Best of the Arizona Wildcats' 19-game win streak

Almost a full calendar year without a loss

304 days. That’s how long the No. 18 Arizona Wildcats went without losing a game. 

Adia Barnes and the Wildcats had the nation’s longest active win streak snapped at 19 games by the No. 10 UCLA Bruins over the weekend. A streak that spanned the end of the 2018-19 season and the beginning of the 2019-20 had some unforgettable moments and noteworthy individual performances.

Of course, there’s still a whole half of the 2020 season but as the Wildcats prepare to begin a new streak this weekend against the nationally ranked Oregon schools, let’s look back on the most memorable parts of the run.

Party like it’s 2000

On Dec. 29, 2019 Arizona erased the demons it had been fighting for the past two decades as the Wildcats defeated arch-rival ASU in Tempe 58-53 behind a stingy defensive effort and McDonald’s 20 points. 

It marked the first time since 2000 that the Cats had won a road game against the Sun Devils. 

Cats send Horned Frogs home in Final Four

Really, the only game of the WNIT that went down to the wire for UA was the semifinal matchup against TCU. The Horned Frogs cut an 11-point deficit at 8:02 in the fourth quarter down to 3 with 4:04 to play, but Arizona hit seven free throws down the stretch to ice the game in the final minute and send the program to the championship game. Sam Thomas and Aari McDonald each hit three 3-pointers in the 59-53 win. 

At the time, a crowd of 10,135 was a program record before getting broken a few days later. 

Best start in school history

Cate Reese’s career-high 23 points helped Arizona secure a 77-42 win over Tennessee State, marking the best start in school history at 10-0. The Wildcats once again played stingy defense and held the Lady Tigers to just 26% shooting, while conversely hitting 50% of their own shots. 

Texas basketball massacre

Arizona’s 4-0 start to this season was certainly impressive, but the Cats put the nation on notice with an 83-58 road win over No. 22 Texas back in mid-November. McDonald broke the school record for points in a game with 44 points, hitting 14-18 FGs and 14-14 FTs. 

UA’s defense was just as dominant, forcing 21 turnovers and holding Texas to just 39% from the floor.

WNIT champions

A no-brainer to put on this list, but the circumstances surrounding Arizona’s resounding 56-42 win over Northwestern gave it that much more reason to commemorate. 

• McKale Center sold-out at a capacity of 14,644 which broke a Pac-12 and program record for attendance at a women’s basketball game. 

• Barnes captured a WNIT Championship as both a player (1996) and coach at UA. 

• Aari McDonald was named tournament MVP and was the fourth player in Pac-12 history to score at least 800 points in a season.

• The six games Arizona hosted during the WNIT generated a net profit of $106,051.