Each of Arizonaβs last three seasons have been historic, but nothing like this one.
The Wildcats advanced to their first-ever Final Four, and came within one basket of winning the national championship. Arizona saved its best performances for the final three weeks, capturing the hearts of basketball fans all across the nation as the lovable underdogs.
For three weeks on the biggest stage, everyone was talking about the Wildcats, Aari McDonald and Adia Barnes.
Hereβs what we learned about the Wildcats during the 2020-21 season:
1. McDonald is elite
Aari McDonald grew in each of her three years at Arizona. In her first year, she scored 890 points β more than any other male or female in a Wildcat uniform. The next season, McDonaldβs court vision improved.
As a senior, she took on more of a leadership role while fine-tuning her strengths and working on her shot.
McDonaldβs improvements were on display during the UAβs six-game run in the NCAA Tournament.
She averaged 25 points per game and in three games scored 15, 17 and 19 points by halftime. In the last four games, McDonald hit 19 of 36 3-pointers.
Seemingly every game included you-had-to-see-it moments.
Arizona trailed BYU with five minutes left in the second round when McDonald went to work. The guard grabbed two steals, scored on a deep 3 and drove on a second-chance basket to help her Wildcats move onto the Sweet 16.
Against Texas A&M, McDonald made a crossover move in the paint, threw the ball up as she was falling on her knees. It was good for the basket and the foul. She also hit a dagger at the end of the third quarter, a 3-pointer that bounced up in the cylinder before dropping thru. The Wildcats beat the Aggies 74-59, advancing to the Elite Eight.
2. UA peaked at the perfect time
Sometimes it takes a while for things to come together β especially in a season with no summer training, lots of starts and stops and only two nonconference games. For most of the season, the Wildcats were trying to find their groove and put together a full 40 minutes of great basketball.
Arizona showed glimpses of it during the season, sweeping the Los Angeles schools in McKale Center and beating Oregon twice, then turned it on in the tournament. The Wildcatsβ 69-59 win over UConn in the Elite Eight stands as the greatest win in program history. The Wildcats not only won but dominated, holding the lead for 39:18 while holding the Huskies to 36% shooting. The result: UConnβs first double-digit loss in the tournament since 2007.
This win put Arizona in an all-Pac-12 final against Stanford. Despite one of the Wildcatsβ best defensive performances of the season, holding Stanford to only 27% from beyond the arc and forcing 21 turnovers, Arizona came up just short.
The season will be remembered for more than just the tournament run. Arizona finished second in the Pac-12 for the first time in 17 years, was ranked in the top-12 in the AP poll all 17 weeks and was the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.
βWe found a way to get the job done,β Barnes said. βWeβve handled adversity all year and just to come together and find a way to win. Iβm just so proud of this team β no one believed in us, but the main thing is, we believe in ourselves, and we believe in each other.β
3. Thereβs more to come
Even with McDonald in the WNBA, the future looks bright β if also a little different.
This Arizona system was built around the speedy McDonald. While defense will always be the Wildcatsβ calling card, the offensive scheme will shift with more shooters coming in and a bigger presence down low.
Sam Thomas, the glue of the team, is returning for one more season. Sheβll be joined by Cate Reese, Helena Pueyo, Bendu Yeaney, Lauren Ware and Shaina Pellington, along with reserves Madi Conner, Derin Erdogan and Semaj Smith.
Theyβll be joined by a trio of incoming transfers. Taylor Chavez, formerly of Oregon, can serve at point guard, knock down 3-pointers and defend. Koi Love, a forward from Vanderbilt, was a walking double-double at her last stop. And grad transfer Ariyah Copeland, from Alabama, averaged 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season.
Arizonaβs recruiting class brings in another sharpshooter in Anna Gret Asi, and forwards Aaronette Vonleh and Gisela Sanchez.
