SAN ANTONIO — For the past two weeks, Arizona kept saying that no one believed — except those in the Wildcats' own locker room.
On Friday night, they were joined by fellow faithful.
Former UA basketball standouts and fans came from near and far and stood cheering for the entire 40 minutes as Arizona defeated UConn 69-59 in the Final Four. The Wildcats will play No. 1 seed Stanford on Sunday for the national championship. The Cardinal edged South Carolina 66-65 earlier in the evening.
The Arizona Wildcats star point guard talks about her 26-point game, how Arizona pulled off the unlikely upset of UConn and why she's proud of her teammates.
“We shocked the world tonight,” star guard Aari McDonald said. “Keep betting against my teammates and I;' we're going to show you wrong.
"We're going to prove you wrong.”
An Arizona fan dances to music in the arena during a timeout in the second half during the NCAA Tournament Final Four game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on April 2, 2021. Arizona beat UConn 69-59.
Coach Adia Barnes said Friday's win "hasn’t settled in yet."
"It’s amazing," she said. "It's a lot easier to play loose when there isn't pressure. But I'm just happy. We got hot at the right time during the tournament.”
Arizona's first-ever win over UConn and first-ever win over a No. 1 seed happened in part because of McDonald, who scored 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds and grabbed two steals.
The other two members of Arizona's "OG3," Sam Thomas and Cate Reese, also scored in double figures. Thomas finished with 12 points, five rebounds, one steal and one block, while Reese had 11 points and three steals.
After the final seconds ticked off the clocked, McDonald threw the ball in the air and her teammates swarmed the court and the celebration began. Players hugged each other as “Bear Down, Arizona” played over the Alamodome speakers. When McDonald finally turned to see the fans, her family and others in the stands, she tapped her heart twice and put up her index finger.
Number 1.
Arizona defense was on point from the jump, disrupting the vaunted UConn offense. The Wildcats took the Huskies out of their game plan by doing what they do best — getting deflections, turnovers (12) and altering shots.
“We were we were confident,” McDonald said. “We've been playing with confidence in the last four or five games. We know that the first five minutes of the game, they're crucial. … we’re confident. We do this. That’s our identity. We've been doing this from the start, and I'm loving it.”
Arizona held steady to nearly a 10-point lead much of the game. Every time it looked like UConn might go on a run, the Wildcats got stops.
That defense held UConn to only one three-pointer in the first half. UConn finished with 36% shooting and hit five three-pointers.
On offense, the Wildcats — and especially McDonald — were unafraid. The senior guard scored 15 points in the first half and continued to display her newfound touch from beyond the arc, hitting 4 of 7 3-point attempts.
At one point, McDonald drained a 3 and struck a pose as the ESPN telecast went to commercial.
“I’m dog. I’m the stuff," she said after. "I was just thinking like, man, nobody can stop me."
Each Wildcat stepped up to deliver the program's biggest-ever win.
Trinity Baptiste and Bendu Yeaney scored the first nine points of the third quarter as UA pulled away to a 41-29 lead. Helena Pueyo had a Eurostep basket near the end of the frame. And Shania Pellington played tight defense on UConn’s Paige Bueckers, denied a basket, got the rebound and sped down the court to draw a foul.
“Everybody from Sam, Cate, Lauren (Ware), Helena, Shaina, Aari, Bendu, Trinity — everybody has done a little bit more. And that's all I can ask for," Barnes said. "They're playing their hearts out."
Arizona Wildcats forward Cate Reese (25) and Arizona Wildcats guard Aari McDonald (2) celebrate their win over the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Tournament Final Four game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on April 2, 2021. Arizona won 69-59 and advance to the national championship game.
The fan support “meant a lot” to Barnes. Former Wildcats Dee-Dee Wheeler, Danielle Adefeso, Reshea Bristol, Angela Lackey, Lindsey Malecha and others were in attendance, as was UA coaching legend Joan Bonvicini, longtime administrator Kathleen "Rocky" LaRose and former national player of the year Jason Terry, now an assistant coach on the men's team.
“We've never been here,” Barnes said. “All Arizona alumni flying from all over the country to come here and just celebrate with us. Jason Terry … all my friends came down to support me and it just means the world to me. … I just couldn't be more happy to look up and see all the red.”
