Wildcats 'have to put puzzle pieces together' if they hope to make Final Four return

There are a number of things that make the 2021-22 season different from any in Arizona women’s basketball history.

Start with this: The Wildcats are coming off their first-ever trip to the Final Four. By making a run through the NCAA Tournament and to within one basket of a national championship, the Wildcats won fans from across the country.

Everything has changed — including the UA’s expectations. Not only do the Wildcats want to return to the Final Four this season; this time, they want to win it all. Arizona’s players have been hitting the weight room harder, staying after practice to shoot or work on perfecting their game on their own during days off.

There’s another reason why this season will be so different: Aari McDonald is gone, off to the WNBA following a career that ranks among the best in UA history, in any sport. The Wildcats must find a way to replace her production if they hope to rise to the top of the sport.

“It’s hard,” coach Adia Barnes said. “You don’t find someone like her.”

So how do you move on when the best player in program history leaves? Barnes says she expects returnees Sam Thomas, Cate Reese and Lauren Ware to score more this season. Shaina Pellington, who scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals in the Wildcats’ national championship game against Stanford, will run the team from point guard.

Barnes said Pellington is “playing really well” since rejoining the Wildcats after spending the summer playing for Canada in the Summer Olympics. Pellington is the fastest player on the team with McDonald gone, and the natural fit to take McDonald’s place as the team’s top defensive pest.

Pellington is “leading our team well,” Barnes said. “She’s more coachable this year and she’s working harder. She is very important for this team and for the future of the program.”

The returners will be joined by new shooters and forwards, giving the Wildcats arguably Barnes’ best squad in her six years in Tucson.

“Now it’s figuring out their identity and who fits what role,” Barnes said. “That’s the thing where you have to put the puzzle pieces together.”

Alabama graduate transfer Ariyah Copeland averaged 8.6 rebounds per game last season while scoring 14.4 points per game and shooting 61% from the field, tops in the Southeastern Conference. Koi Love averaged 20.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game during her final season at Vanderbilt.

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Then there is freshman Netty Vonleh, who came to Tucson in great shape and has become a leader in the weight room. Gisela Sanchez from Spain was playing for her national team and came to Tucson later than the rest of the Wildcats, but is picking up the system is learning both forward slots.

“Against Stanford in the finals, they killed us on the boards, so we had to improve,” Barnes said. “Ariyah is really gifted. A really good passer, a good post presence. I think Netty is going to surprise a lot of people. She’s so strong and she’s playing great. And she wants to be good. Gisela is playing hard, and Lauren has gotten better. We are pretty loaded.”

The Wildcats have three new guards: Oregon transfer Taylor Chavez and freshmen Madi Conner and Anna Gret Asi. None are afraid to shoot 3-pointers.

Conner joined the program last January after graduating high school early, and was along for the ride to the national title game. Her experience, knowledge of the offense and offseason improvements could mean she’s in line for more playing time.

Asi comes in after playing for Estonia’s 3X3 team this summer, and has quickly made the adjustment to the college game.

Chavez was the Pac-12’s Sixth Player of the Year her sophomore season at Oregon. She made the Ann Meyers Drysdale watch list for best shooting guard in the nation. If this award sounds familiar, it should. McDonald won it two seasons ago.

How the Wildcats put it all together may determine whether they can make another NCAA Tournament run. They’ve been picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12, and were ranked No. 22 in the preseason Associated Press poll.

It’s not easy getting back to the Final Four, let alone the championship game. Blue blood Stanford, for example, had a 29-year gap between its second and third national titles.

Could last year’s Final Four run be the start of something special for Arizona? The Wildcats’ 2022 recruiting class of Maya Nnaji, Kailyn Gilbert and Lemyah Hylton figures to be the best in program history.

But first things first.

“We’re nowhere where we need to be, but we’re working hard, have great chemistry and great attitudes and we’re getting better every day,” Barnes said.