Heading into their Dec. 2 game against Monmouth, the buzz surrounding the Arizona Wildcats was about their defense and the play of freshman Mara Mote, who hit 4 of 5 3-pointers against UC Riverside the game before.
Sophomore forward Cate Reese, meanwhile, was quietly putting up big numbers. She entered the game as the team’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.
The 6-foot-2-inch Reese seemed to be flying under the radar.
“People know what I can do,” Reese said then. “I don’t necessarily need everyone to be like, “Cate, Cate, Cate Congrats.’
“If we can get the win and I do my best in the game ... I don’t care of someone else is going to score the same or more. If we win the game, that’s the main goal.”
Reese then posted arguably the best week of her college career and jumped into the spotlight.
On Dec. 7 against UTEP, she scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. Last Thursday against Tennessee State, she scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Reese was named the Pac-12’s player of the week for her effort against the Miners in El Paso, and she will certainly be considered when the league announces its new picks on Monday.
Through 10 games, Reese is averaging 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and adding 1.1 blocks and 1.4 steals per game while staying out of foul trouble. Reese has committed just 21 personal fouls all season, an average of 2.1 per game.
The 18th-ranked Wildcats (10-0) host UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.
Rebuild becomes a climb
For years, Adia Barnes has been talking about rebuilding the Wildcats’ program. Now that the Wildcats are ranked, she’s on to a new phrase: The Climb.
“There wasn’t an exact point, but I thought a pivotal point in the program was the WNIT (championship). Because after that you don’t want to be building and going to the NIT again. I think that showed ‘OK, we’re here,’” she said. “Now we’re climbing the hill. We’re not the bottom. When I got here we were like, underneath the ground. And then we, like, stuck our head up. Now, we’re halfway up the hill. But there’s just so much to do.
“I don’t want to use the word rebuild because it’s, it’s just such a different vision. And we’re at a different point. I thought the climb — the climb is the fun part. It’s the excitement of getting better, trying to be ranked, trying to get to the NCAA Tournament, those things.”
The system works
The Wildcats’ roster is now deep enough that each player fits Barnes’ defensive system. The Wildcats’ upperclassmen, notably point guard Lucia Alonso, are leading the way. Reese knows she can always trust Alonso to “know what to do and where to be all time. ... She’s really active off the ball on defense. She’s always in help side or when she’s on the ball she has a lot of ball pressure.”
Alonso’s improvement comes in part from her practice experience. She has gone up against star guard Aari McDonald in practice every day for more than two seasons.
“Aari’s fast. If you can contain Aari in practice, or half the time, you’re going to be able to contain any guard,” Barnes said.
“I think repetition of that, getting smarter, knowing when to step back, knowing when to press. I think you get that with experience. And she’s just grown in that area but she’s our smartest basketball player. The highest basketball IQ — does all the fundamental little things and that’s really important. And that’s why she’s able to do what she does.”
Excited about intros
The Wildcats have new game-day traditions. One of the most dramatic is how the starters are introduced. Instead of just coming off the bench, they run through the tunnel and onto the floor.
Video cameras capture each starter in the tunnel, and then follow them as they run in.
Players have put some thought into what they do when the camera is on them. Dominique McBryde usually strikes a pose or does a little dance. Sam Thomas changes it up a little each time.
“I just think of it last minute,” Thomas said.
“I’m not a dancer, so I can’t really dance I try and just strike a little pose — something fun to show my personality.”
Reese said she wasn’t about to dance in front of thousands of people, but has come up with a superhero move — just like Superman showing the big “S” on his jersey.
“I just thought ... why not?” Reese said. “I think the tunnel was cool, like especially with all the fans that we draw now. Women’s basketball is becoming a bigger deal in Tucson. We really appreciate our fans and it’s nice that we can enjoy things like that at the beginning of the game — to hype us up, hype the fans up.”
Another coach?
UA assistant coach Salvo Coppa recently posted a video of his and Barnes’ son Matteo drawing up the offensive play of the day. Details are scarce, but involves UA post players Semaj Smith, Birna Benonysdottir and Reese. Don’t be surprised if it’s used against UC Santa Barbara.
