Arizona coach Adia Barnes doesnโ€™t see a teamwide defensive mentality with this yearโ€™s squad, which is scoring โ€” and allowing โ€” more points than last seasonโ€™s Wildcats.

 Tony Avelar,

Associated Press

For a program like Arizona, itโ€™s always defense first.

Playing tenacious, swarming defense leads to steals, deflections and forcing the opposition to take bad shots and make mistakes.

When all of that doesnโ€™t happen, well, itโ€™s hard for Arizona to win.

This season, for the first time in Coach Adia Barnesโ€™ tenure, sheโ€™s had more shooters and fewer defensive-minded players at her disposal.

The Wildcats are averaging 11 points per game more than last year and 12 more than the team that went on the magical ride to the national championship game.

โ€œWe can score, but we donโ€™t have anybody with a real defensive mentality โ€” the want and the will to shut their opponent down. And thatโ€™s the mentality,โ€ said Barnes, whose team faces rival Arizona State on Sunday in Tempe.

โ€œWeโ€™re also not as athletic as weโ€™ve been in the past. I recognize that weโ€™re getting better. But I donโ€™t think thereโ€™s anybody on the team that has been focused on defense, and so thatโ€™s very different.โ€

The Wildcats are leading the Pac-12 in steals at 12.5 per game. Helena Pueyo is the league leader at 2.7. Three other Wildcats are in the top 10; Esmery Martinez and Shaina Pellington both average 1.9 per game (tied for fifth), and Lauren Fields averages 1.8 (eighth).

Arizona already has 225 steals in 18 games; last year the Wildcats finished with 300 in 29 games.

So why does this yearโ€™s defense look so different โ€” and not necessarily better? UA opponents are averaging 62.9 points per game on 41.2% shooting. Last season those figures were 57.4 and 39%.

Barnes said itโ€™s a combination of personnel and that offense-first mindset.

Without Lauren Ware โ€” out with season-ending knee surgery โ€” the Wildcats are missing their best post defender and have to play much smaller at times.

In the past, the Wildcats had players who took pride in defense, whether it was two of the best defensive players in the nation โ€” Sam Thomas and Aari McDonald โ€” or even two of the most athletic and strongest players in Trinity Baptiste and Bendu Yeaney (who transferred to Oregon State).

Barnes even said that McDonald grew up defense-first before she evolved into the โ€œslasher to the basket.โ€

Arizona guard Helena Pueyo, left, leads the Pac-12 in steals, and the Wildcats lead the league in that category.

โ€œYouโ€™ve got to want to play defense, and I think that itโ€™s just been a challenge getting us to want to play defense and want to box out,โ€ Barnes said. โ€œItโ€™s not bad. Itโ€™s just the personnel of your team. Our team is more offensive-minded. But I can tell you this: (Iโ€™ve never had) a team that we could have run two offenses and score 80 points. We would have probably scored 30 points in the past. It is what it is. You have to adjust to your teams.

โ€œItโ€™s my job to get us better, and weโ€™re only getting better if we get better defensively. I think we are getting better, but that has to be a focus.โ€

The lack of discipline and focus on the defensive side showed up against Colorado and Utah last weekend. It included a few missed defensive rebounds early on against Utah that led to second-chance 3-pointers and a missed assignment that allowed Frida Formann to knock down a wide-open 3-pointer with around 1:30 left against Colorado.

Barnes said itโ€™s difficult for offensive-minded players to shift their mindset to defense in just a few months. Still, she is seeing improvements.

โ€œYou try to get them better at certain things.โ€ Barnes said. โ€œJade (Loville) has improved the defense a lot in a couple months. Sheโ€™s smart, sheโ€™s using angles.

โ€œLetโ€™s say theyโ€™re not the best at closing out. Then youโ€™re work(ing) on them closing out a little bit shorter or their technique or staying lower; youโ€™re trying to improve on some things that can help, or focusing on boxing out more. Thatโ€™s an attention thing. Thatโ€™s not really (an) athleticism thing.

โ€œOr Maya (Nnaji), youโ€™re not flying out at someone on the perimeter, youโ€™re closing out shorter so you can just contest shots and use your legs. You have to teach more strategies.โ€

Team-first mentality

Times have certainly changed in college sports in the last few years with NIL and the transfer portal. Now, itโ€™s much easier to pick up and leave one school for another if you arenโ€™t getting playing time or the deals you want.

When Barnes was playing at Arizona, she never thought about leaving. Not even during that rough freshman year when she was late to her classes and had to run and run โ€” and watch her teammates run โ€” before she made sure she was on time.

Barnes said it โ€œnever crossedโ€ her mind to leave. Besides, she couldnโ€™t tell her parents.

โ€œAny complaint I (had) my parents would say, โ€˜Well, you canโ€™t dribble with your left hand. Youโ€™re not a good shooter yet. You canโ€™t dribble, so maybe we should start working on that before you start complaining.โ€™ It was always on me โ€” work harder,โ€ Barnes said.

She learned early on that to earn playing time โ€œgive your coach something they canโ€™t live without. Do something so well that they have to play you.โ€

When Barnes turned professional, she turned into a role player. Whatever was needed of her, she was going to do it โ€” whether it was rebounding, being a defensive stopper or being the spark off the bench. She was the definition of a team player.

โ€œI wasnโ€™t thinking about me,โ€ Barnes said.

Rim shots

Despite two tough losses over the weekend, Barnes did see some positives. โ€œWe did a great job of going from Friday to Sunday and changing things without a lot of preparation,โ€ Barnes said. โ€œ(We) gave ourselves a chance to win against a really good team (Utah) in the mountains, which is a hard place to play.โ€

Because of high demand, Arizona Athletics added another bus โ€” a third one โ€” for fans to travel up to Tempe for Sundayโ€™s matchup against ASU. Call 520-232-5563 to reserve your spot.

McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.

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Contact sports reporter PJ Brown at pjbrown@tucson.com. On Twitter: @PJBrown09