Arizona forward Lauren Ware dries to the basket while being defended by Oregon forward Kylee Watson (22) and guard Taylor Chavez (3) in the first half Thursday. The Wildcats used runs in the first and third quarters to log their first statement win of the season.

 Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star

Women’s basketball in the Pac-12 is so good it’s menacing. It’s like being stuck in the SEC West football division with Alabama, LSU and Auburn, or in ACC men’s basketball opposite Duke and North Carolina.

Let’s start with the team picked to finish 12th in the league this season, Washington State. The Cougars are No. 25 in the current national rankings, good enough to beat then-No. 7 Arizona a few days ago.

β€œA lot of people are going to lose to (WSU),” UA coach Adia Barnes said after the 11th-ranked Wildcats flattened No. 10 Oregon 57-41 Thursday evening.

It’s not like those seemingly forever stuck behind Stanford, Oregon, UCLA and ASU aren’t trying. The picked-to-finish-last Cougars hired coach Kamie Ethridge, who led Texas to an NCAA championship, was a key part of Team USA’s 1988 Olympic gold medal and is in the women’s basketball Hall of Fame.

After the Cougars beat Arizona, Ethridge used the word β€œstatement” four times in her post-game interview, as in β€œthis was a statement win.”

β€œI love the thought that we might be in the mix,” said Ethridge. β€œBut we also know how fast this could crash.”

About the last team you’d expect to crash is Oregon. The Ducks went 97-12 the last three seasons and brought in the nation’s No.1 recruiting class this year. All five players were McDonald’s All-Americans.

On Thursday, those five All-Americans were greeted by Arizona’s in-your-grill defense and combined for just 16 points.

Crash. Sure enough, both Barnes and senior Sam Thomas used β€œstatement” to describe the UA’s long-sought win over the Ducks.

At halftime, Oregon coach Kelly Graves, who has been the Pac-12 coach of the year three years in succession, told an ESPN interviewer β€œwe lost our composure, including me; the reality is, they’re beating us.”

Forward Cate Reese attempts a shot while being guarded by Oregon’s Nyara Sabally in the first half of Thursday’s Wildcats win in McKale Center.

Arizona led 36-22. The game was never in doubt.

Barnes wasn’t about to celebrate, squeezing the words β€œtough life for us” into her post-game Zoom conference, a reference to what lies ahead for the No. 11 Wildcats. Here’s Arizona’s upcoming road schedule:

  • Jan. 31 at No. 8 UCLA
  • Feb. 7 at No. 10 Oregon
  • Feb. 22 at No. 1 Stanford
  • Feb. 28 at always-worrisome ASU

Arizona beat Oregon with defense, grit and with senior point guard Aari McDonald, the Pac-12’s most feared opponent. McDonald leads the league in scoring and assists and is third in steals. If anyone kept official totals for deflections, she would be Nos. 1. 2 and 3. She’s not just a pest to opposing offenses, she is a pest.

But Barnes knows the Wildcats have a hole in their game: 3-point shooting. Stanford and Oregon have combined to make 170 3-pointers. Arizona has made 60.

β€œWe go through (scoring) droughts,” said Barnes, who has wisely deployed a pressing, McDonald-led defense to make up for those droughts. β€œWith a player like Aari, I’d be a stupid coach to not press.”

Aari McDonald harassed Oregon on Thursday night with her suffocating defense. Her quickness on both ends of the ball sparked the UA win.

On offense, it’s not as simple.

On the final possession of the first half Thursday, leading 34-22, Barnes called the best play in her book. McDonald dribbled into the frontcourt and, predictably, saw four Ducks squeezed into the paint, blocking her path. Daring her to β€œbring it.”

The fifth Duck played McDonald head-up. It was almost as if Oregon didn’t bother to guard the other four Wildcats.

β€œWe don’t have a team that can spread the court,” said Barnes. β€œEveryone sits in the paint and waits for Aari.”

Somehow, McDonald sped past the first three defenders, dashed into the paint, ignored the hands in her face and the bodies in her path and made a twisting layup.

Not one to be intimidated, McDonald said β€œwe lace up our shoes just like Oregon does.”

Arizona is worthy of a top-10 ranking and is a sturdy Final Four contender, but many analysts would say the Wildcats are a player short.

A 3-point shooter.

To her credit, Barnes shrewdly took advantage of the unique NCAA regulations during a COVID-19 season to the UA’s immediate benefit. Instead of sulking after losing Sunday at WSU, Barnes used the rest of the day to add a valued 3-point shooter to the roster.

It was like an NFL general manager scanning the waiver wire for immediate help.

Barnes discovered it’s permissible to activate the top recruit from Arizona’s class of 2021, Phoenix guard Madison Conner, as soon as she passes COVID-19 protocols. Conner, who has earned her high school degree and qualified for admission to the UA, could be on the floor as early as Arizona’s game against Utah next Friday.

In her first three years of competition at Gilbert Perry High School, Conner made 181 3-pointers. Arizona, which is shooting 28.5% on 3s, has nothing to lose by giving Conner a shot.

If it helps Arizona avoid a crash on the difficult road ahead, Barnes will have made a statement that sticks.

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.

Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 573-4362 or ghansen@tucson.com.

On Twitter: @ghansen711