Entering NCAA Tournament, Arizona's fine-tuned play 'can beat anybody' — when everyone does their part

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Arizona women’s basketball is like a fine-tuned orchestra.

They are zipping passes around the perimeter, then into the post, then back out. They are setting up one of their many scorers — a Jade Loville, a Madi Conner, a Kailyn Gilbert or even a Lauren Fields — for that great knockdown shot.

On the other end of the court, they are down in position, arms up and not giving their opponent space. Sometimes they trap their opponent, eliminating the passing lanes. Other times they are reading so well, they snag the ball and then it’s off to the races — whether it’s Shaina Pellington, Esmery Martinez or Helena Pueyo. Other times it’s a deflection, a block or a perfectly timed rebound from Martinez, Cate Reese, Paris Clark or Maya Nnaji.

Just stop and listen for a moment. Can you hear the beauty of it all?

That’s exactly how it sounds ... when it goes to plan.

“I’ve seen the team that can beat anybody in the country,” said Arizona coach Adia Barnes, whose squad faces West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Yet the Wildcats have not followed the right chords every time out this year. They are inconsistent.

Some of that is just the ups and downs of a typical season. No Arizona team has been perfect. Heck, only four programs — Texas, Tennessee, UConn and Baylor — have ever recorded a perfect, undefeated season. (No. 1 overall seed South Carolina enters this year’s tournament at 32-0.)

But even the best of Barnes’ teams have had rocky moments. The 2019 WNIT champions lost to LMU in non-conference play, went on an 11-game winning streak, then lost the last four games of the regular season. Those Wildcats were on the bubble to get an NCAA bid — and when they didn’t, they decided they would just go out and win the WNIT.

The 2020 team was on the verge of doing something special — taking the Wildcats back to the NCAAs after more than a decade drought — before COVID-19 shut down the world. That might have been the best squad Barnes has coached, yet they stumbled at UCLA in January and followed that with two more winnable games at McKale Center that they just couldn’t close out. This was the team that beat No. 4 Stanford ... then lost to Cal a few days later.

The 2021 team that played for a national championship lost to Washington State and ASU, then to UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament. Every time, there was one quarter where the Wildcats couldn’t buy a basket and didn’t play stellar defense. Then, in March, they just put it all together and went on a roll.

When things work, it’s a thing of beauty.

Point guard is where it’s at

It all starts with one of the most important roles on the court: point guard. That’s fifth-year senior Pellington, who earned a share of the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player award, All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honors — all for the first time in her UA career.

Pellington has indeed taken her skills to the next level. Her stat line looks like this: 13.3 points, 3.7 assists per game, 83 rebounds and 52 steals. Last year, she averaged 11.3 points, dished 2.4 assists and had 68 rebounds and 40 steals.

Last season, Pellington had buzzer-beating, game-winning shots against Vanderbilt and Oregon State. This year’s version is still having plenty of exciting moments but is getting her teammates involved more, reading the defense better and waiting to take the right shot at the right time.

“Shaina is a real talent,” former UA coach and current Pac-12 analyst Joan Bonvicini said. “She’s extraordinarily quick to get to the hole. To talk about it and to scout it is one thing. To see it in action, up close, is a whole different thing.

“I think the game has calmed down for her ... slowed down. I think she’s playing with a lot more confidence. Her shooting form is so much improved; her free throws are improved. I think she has an expectation of herself to score and do well. Her defense has always been solid.”

When Pellington is in her element, for the most part, the Wildcats thrive — whether she is scoring like she did in the win against Utah (35 points without missing an attempt until the beginning of the third quarter) or dishing assists like she did against Baylor (season-high eight).

In the weekend sweeps against the L.A. schools and the Mountain schools, she used everything in her arsenal to help the Wildcats win all four games. Against USC and UCLA, she scored a total of 38 points, dished 10 assists, collected five steals and pulled down seven rebounds. Against Utah and Colorado, she scored a combined 54 points, picked six steals and had five assists and five rebounds.

In Arizona’s final three games — all losses — Pellington had a total of 27 points and made just 10 of 27 shots.

One of the best point guards to ever play for the Wildcats, Ring of Honor member Dee-Dee Wheeler, shared what she’s seen from Pellington this year.

“She has more confidence, better shot selection and knowing when to push it and when to wait for her team,” said Wheeler, who was coached by Bonvicini.

Wheeler also was a member of the last Wildcat teams to play in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments (2002-05) — a feat matched by this year’s squad.

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Collective X-factor

Another key component is the bench.

On many other teams, senior Pueyo would be starting. Instead, she is one of the best sixth players in the Pac-12 and the nation.

She has started a few times this season but prefers to come off the bench. And for good reason. This way Pueyo can watch what is happening, on offense and defense, and figure out where she is needed. Then she goes to work.

She is this year’s stat-stuffer. She is very selective when she shoots and is the most consistent Wildcat. At one point in the season, she led the league in assists. She dished six in the first big comeback win over Oregon State.

Pueyo finished second in the Pac-12 in steals, just one of the reasons she was on the league All-Defensive Team. She has 70 and is averaging 2.3 per game. Wheeler said Pueyo is the Wildcats’ X-factor.

“Helena is outstanding,” Wheeler said. “Her fundamentals are excellent. She rebounds. She plays defense, and we all know she’s a great shooter.

“A lot of teams are going to focus on those girls that they consider the most athletic. She is (athletic), but because she brings a European style of play, they’re going to count her out. She’s somebody definitely who gives us the extra effort, that spark, and she’s going to be very consistent in what the (Wildcats) need.”

Another spark off the bench for the Wildcats is Conner. She has made big strides over the season, both offensively and defensively. Only a sophomore, Conner has taken on more in learning the forward position this season. This has meant going up against much bigger players like OSU freshman Raegan Beers. Conner didn’t flinch on defense, even though she gave up at least five inches, and came away sporting a huge bruise on her forearm a week later.

One of Conner’s biggest moments came in a tight Oregon game in January. After not playing the first half, she came in and scored 16 points in 16 minutes, going 3 for 4 from the floor and making all three of her 3-pointers.

“I just try to go out there and do my best to help the team,” Conner said. “Just coming out there and bringing a spark, even if I wasn’t warm and ready. I just had to stay ready on the bench and know that when I was playing in the game I had to perform.”

Freshmen feeling it

Then there are the freshmen. We’ve seen Nnaji, Clark and Gilbert take big leaps in learning Arizona basketball.

Clark nearly won the Utah game in Salt Lake City in the closing seconds. She collected a huge offensive rebound off a missed free throw and knocked down an off-balance jumper to close the gap to one point. She followed that with a deflection, a steal and a basket to give UA a one-point lead.

In the USC win, it was all Nnaji down the stretch of the first overtime, as she blocked a shot, pulled down a defensive rebound and took a jumper just inside the 3-point line in the corner to tie the game with less than six seconds left to send it to a second OT. She added another blocked shot and two rebounds over the next five minutes.

When Gilbert has the ball in her hands, chances are she is going to make something happen. She’s a creator who can hit off-balance shots. She also scores in bunches. Against ASU in December, she hit a transition 3-pointer, then a jumper in succession in the second quarter.

Bonvicini thinks that during the postseason, all three will be important for Arizona to advance.

“The officials never like this, but I swear it’s true: Every time you advance, the game gets a little bit more physical,” she said. “A post player (will be the X-factor); it’s Maya Nnaji. I think Paris Clark or Kailyn Gilbert are going to be really instrumental. One of the freshmen — it could be all of them. They have enough playing time under their belt that they feel comfortable.

“It’s big in the moment, though, and they’ve performed well in big moments.

“Those guys are players. I think they just need to cherish every moment. Every play, you play your heart out.

“Even if you’re not playing, you’re cheering your butt off. You’re doing whatever it takes to help your team.”