Pac-12 Tourney performance shows Cats have what it takes for NCAA run

It’s much easier to put things in perspective the morning after.

Arizona let a shot at its first appearance in the Pac-12 Tournament title game in 17 years slip through its fingers late Friday night, losing 58-49 to UCLA in Las Vegas.

Yet there is a lot more basketball left to be played. Up next: “Selection Monday,” held March 15, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

On Saturday morning, the Wildcats (16-5) did had something to celebrate. Star point guard Aari McDonald was named a candidate for the Wooden Award, given to the nation’s top college basketball player. There are 15 players on the list, including Stanford’s Kiana Williams and Haley Jones.

It capped a big week for McDonald, who was named the Pac-12’s Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year and was named a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award and a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year award. She is also up for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and is on the Wade Trophy watch list.

Here are three things we learned during the Wildcats’ Pac-12 Tournament trip:

1. They’re ready for the postseason

The Wildcats flipped over to a postseason mentality this week.

They came out aggressive in Thursday’s 60-44 win over Washington State, holding the Cougars to 26% shooting. Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Charlisse Leger-Walker scored just 12 points. Leger-Walker beat Arizona in their first meeting this season in Pullman, scoring the winning basket in overtime.

The Wildcats won Thursday in part because of senior Sam Thomas’ defense. Arizona forced 20 turnovers in the first half and completely took the Cougars out of their game.

“They just manhandled us,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “I thought they were just savage on us and smelled blood from the very beginning. Made it so hard for us just to score points.”

That smothering defense continued in a losing effort against UCLA. The Wildcats held the Bruins to 33% from the field and 27% from the 3-point line while forcing 13 turnovers. Arizona blocked five shots.

UCLA’s defense was disruptive as well. The Bruins held the Wildcats to 32% shooting from the field and 18% from the 3-point line while forcing 15 turnovers.

“I thought both teams were extremely physical and really good with our defense,” UCLA coach Cori Close said.

“It was going to be the team that could control a few more possessions, could defend without fouling.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

The Wildcats cut UCLA’s lead to two points with a little over a minute left after Shaina Pellington hit a layup. But Arizona’s defense didn’t get back in time to prevent Michaela Onyenwere’s drive to the hoop; UCLA used free throws to extend its lead and won by nine.

2. Trinity Baptiste is an x-factor

Baptiste’s presence has been felt all season long, whether she’s grabbing rebounds or finding a little space to score. Her mid-range jumper and long-range shot spreads the floor and opens up UA’s offense.

Baptiste’s performance against WSU that proved that she could impact the game ever more. She finished with six steals, two coming in the game’s first 90 seconds. Her aggressiveness on offense led to a 17-point performance on 8 of 11 from the field. Baptiste’s willingness to do whatever her teammates need could help the Wildcats make a deep NCAA Tournament run.

3. More offense is needed

UA coach Adia Barnes was asked if defense would win the Pac-12 Tournament title. Her response was that defense was the standard, but that the title would come down to scoring.

While neither UCLA or Arizona played well offensively, the Bruins managed to get to the line and converted their free throws. UCLA made nine more free throws than Arizona did — the exact margin of victory. Barnes said “it really came down to not being able to convert.”

“I think the challenge for us sometimes is just being able to have the confidence to take the shots. It’s unfortunate. I felt like this year we had a chance,” Barnes said late Friday. “… We’re not going to win a lot more games if we don’t have balance. Shooters have to be ready to hit shots.”

Arizona has struggled offensively over the last few weekends, going 2-3 while averaging 56 points per game — 10 below its season average — and hitting just 24.7% of its 3-point attempts.

McDonald averaged 23 points and 3.6 assists per game during that stretch. However, her teammates went cold on the offensive end. Barnes said that while ball movement is there, players aren’t looking for their shot.

Expect to see more from freshman Madi Conner, who played nine minutes against UCLA after scoring her first college basket — a 3-pointer — a night earlier against Washington State.

“Madi gives us another shooter. She helps us spread the floor when we have other good ball handlers,” Barnes said. “She’s fearless. … She still has a ways to go, but she wants it. She’s hungry. She puts in the work. She is a gym rat. I knew down the stretch she would help us.”

Barnes said the team will get back to basics and continue to improve before its first tournament game.

The issues are “all fixable,” Barnes said. “I’m not going to hang my head because I don’t want my team to hang their heads, because we still have basketball to play. We’ve got to get better in the next two weeks and we will. But get better, get ready for the (NCAA) Tournament.

“The good thing is we’re still playing. Our season is not over. We’ve done a great job this year. We don’t give up, we have fight. We’re going to fix the things that we’re not good at. We’ll have momentum going into the tournament. But I’m confident that we can fix what we need to and get things going.”