It hasn’t taken long for Lemyah Hylton to find her way as a Wildcat.
A little over a minute after subbing in during the second quarter of Thursday night’s season-opening 113-56 win over NAU, the freshman guard scored in the paint. Then, with 18 seconds left in the half, she jumped high above everyone else to snare a defensive rebound.
Hylton finished with six points, seven rebounds and one steal in nearly 15 minutes of play. More than that, she displayed a versatility and willingness to do anything to help her teammates. Hylton is learning to play power forward in addition to small forward and the two guard positions. She’s also learning the complicated system that No. 19 Arizona (1-0) runs.
“Lemyah does a great job of penetrating, jump-stopping and kicking, and that’s not something she did a few weeks ago,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “We’re asking a lot from Lemyah, because we are putting her at all these different positions. … Lemyah is picking up stuff fast and doing a tremendous job because it’s hard as a freshman trying to learn your spot and your two wing spots and then you get thrown to another one. There’s totally different rules and places to go.”
Barnes was planning to run smaller lineups later this season, but her timeline moved up when forward Lauren Ware underwent season-ending knee surgery.
More and more, Wildcats like Hylton, Helena Pueyo and Madi Conner are playing positions that are new to them.
“We’re saying, ‘learn the 4 (position) on the fly’ because of Lauren getting hurt,” Barnes said. “It’s a lot, and it’s totally different. I (think) they’ve done a really good job. ... Lemyah, Madi and Helena have that (attitude) like, ‘Play me wherever so I can play.’ Other players (are like) ‘Oh, I want to be the 2; make sure I’m at the 1.’ They are like, ‘Play me wherever,’ and I like that about them. It’s an opportunity to get more minutes.”
Freshmen shine
Hylton, Kailyn Gilbert and Paris Clark are already making their mark as Wildcats.
The three freshmen combined for 26 points, 14 rebounds and seven steal against NAU. Arizona’s fourth highly rated newcomer, Maya Nnaji, sat out with knee tendinitis.
“They live up to their hype, I can tell you that,” senior point guard Shaina Pellington said. “They are all phenomena. I think that’s what makes this team special — we can pick anybody down the line on the bench and we can trust that they are going to come in and do their job and they’re going to produce. There’s never going to be a dropoff because of how skilled they are. And I’m really excited to see how they are able to grow ... They’re going to be fantastic. I can see them as seniors right now they’re going to be something special. I’m excited for them.”
Students in the ZonaZoo spell out “Bear Down” as the Wildcats gets ready to face Northern Arizona in Thursday’s season opener.
Bringing the fire
This year’s player introductions come with a new wrinkle. Starters run through fire as they’re introduced.
The company behind the fire stations is Fireworks Production of Arizona, the same company that handles pregame intros for the UA men and NASCAR events in Phoenix.
Kevin Luckenbill, who is in charge of setting up and removing the towers, arrives an hour before the tip. The units are stored at McKale Center, so his crew just needs to prep the equipment to make sure it’s working correctly, then bring it to the court right before the starters are announced.
He loves seeing the reaction of the fans as it “gets everybody pumped up for the game,” he said.
The towers are 6 feet 3 inches tall unlit, and grow to 12 or 13 feel when the flames are turned on. Luckenbill and his team can feel the heat from the court; it’s why they stand several feet away from the towers.
The best perk of his job is staying to watch the Wildcats play.
“I’ve been to women’s games even before doing the fireworks,” Luckenbill said. “I love it. I was raised here. I’ve been here 45 years. I am an Arizona Wildcat.”
Rim shots
Gilbert was hit in the forehead during Thursday’s game, causing a big knot to develop. “That shook her. You know when you can feel it and you can see it,” Barnes said.
Arizona broke an attendance record for most fans at home opener with 6,809 people in the stands.
Another stat that stood out from Thursday’s game was plus/minus, which measures a player’s impact on the game. Pellington was plus-50, Martinez was plus-49 and Pueyo plus-40. “I don’t think we’ve ever had three players in between 40 and 50. So that’s pretty good,” Barnes said.
