Helena Pueyo didn't expect to start Friday’s game against Washington State.
After all, the junior guard has only started one game in her UA career. And there wasn’t much to remember about that one, which occurred during her freshman season.
Friday, playing point guard with Shaina Pellington out for undisclosed reasons, Pueyo shined. In 36 minutes, Pueyo scored a season-high 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting and registered two blocks and two assists as No. 4 Arizona won 60-52 to remain undefeated. Pueyo committed no turnovers and no fouls against a Cougars team that is known for pressuring the point guard. WSU averages 8.5 steals per game, but had just five against the Wildcats.
Arizona (11-0, 1-0 Pac-12) will play at USC on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s different for me, but it’s nothing. I’m just here to help my team,” Pueyo said. “I’m always ready. Tonight, I had the opportunity to do it and it was fun.”
Pueyo looked like a natural at the position, and fit right in with the Wildcats' other starters. There were virtually no adjustments needed for her teammates.
“I trusted her that she was going to come in and get the job done,” forward Cate Reese said. “I mean, obviously, you could tell in the game she did a great job. She looked extremely confident. And that's what just what we needed. She does a great job taking care of the ball looking at open passes. I'm happy she's looking more to her shot now. I think that she could do this every night. I'm really proud for her to have been able to start how to do such a great job and having good impact on the team.”
Winning mentality
The Wildcats are only 11 games into the season, yet their identity is starting to show. They're resilient, whether it's coming off a pause, losing starter Lauren Ware to injury or enduring Pellington's absence.
“Our team handles adversity — it’s them,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “They find a way. They want to win. They fight. It’s not me, it's just how they step up to the plate and figure it out. We did that against Louisville, in South Dakota. We did that in St. Thomas against Vanderbilt, Rutgers and DePaul. We find a way to win.
“I really see the difference in the players that played in the (NCAA) championship game last year. Bendu, Cate, Sam, even Madi (Conner) — all those players have experienced it. Because they have a different sense of urgency and belief that we can win everything. I see that when things go tough, or we need a really big play. That experience is invaluable, and they just find a way to get it done. I am proud of them, and I love coaching this team.”
Aari McDonald was inducted into the Arizona Ring of Honor following Friday's game.
Oh, what a night
Friday night began with Ariyah Copeland receiving a basketball commemorating her 1,000th college point. Then Thomas was honored for winning the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup.
That was only a glimpse of what was to come. Reese moved up Arizona's career scoring list to No. 10 spot with 1,306 points. She is 10 points from taking the ninth position from Timi Brown, who played at UA from 1987-91.
Barnes notched her 100th career victory, becoming the fastest in program history to reach the milestone.
And, following the game, former Wildcat Aari McDonald was inducted in to the Arizona Ring of Honor.
McDonald said she was happy to be back. She said Barnes' milestone victory made it even more meaningful.
“It was definitely a special moment,” McDonald said. “(Barnes is) creating history, herself. This is the person I started with. Before I made my name, made my mark, this is the person that I trusted in.”
McDonald received a cake in the locker room featuring a photo of her after last year's Final Four win over UConn and the words “You left your legacy. Built Different.”
The Wildcats celebrated Barnes' win with silly string. Barnes was given flowers and T-shirts were made up with the "100" emoji on them.
Barnes said she never thought she’d reach 100 wins so quickly.
“I thought it would take more time, but I thought we'd do good,” Barnes said. “I think it just happened faster but because of players like (McDonald), Tee Tee (Starks) and Dominique (McBryde). But Aari taking a chance here made it (happen) faster.”
Rim shots
• Barnes drilled a pregame basket from the McKale Center stands on Friday, and the video went viral. Barnes was meeting a challenge from South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who had made a similar shot earlier in the week. Barnes didn’t use the backboard; it was all net. After Barnes’ shot went in, she celebrated with a little dance.
She made the shot on her fifth try.
“I was on point, on track to almost make them. They were all almost going in,” Barnes said.
• Sunday's game against USC was originally scheduled for Dec. 31 before it was delayed because of the Trojans' COVID-19 protocols. The teams agreed on Wednesday to make it up Sunday. The game will be shown on USC’s livestream but not air on Pac-12 Networks. A Pac-12 spokesperson said the short-notice rescheduling did not give the league enough time to staff it “due to a lack of resources and staffing available.”
• UA grad and former KOLD-TV sports director Steve Quis will call Sunday's game on 1400-AM, replacing Brody Dryden as he recovers from COVID-19. The San Diego-based Quis is the former play-by-play voice of the Tucson Toros and of UA baseball.
