Arizona guard Paris Clark goes up for a shot in front of Maryland guard Shyanne Sellers during the first half of their second-round game in the NCAA Tournament, Sunday, March 19, 2023, in College Park, Md. Barring a change of heart, it would be Clark’s last game as a Wildcat as she has entered the transfer portal.

 Julio Cortez, Associated Press

When Arizona’s season ended Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, there was a small window for fans and those within the program to look back at a season that included the Wildcats winning 22 games, beating five ranked teams and advancing to the Round of 32.

Yet Wednesday’s news tied to Coach Adia Barnes’ program is proof yet again that in this era of college basketball, there’s no longer much time to reminisce; it’s about moving on and looking ahead.

The Star learned Wednesday that four Wildcats have entered the transfer portal and will be leaving Tucson: junior Lauren Ware, sophomore Madison Conner and freshmen Paris Clark and Lemyah Hylton.

Conner was the first to announce she was leaving on Instagram Wednesday evening when she posted: β€œThank you Tucson! Here’s to new beginnings.”

Arizona guard Madison Conner drives past Washington State guard Tara Wallack in the first half of their game at McKale Center on Jan. 29, 2023.

Next season’s Wildcats will have a new look for a new era.

Gone are some of the last pieces of the Wildcat team that went on that magical ride to the 2021 NCAA championship game. Conner and Ware played on that team along with Shaina Pellington and Cate Reese, both fifth-year seniors graduating this year. The only Wildcat left from that squad is Helena Pueyo, who is set on using her extra COVID-year next season. There still is a slim chance that Pueyo will graduate and play professionally in Europe, but all indications are that she is returning.

Senior Esmery Martinez also has an option to play professionally but is likewise leaning toward returning to the Wildcats.

Arizona currently has six players on its roster: Martinez, Pueyo, Lauren Fields and freshmen Maya Nnaji, Kailyn Gilbert and Montaya Dew β€” the early enrollee from the Class of 2023, which also includes Breya Cunningham and Jada Williams.

As she has in years past, Barnes will be dipping into the transfer portal again heading into next season.

Ware, who had season-ending surgery on her right patellar tendon in the beginning of November, played two seasons for the Wildcats. The 6-5 forward originally signed on to play both basketball and volleyball at Arizona. She did play volleyball last spring before deciding to focus only on basketball. She won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the U19 World Cup in the summer of 2021. She averaged 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and had 28 blocks for the Wildcats in 2021-22.

Ware has been plagued with injuries starting in the summer before her senior year of high school when she tore her left ACL. She suffered a similar injury to her patellar last year that knocked her out of this season but at that time opted for rehab.

Arizona forward Lauren Ware, right, shoots the ball while North Carolina guard Kennedy Todd-Williams tires to contest the shot during their game in Round 2 of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at McKale Center on March 21, 2022.

When she banged knees with a teammate in practice in the fall, she decided to have surgery instead of waiting until the end of the season and rehabbing again. Ware had been practicing with the team for the last month. She will have three years of eligibility left.

Connor was an early enrollee who joined the Wildcats in January of 2021; that extra semester does not count towards her eligibility, meaning Connor will have four years left to play college ball. She knocked down 3-pointers at a 36% clip, averaging 5.8 points in 14.3 minutes per game this season. The 5-11 guard expanded her game by playing forward this year when the Wildcats went to a smaller lineup with Ware out.

Clark, who provided a spark off the bench over the latter portion of the season, averaged 3.8 points, 2.8 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game. She saw action in 24 games.

The 5-8 guard, who hails from New York, scored 11 points in the NCAA tournament loss at Maryland on Sunday β€” picking up eight in the run the Wildcats made in the second quarter to get back into the game and take a lead into the half. Against West Virginia in the first round, she pulled down seven rebounds.

Clark is the first McDonald’s All-American to transfer out of Arizona.

Hylton, the lanky 5-11 guard from Canada, earned the least number of minutes, averaging 8.1 over 15 appearances.

Chantel Jennings of The Athletic first reported the news of all four players entering the portal Wednesday evening via Twitter.

Arizona junior Lauren Ware (top) and freshman Lemyah Hylton (bottom) were two of four Wildcats to enter the transfer portal this week.

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The UA women's basketball team runs defensive drills at Xfinity Center Thursday, the day before the No. 7-seed Wildcats defeated No. 10-seed West Virginia, 75-62 in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Video by PJ Brown/Arizona Daily Star

The UA women's basketball team runs drills at Xfinity Center Thursday, the day before the No. 7-seed Wildcats defeated No. 10-seed West Virginia, 75-62 in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Video by PJ Brown/Arizona Daily Star

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