Off to a 4-0 start, including the biggest early-season nonconference win in program history, the UA women’s basketball team now heads to paradise.
The next challenge for the undefeated and No. 11-ranked Wildcats is the Paradise Jam tournament in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands this week.
Off the court, there will be plenty of sunshine and fun with activities planned like going out on the Caribbean Sea in a catamaran, snorkeling and swimming.
There will also be business to attend to, with three games in three days against Vanderbilt, DePaul and Rutgers.
Seniors Sam Thomas and Shaina Pellington have never been to St. Thomas.
“The only place I’ve ever been actually travelled with this program is Hawaii so (I’m) very excited to get somewhere else playing a tournament,” Thomas said. “I’m excited to just be with the team, enjoy the beach, hopefully win all three games. That’s the goal. We’re gonna focus on that but just enjoy the time with my teammates.”
Thomas’ parents will be along for the ride, so she’ll be with her family over the Thanksgiving holiday.
It will be a long plane ride, but no charter this time. The Wildcats are leaving very early Tuesday morning and plan to sleep, watch Netflix, eat, play games and sleep some more.
Pellington, who scored seven points in the third quarter of Friday night’s win over Marist, is looking forward to being with her teammates and just relaxing off the court, However, she is ready to play high-level basketball.
The games will just be another chance for the Wildcats to prove they are one of the elite teams in the country.
“It’s not going to be some cakewalk so we can’t relax too much,” Thomas said. “I think just knowing the preparation, how mentally you have to be ready, physically, you have to be ready. Get the right amount of sleep, eat the right things, know your scout for the different teams. It’s all kind of short and compact.”
It’s the next step in preparing for Pac-12 play and the NCAA Tournament.
Friday’s night’s matchup against Marist, a 78-36 win, gave Arizona an early look at a defense they will see in Pac-12 play. Marist plays a similar pack-the-paint style as Oregon State and Stanford.
Vanderbilt, Rutgers and DePaul will each give UA a different look.
“Vanderbilt has a new coach (Shea Ralph), a friend of mine who’s a good coach,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “Then we play against a super aggressive defensive style just like ours with Rutgers and then DePaul is a 3-point shooting, high-octane offense. Those are three teams that are really different in good preparation for us going to the Pac-12.”
Barnes is excited about the trip and everything it offers on and off the court.
“It’s a good little stretch to test what we’re made of and how we’re going to be,” Barnes said. “I’m excited for the players to get the chance to experience St. Thomas. I’ve never been there. I think it’s going to be fun. Do some fun stuff with them, grow our chemistry and our cohesiveness and I think that only helps us get better. I think we’ll get better in every way.”
Here’s a look at each of the teams:
Vanderbilt (1:15 p.m., Thursday)
The Commodores (2-2) are up first on Thursday. Ralph, a former UConn player and assistant, is in her first year as head coach.
Vanderbilt is coming off a Covid-season where they played only eight games before shutting it down.
While Vanderbilt hasn’t had a winning season in six years, they have a coach, in Ralph, who comes from a winning program — winning one championship as a player and six as an assistant all at UConn. They lost their top three leading scorers, as Koi Love transferred to UA and the two others graduated (Chelsie Hall and Enna Pehadzic). Yet, the Commodores still have quite a bit of talent starting with two seniors in guard Jordyn Cambridge and forward Brinae Alexander.
Cambridge is coming off an ACL injury. She was on the 2019-20 All-SEC Defensive team and came into this season with the 10th-most steals in program history. She already has eight steals in the first four games this season.
Alexander was on the SEC’s All-Freshman team. She is averaging just over 12 points per game this season.
Rutgers (1:15 p.m., Friday)
The Scarlet Knights (4-1) are always a tough out, especially under coach C. Vivian Stringer. And while Stringer might not be on the sidelines this season — she is sitting out for COVID-19 concerns — her handprints are all over this team.
For Rutgers it’s all about rebounds and steals. The Wildcats will need to focus on Osh Brown, a grad transfer from Ball State. She is the NCAA DI active leader in rebounds with 1,159. Against Harvard she grabbed 19, the most for Rutgers in seven years. She has 53 rebounds in five game, which ranks sixth nationally.
Rutgers is sixth in the nation in total steals with 63, averaging 12.6 per game.
DePaul (1:15 p.m., Saturday)
DePaul is coached by Doug Bruno, who has only missed the NCAA Tournament six times in 31 seasons.
The Blue Demons (2-1 heading into Sunday) are all about offense. Against Texas Southern, they scored 114 points, yet allowed them to score 71. Arizona faced the same team nearly one week later and won 93-38.
All five starters are averaging in double figures and four of them are hitting over 50% from the field. Aneesah Morrow is the lone freshman starter and is averaging 18 points per game. She scored 31 points against Texas Southern and claimed Big East freshman of the week honors.
Senior guard Deja Church averages 17.7 points per game, while senior guard Sonya Morris averages 15.0.
