On Nov. 17, 2019, the Arizona Wildcats walked into the Frank Erwin Special Events Center in Austin believing in themselves.
They walked out with an 83-58 win over No. 22 Texas.
The nonconference win was a major milestone in coach Adia Barnes' reconstruction of the UA program — and a sign of what was to come.
“I think that was a statement win,” Barnes said. “It woke up all the people in the country that didn't know anything about Arizona. That started to put us on the map. Since then, we've earned our stripes and we are on the map and we're a good team. But that was kind of the beginning of that avalanche.”
Texas and Arizona will play again Sunday in the Coast-to-Coast Challenge in Las Vegas, and both teams' rankings are a sign of just how much things have changed. Arizona is 10-0, ranked fourth nationally, and is coming off an appearance in the NCAA championship game. Texas is 7-1 and ranked No. 11. The game will air on ESPN.
Sunday's neutral-site showdown is the second of three scheduled games between the schools. The Longhorns are expected to visit McKale Center next year, Barnes said.
During the first matchup with Texas, everything clicked for the Wildcats. Arizona forced 21 turnovers and held Charli Collier and Joyner Holmes — two of Texas’ top players — below their scoring averages. Arizona's Sam Thomas had five steals while Cate Reese grabbed three.
But make no mistake: It was The Aari McDonald Game.
Arizona's guard scored a school-record 44 points, hitting 14 of 18 field goals and making all 14 of her free throws. She earned ESPNW, Pac-12 and USBWA Player of the Week honors for her efforts.
McDonald outscored Texas by herself in the first half, putting up 22 points compared to the Longhorns' 19.
Aari McDonald scored a team-high 44 points when Arizona topped Texas two years ago.
On Sunday, things will look a lot different. McDonald is gone; so are Collier and Holmes. The Longhorns are now coached by Vic Schaefer. One of his assistant coaches is two-time former UA assistant April Phillips. Her first tenure with the Wildcats was the 2018-19 season when UA won the WNIT. She spent two years at Cal, then returned for a few months during the offseason before moving on to Austin.
UT is led by Aliyah Matharu and Rori Harmon. Matharu, a junior transfer, averages 15.8 points per game and is shooting 45% from the 3-point line. Harmon, a freshman, averages 12.3 points and six assists per game.
Arizona is relying on a more balanced offensive attack with McDonald gone, with six players — Reese, Thomas, Lauren Ware, Netty Vonleh, Shaina Pellington and Ariyah Copeland — averaging between 6.4 and 13.1 points per game.
And the Wildcats' defense has only gotten better since their last meeting with Texas. This year's UA team ranks in the top 10 nationally in field goal percentage defense (32.2%), scoring defense (49.1 points per game) and blocked shots per game (6.6).
Schaefer said Arizona is a “mirror image” of how Texas plays on the defensive end — aggressive, physical and disruptive.
“We always say, ‘You gotta attack pressure with pressure,’” Schaefer said. “…The thing about those older kids is they won the WNIT Championship in postseason. They played for the national championship in postseason. This is a veteran, veteran team. They play well together. The chemistry is outstanding. Their playing on both ends is solid like a rock. Again, it’s my kind of team.”
Texas pulled off a surprise upset of Stanford last month, and certainly believes it can hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
"It's going to be a hard-fought game and it's going to be a really aggressive game. I anticipate a low-scoring game. It's extremely physical, but it's going to be fun," Barnes said. "These are the games we wait for. This is what I think defines you and it also exploits your weaknesses.
"I'm excited. We're playing on neutral ground, which makes it even harder. And I'm excited to see where we're at and how we're going to respond right before Christmas, which is also another hard time to play.”
Rim shots
• Barnes said two biggest keys for Arizona to beat Texas are “taking care of the basketball … and playing our game.” She said Arizona and Texas are "both very defensive-oriented teams who put a lot of pressure, get up and press, so it's going to be who handles whose pressure the best, I think, will be effective in that game.”
• Copeland hit a milestone against New Mexico last Sunday, scoring her 1,000th career point.
• Reese cut her right elbow after falling in the third quarter of Friday's 82-55 win at NAU. She shook it off, kept playing and was eventually taken out. Barnes said after the game that Reese was fine.
• The Wildcats are on the first true road trip of the season this weekend. After winning in Flagstaff on Friday, they took the team bus to Las Vegas for Sunday’s game.
