Probable starters
ARIZONA
G Shaina Pellington (5-8 senior)
G/F Jade Loville (5-11 senior)
F Esmery Martinez (6-2 senior)
F Lauren Fields (5-9 senior)
F Cate Reese (6-2 senior)
WASHINGTON
F Haley Van Dyke (6-1 senior)
F Lauren Schwartz (5-11 junior)
G Trinity Oliver (5-9 senior)
G Jayda Noble (5-11 sophomore)
F Dalayah Daniels (6-4 sophomore)
History of matchup
Arizona is 26-43 against UW. The Wildcats dropped the first 12 games in the series before winning on March 12, 1992, in Tucson. After that, the Wildcats lost seven more games before winning again, once in 1996 and once in 1997.
UA coach Adia Barnes is 6-2 against UW — her only losses coming in the 2017 season when the Huskies’ squad had Kelsey Plum and Aari McDonald. (McDonald spent her freshman season at UW before she transferred to Arizona.)
The first win of the series during the Barnes coaching era — and the first win in seven seasons against UW — came in February 2018. Arizona won in come-from-behind fashion, 72-70. Down by 10 at the half (35-25), the Wildcats outscored the Huskies 31-16 in the third quarter and held on down the stretch. Lucia Alonso led Arizona with 19 points, making 5 of 6 3-point attempts. Arizona shot 48% from beyond the arc. Freshman Sam Thomas stuffed the stat sheet with a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) while blocking four shots and grabbing two steals. JaLea Bennett chipped in 14 points, and Marlee Kyles had 13 points. It’s the closest UW has come to beating UA over the last four years.
Key players
UW — Dalayah Daniels
The transfer from Cal is the type of player who will do whatever is needed to help her team. Whether that means scoring (she finished with 17 points in a near-upset of USC on Sunday), tying her season high of three steals against Oregon State or swatting some shots (she had three blocks in each game last weekend against UCLA and USC), Daniels is the one player the Huskies can rely on. Daniels is leading UW in scoring (11.9 ppg). She is sixth in the Pac-12 in blocks, averaging 1.4 per game.
Arizona — Shaina Pellington
Pellington is coming off a top defensive performance. She held ASU’s Tyi Skinner to eight points. In the first matchup, Skinner torched Arizona with 26 points. Pellington also picked up two steals, dished three assists and scored 13 points. Critically, she committed only one foul. Pellington fouled out in the two previous games (Colorado and Utah) for the first time in her collegiate career. The Wildcats rely on her during crunch time, and they need her on the court. She leads UA in scoring (12.6) and assists (3.7, ninth in the Pac-12) She is second in steals for the Wildcats with 1.9 per game, which is fifth in the league.
She said it
“Washington is much better than (its) record. (The Huskies are) very hard to guard. They run ‘Princeton’ and ‘Chin’ (offensive systems). It’s a lot of read/react. They don’t take quick shots. They go deep into their shot clock.
“It’s going to be a hard game. These are games that we need to win at home, and they’re not going to be easy. Winning these two (Washington State on Sunday) at home would be huge. The games that Washington has lost … they were up on UCLA, controlling the game until the third quarter.
“They’re good. I think it’s just new. Their defense is better. Their stuff is hard to guard, so it’s not a program we take lightly.”
— UA coach Adia Barnes
Arizona guard Helena Pueyo, left, strips Northern Arizona guard Regan Schenck in the second quarter of their game at McKale Center on Nov. 10, 2022.
Sidelines
Lockdown defender: Helena Pueyo made the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year midseason watch list earlier in the week. She is the first Wildcat since McDonald (2021 season) to make the list of 15 players across the nation.
For Pueyo, it’s being in the right position to contain her opponent and using her length to get in passing lanes to get tips and steals for herself and her teammates.
“She’s an assassin,” Loville said. “I like to call her ‘Pueyo Shiesty’ because she’s not going to say much — she’s not very rah-rah. She’s not a flashy player, but she gets the job done with whatever role that it is, (whether) she’s playing at the point guard, on the wing, at the four on defense. She’s a floor general. She literally does everything, and I think she’s just so deserving of this.”
Barnes thinks the award will come down to the numbers; Pueyo is 33rd in the nation, averaging 2.6 steals per game. Still, it’s special for her as a coach to see Pueyo on the list.
“I remember watching Helena,” Barnes said. “She stood, did not get in the stance, and I remember saying to (UA assistant) Salvo (Coppa), ‘There is no way she’ll play defense within our system.’
“Then watching her evolve … to see her now getting deflections, making huge, key plays on the ball, out-of-bounds (plays) in games. To see the evolution of her defense, it makes us proud as coaches. And just proud of her. I don’t think she ever thought she’d get this.
“She does a really good job. She’s someone I really, really hope comes back here next year. She’s a really good player, and she’s just getting better and better.”
No. 2: Despite being in the bottom rung of the league — ninth place, to be exact — Washington is getting after it on the glass.
UW is second to only Stanford in rebound margin (plus-9.3) in the Pac-12. That number puts them at 17th in the nation.
However, it’s one of those times when the numbers don’t tell the full story. It’s a team effort as none of the Huskies is rebounding in double figures, or even close to it.
Daniels leads the team with 6.2 per game. Jayda Noble is the only other starter who is averaging more than five per game (5.6). Trinity Oliver and Haley Van Dyke are at 4.8 rebounds apiece, and Lauren Schwartz pulls down 2.6.
Fun facts
Arizona: UA Athletics is asking fans to bring new diapers to donate Friday night to the Diaper Drive of Southern Arizona.
UW: Daniels’ dad, Dale, played basketball at Central Washington. … Oliver was a member of Baylor’s 2019 national-championship squad … Two of Noble’s sisters play professionally: Gabby Williams (Seattle Storm) and Kayla Williams (Australia).
Numbers game
1 — Arizona is the only Pac-12 team with two commits for the Class of 2023 who are McDonald’s All-Americans: Breya Cunningham and Jada Williams, who both play for La Jolla Country Day near San Diego. It’s the first time two players from the same high school who are going to the same college have received that honor. This is the second year the Wildcats have boasted two McDonald’s All Americans. Last year it was Paris Clark and Maya Nnaji.
50 — With Pueyo’s steal against Arizona State, she has 50 for the season, which ties her career high set last year.
2 — Reese is second all time in UA career starts with 139. The lone player ahead of her is Thomas, who finished her career starting in all 154 games in which she played.
