditions where they feel that, but it still feels different than a game,” Barnes said. “Even if I put a pressure situation, ‘OK, you are going to run if you don’t or lose,’ you get a pressure free throw at the end of practice or end of drill. That’s different than on the line with 10,000 people — I think there were 8,000 at Oregon. I think those are different. It’s just repetition, the muscle memory, the confidence, and you have to do a lot.”
