The shot rose from the top of the key, arcing high, before hitting the backboard and bouncing right through the basket for 3 points.
Sounds like a shot that UA sharpshooters Sam Thomas, Helena Pueyo, Madi Conner or Shaina Pellington might take.
Would you believe it was Lauren Ware?
Arizona's starting center took — and made — a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key in Sunday's 73-61 win over Oregon State. And while it may seem like a lucky shot, the 6-foot-5-inch Ware has put in hours and hours of practice to make it happen. She hit her only 3-point attempt in Friday's win over No. 19 Oregon, too; so far this season, she's hit 5 of 16 attempts (31.6%) from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats hope Ware continues to make these shots on Friday, when No. 6 Arizona (17-3, 7-3 Pac-12) takes on ASU (11-8, 3-3 Pac-12) in Tempe. The teams will meet again on Sunday at noon at McKale Center.
Ware spent a lot of time this summer attempting 3-pointers with her dad, Joe, while visiting her home in Bismarck, North Dakota. She then won a gold medal with Team USA in the U19 World Cup.
“I think I am more confident in my shot this year," Ware said. And she’s very selective on when she takes them.
“I’m taking the ones that are good because, obviously, as a post player, I'm not going to be like a point guard and those aren't really my main shots that I take,” Ware said.
And while it’s taken some time and some tweaks, she’s found the right form.
“Over the years, I've kind of changed my shot and altered it quite a bit,” Ware said. “When I got here Coach Adia and (UA assistant) Salvo (Coppa) helped me just be more comfortable and find a routine that works for me. I've been doing a lot of work on just keeping my footwork the same. And I think that's helped me a lot to get me in tempo with my shot — almost like a routine. It's like an automatic thing for me. They've also focused a lot more on my follow-through, just holding it a little bit longer because sometimes they think that I rush my shots.”
She's not quite Sam Thomas, who leads the Wildcats with 36 3-pointers this season. But Ware's style and selectivity fits her perfectly.
“Sam usually does almost like a hop – hers is like a really fast two-step. It’s almost like she hops a single time,” Ware said. “I usually go left-right. It’s a little slower but I think that kind of helps me step into my shot and it kind of gives me the momentum that I need to get the ball up in the air.”
Barnes says that with more consistency both inside and outside, Ware — a high school basketball and volleyball star — “will go the next level … and now that she's focusing on basketball, I think she has a chance to be good and she could be a pro.”
“She has a nice touch. Most 6-5 kids don't shoot the 3 well, so she can become a really good 3-point shooter,” Barnes said. “I think for her game to go the next level, she needs to shoot I'd say 36-38% from the 3, which she's capable of, hit her mid-range shots … She also has never had basketball year-round. So that's one thing to point out. This is her first year. Her ceiling is so high because once she does it all year round, she's going to improve on those things just because of time and repetition. …
"If Lauren wants to be good, she can be elite."
Arizona forward Lauren Ware finds a seam for a reverse lay-up during the Wildcats' win over Utah last month.
Ware recounts 'long process' after injury
Less than 30 seconds into the Wildcats' Dec. 9 game against North Dakota State game, Ware dislocated her right knee.
Ware had suffered a torn ACL in high school, so she was a little scared. It was a relief to Ware when the injury wasn’t as serious as it could have been.
Ware was only supposed to be out a few weeks, but ran into complications as she tried to get back on the floor. Ware didn't play for nearly 40 days.
Doctors drained the fluid out of her knee twice and gave her cortisone shot. It worked.
“It was definitely a long process,” Ware said. “Anytime you sit out, it's just kind of like, ‘When is this going be over?’ But for me, it kind of sucked is it was a day-by-day thing. And it was hard because I knew that we were going into Pac-12 play, so I really wanted to be back for that.”
Ware returned for the Wildcats' road trip to the Oregon schools last month. She said she was a little “timid” at first.
“I was just kind of still just getting my legs underneath me,” Ware said. “From practice to games, it's a really big difference in the speed of things like obviously in practice, it's really hard to emulate game speed things. I think that was another thing. I wasn't really used to that yet.”
Ware played 24 minutes Friday night against Oregon, scoring nine points on 4-of-8 shooting while grabbing three rebounds and a steal. Against Oregon State on Sunday, Ware played only 11 minutes because of foul trouble. Still, she hit 2 of 3 shots and grabbed a steal.
“I think getting back confidence; it’s scary (coming back from an injury). I think she's just getting back to that,” Barnes said. “If you look at the three games when she came back, all of her shots were short. I think she was a little bit less aggressive, a little bit more hesitant. That's a process. …Friday night was huge for us because she played well, and that's a confidence booster. And then she got in foul trouble on Sunday, but it takes those games with confidence and then you'll see a carryover. … It's just the confidence to kind of get back and land on it (her knee) and be OK, which takes time.”
Rim shots
• Thomas has been named a finalist for the Senior CLASS award, given annually to a student-athlete who excels on and off the court. Thomas has already won the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup this year. Last season, she won the Elite 90 award and was a CoSIDA Academic All-American and a Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
• A photo of Bendu Yeaney flexing in Sunday's game made it into the NCAA’s Top 4 photos of the week.
