On Saturday, the Arizona womenβs basketball team will look to do what no other UA team has been able to accomplish.
With a win over Texas A&M in the Sweet 16, the Wildcats will reach the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
Here are the key statistics behind Arizonaβs historic season and numbers to know heading into the Sweet 16:
22
Arizona (18-5) has the 22nd-best scoring defense in the NCAA and second-best scoring defense in the Pac-12, surrendering an average of 56 points per game. Of the 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament, Arizona ranks fourth in scoring defense.
The Wildcats also rank 22nd in the nation and first in the Pac-12 with 10.5 steals per game. Theyβre averaging 14 steals per game in the NCAA Tournament.
15-0
The Wildcats are undefeated when they shoot better than their opponent, boasting a 15-0 record. UA is 12-0 when it shoots better than 40% from the field.
On the other side, the Cats are 6-5 when their opponents post a better shooting percentage β and just 1-4 when they allow the opponent to shoot 40% or better from the field.
Helena Pueyo attempts a 3-pointer earlier this season. The Wildcats are 15-0 when they shoot better than their opponents from the field.
1,000 x3
The Wildcats are the lone school in the Pac-12 to feature three players who have scored at least 1,000 career points.
Pac-12 Player of the Year Aari McDonald leads the way by a wide margin, having scored 2,202 points β 273 coming during her freshman season at Washington.
Fellow senior Sam Thomas reached 1,000 points earlier this season, and is the only player in school history with both 100 career 3-pointers and 100 career blocks.
Junior forward Cate Reese joined the 1,000-point club on Jan. 22. Reese is averaging 11.3 points per game this season.
3Arizona has overcome three double-digit deficits this season, most recently at Colorado in December. Arizona trailed to both USC and UCLA in McKale Center earlier this season only to rally and win both times.
24
UA coach Adia Barnes is one of only three Pac-12 coaches to have two 24-win seasons in her first four years at the helm. The other two are Oregonβs Kelly Graves and Stanfordβs Tara VanDerveer.
The Wildcats won 24 games in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons and have a higher winning percentage (.783) in the shortened 2020-21 season than the previous two years.
Barnes was awarded a five-year contract extension on March 18.
1-3
The Wildcats are 1-3 all-time against SEC schools in the NCAA Tournament. The most recent matchup came against No. 1 LSU in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament; the Tigers beat the ninth-seeded Wildcats 76-43.
90
By scoring 10 points or more against the Aggies, McDonald will have scored in double figures in 90 consecutive games. Her current streak of 89 ranks as the most among active NCAA players.
The All-American point guard is averaging 18.5 points per game in the tournament while shooting 15 of 30 (50%) from the field.
14-2
The UA has a 14-2 record when leading at halftime, and is 4-3 when trailing. In the second round against BYU, Arizona trailed 25-23 at the half and came back to win 52-46.
38
McDonald needs 38 more points to surpass Dee-Dee Wheeler and move into third all-time on Arizonaβs scoring list. The senior has scored 1,929 points in 89 games in her three seasons at UA; Wheeler amassed 1,966 in 124 games from 2002-05.
2-3
Arizona is 2-3 all-time against Texas A&M. The most recent matchup between the two schools came in the 2010-11 season, with he Aggies winning 87-78.
Arizona last beat A&M during the 1997-98 season. That year, the Wildcats advanced to β you guessed it β the Sweet 16.
