NCAA Tournament scouting report: No. 7 Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 2 Maryland Terrapins

Probable starters

ARIZONA

1 G Shaina Pellington (5-8 senior)

30 G/F Jade Loville (5-11 senior)

12 F Esmery Martinez (6-2 senior)

23 F Lauren Fields (5-9 senior)

25 F Cate Reese (6-2 senior)

MARYLAND

10 G Abbey Meyers (6-0 senior)

1 G Diamond Miller (6-3 senior)

0 G Shyanne Sellers (6-2 sophomore)

13 G/F Faith Masonius (6-1 senior)

12 G Elisa Pinzan (5-8 senior)

How they match up

History: Arizona is 0-3 against Maryland during the Brenda Frese coaching era. During the 2004-05 season, Maryland traveled to Tucson and won 84-77 in overtime. UA has played at Maryland twice. In December 2005, the Terrapins won 92-67; in November 2006, Maryland won 75-61.

When Maryland is at its best: The Terrapins have a high-octane offense. They are No. 13 in the nation in scoring, averaging 79 points per game. Look down the list on the roster, and they are scoring machines — starting with Diamond Miller, who averages 19.5 points per game. The senior has scored 1,604 points in her career. Abbey Meyers, the former Ivy League Player of the Year who transferred from Princeton, knocks down 14.6 points per game. And Shyanne Sellers hits at a 13.8 per-game clip.

When Arizona is at its best: It’s team ball and finding multiple ways to win as the Wildcats showed in the first round against West Virginia, when they distributed the ball on offense in the first half, getting everyone involved. In the second half, when Shaina Pellington and Helena Pueyo were on the bench, it was Kailyn Gilbert feeding the posts and the hot hand of Cate Reese. The Wildcats also showed resiliency and depth. Freshmen Gilbert and Paris Clark came in and blended in well with the veterans, giving the Wildcats the spark to get them through the rough spots.

She said it

“We know that they’re going to play five guards, so we know that we’re going to face switching defenses, probably some zone.

“They score a lot of points. I feel like we play more pressure defense. I think it’s just two clashing styles, and I think it’s going to be good matchups.”

— Arizona coach Adia Barnes on the Terrapins

Sidelines

No excuses, just play

It’s that time of year, where every player has some nagging injuries. Pellington is no different.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Earlier in the season, she fell on her tailbone and on her rib during the Los Angeles trip. She has tweaked her ankle a few times this season.

Now Pellington and others are putting all that out of their minds. It’s time to just ball out.

“I think it’s do or die. I mean, it’s you lose, you’re done. You know what I mean?” Pellington said. “That’s what’s really motivating us. I don’t want to use any of those little nagging things as an excuse for why we don’t make it to the next round.

“I think it’s all just a mindset, and right now my mindset is just do whatever needs to be done to get the job done. That’s just where I’m at right now.”

Pellington credits UA’s athletic training staff and team doctor for helping with rehab every night to put up performances like she had against West Virginia on Friday: 18 points and four assists.

Those sessions include Normatec compression, massages, cupping and mobility stretches. They also use liquid hydration mixes to keep players’ energy up and make sure they have enough electrolytes.

More motivation for the native of Ontario, Canada: Her parents, Dennis and Arlene, are in the stands. The last time they saw their daughter play in person — for one of the few times as a Wildcat — was at McKale Center during senior weekend. Pellington put up 35 points against then-No. 4 Utah and 19 against then-No. 21 Colorado for a home sweep. She earned Pac-12 Player of the Week and other honors.

“Obviously, I don’t get to have my parents at a lot of my games as often as some others,” Pellington said. “It does mean a lot to have my parents there, my dad being my coach. I mean, he’s my dad. And my mom as well. ...

“After a win ... being able to look out into the stands and see your family there, it’s cool.”

UA-Maryland connections

Adia Barnes coached Miller as part of the 2021 Team USA AmeriCup gold-medal-winning team. This is the first time Barnes is coaching against Miller.

“What really stood out about Diamond to me was she was really high energy,” Barnes said. “I remember it would be the beginning of practice, everybody is kind of getting warmed up. Some people are kind of just in relaxed mode. She was always like go, like full go. And she had a motor. ...

“Just a good player, great person and a lot of fun. (She) was really funny. I just don’t love playing against her.”

Another Maryland-Arizona connection: Bett Shelby, special assistant to the head coach, was on Frese’s staff as an assistant coach for three years (2016-18).

No assist needed

Last year when UA beat UNLV in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Tucson, Reese had a little problem placing the Arizona name tag on the big board to show the Wildcats advanced to the next round. Pellington had to provide the assist. This time around, the Wildcats trusted Reese to try it again. And it worked.

“She took her time,” Pellington said. “(Last time) there was a lot of built-up anticipation. We were hyping her up, doing a little dance, and then at the last minute she just threw that thing on there. This time she was a little more calm and was like, ‘All right, let’s actually put it where it’s supposed to go.’ She was able to execute that well. So, yeah, kudos to her.”

Numbers game

65 — The Wildcats shot 65% of their shots (17 of 26) under the basket against West Virginia. The next-highest volume area on the shot chart was the right wing — 50% (4 of 8). UA was just 2 of 12 from beyond the arc.

1,500 — With her sixth point in the first quarter of Friday’s game, Jade Loville reached 1,500 points during her collegiate career.

2021 — Aari McDonald (33 points, 11 rebounds) and Trinity Baptiste (12 points, 10 rebounds) were the last Wildcats who put up double-doubles in an NCAA Tournament game. Theirs came in the 2021 Elite Eight game against Indiana. Esmery Martinez joined them with her 13-point, 12-rebound performance against West Virginia. Barnes said her message to Martinez against Maryland: Do it again.

19 — Frese is 19-0 in first round games in the NCAA Tournament.