Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes asked the Tucson community to pack McKale Center with 7,000 fans Sunday for the WNIT quarterfinals — and even more showed up: 7,717.
That’s the kind of magical ride the Wildcats are on.
Fans lined up more than two hours before the 2 p.m. tip to get a chance to see the Wildcats run all the way to the semifinals — aka the Final Four — of the WNIT.
And the UA did just that, starting with an 11-0 run in the first 3:30 of the game and never looking back as the Wildcats crushed Wyoming 67-45 Sunday afternoon at McKale Center.
Arizona (22-13) moves on to host TCU (24-10), which defeated Cincinnati 69-55 earlier in the day, on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at McKale.
The UA hit more milestones with this win. This is the first time the UA has won 22 games in 15 years, and the first time Arizona has won four postseason games in one season.
The last time Arizona faced Wyoming was the 1995-96 season — the year the Wildcats won the WNIT, when Barnes played.
Arizona’s relentless defense was on display, holding the Cowgirls to 31.4 percent shooting. Wyoming likes to slow the game down, but the Wildcats weren’t about to let that happen.
“We just played some really good defense. We knew who to key in on. We were aggressive,” said Barnes. “They were having to play their offense way beyond the 3-point line. That’s what we intended to do. They don’t mind doing it in their offense. We focused on the game plan and the players executed it. We can provide them with the scouting and their tendencies, but they have to go out there and play.
“They are a good team,” Barnes said of Wyoming. “They are coached very well and they are a smart team. They are the best team we’ve played so far in the postseason and we didn’t let them look like that tonight.
“I’m proud of the way we played. And they punched us in the face a couple of times — an 8-0 run, a 6-0 run. They weren’t giving up, and their style is drastically different than ours. So I’m proud of the way we adjusted to that. It’s hard to play against their style.”
The Wildcats scored 17 points on 11 turnovers and had 15 points on fast breaks. Everyone got involved early, from Cate Reese deflecting a ball 40 seconds into the game to Tee Tee Starks getting a steal a minute later and finishing with a layup.
“(Tee Tee’s) performance is always good. That’s why I am happy she is coming back for another year,” said Barnes. “She does so many things … she scored nine points. The way she started us off, she was the one that was the catalyst on the offense from the beginning of the game.
“She had layups, she had drives, she had good passes. Her constant thing is the defense. Her offense is a plus. She finds a way. ... She does all the little things. She’s one of our smartest players. I know what I’m going to get from her every night. She’s extremely valuable to what we do. I think she’s the one who helped us in the first half get the lead.”
Starks’ other big steal was at the end of the third quarter. She passed the ball to Aari McDonald who scored, giving the UA a 42-29 lead at the buzzer. In addition to her nine points, she had two steals, one block and four rebounds.
About that third quarter, which typically is rough for the Wildcats. Not Sunday. Reese came out on fire, scoring all of the UA’s points in a 9-0 run while grabbing d two rebounds.
“I think we have the personnel as a team that it can be anybody’s night,” said Starks. “I think we have great players at all positions. A lot of times I think we have mismatches at positions. So during that time we were going to Cate and she was delivering. So why not keep going to her?”
The Cowgirls came back with an 8-0 run in that third quarter, but the UA won the quarter 16-14 and dominated the fourth, 25-16 — shooting 70 percent from the field.
“What I am proud of is that we are playing against different styles and we’re finding a way to win,” said Barnes.
“We’re hungry. We look like we have a ‘we’re not going to lose mentality.’ ... We’re playing some good basketball. Earlier in the year we couldn’t play without Aari on the floor.
“So now different people are stepping up and we’re playing so much better as a team. And that’s what I’m proud of. … It’s all coming together at the right time.”
Reese scored 13 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. McDonald led all scorers with 25 points. She added six rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Dominique McBryde chipped in nine points and grabbed six rebounds. And Sam Thomas finished with seven points, three assists, one steal and three blocks.
Once again, the team rallied behind the fans. McDonald said that in warmups, they looked at the crowd and saw the fans wearing Wyoming yellow— an estimated 150 of them — but then saw and heard the Arizona fans, and that boost pushed them through the tough stretches.
After the game, the players and Barnes talked to the crowd — now a custom after every WNIT win — to thank them.
“They play hard because of you. This team plays their hearts out for you,” Barnes said,
McDonald wants even more — 10,000 fans for Wednesday’s game.
Rim shots
- Mara Mote, a member of the 2019 class, recently won a Baltic Championship for TTT Riga.
- The UA team had a table at the softball games this weekend, selling season tickets for next year.
- The UA scored 38 points in the paint.
