The UA has already sold 1,200 tickets for Thursday's WNIT opener against Idaho State. Coach Adia Barnes thinks they can reach 5,000 in the next day.
Let’s go Tucson we have sold over 1,200 tickets! Our goal is 5,000!! $10 Reserved $8 general admission $5 kids 12 and under and people 55 and over🐻⬇️
— ADIA BARNES 🐻⬇️🌵🌞 (@AdiaBarnes) March 20, 2019
Thursday's WNIT opener marks a rematch between the UA and a team — Idaho State — that the Wildcats beat handily earlier in the season. The winner will advance to face either Fresno State or Pacific; tournament officials have no indicated whether that game would be played in Tucson, Fresno, California; or Stockton, California. The UA is averaging 2,035 fans per home game this season, roughly 100 more per game than a year ago.
Arizona (18-13) is in the middle of the largest single-season turnaround in program. Star guard Aari McDonald and all-Pac-12 freshman Cate Reese brought the UA to the cusp of the NCAA Tournament before they fell short. The WNIT marks a chance to win multiple games, draw large crowds and build some momentum heading into what many believe will be a "push" year in 2020. Thursday night's game tips off at 6:30 p.m.; those who can't attend can listen on 1400-AM.
“Long-term benefits for us to play in the WNIT is a chance to play in more games,” Barnes told Star correspondent PJ Brown in a story that ran Wednesday. “So I think instead of playing one or two (NCAA Tournament) games and being a low seed, for us having a chance to possibly play six games or three, four, five … I think it just gives us more experience in postseason play.”
Click on the attached links for more on the Wildcats' postseason push.
