All one had to do was take one look at the faces of Arizona’s three seniors — Helena Pueyo, Isis Beh and Esmery Martinez — on Saturday night to see the toll that playing in what might've been their final game at McKale Center took.
After the game, as Wildcat coach Adia Barnes talked to her team and the fans about each of the seniors and what they’ve meant to her and her program, Martinez was leaning on Pueyo and visibility sad.
Yes, they lost to No. 8 UCLA by 20 points, 61-41 just moments before. And on Thursday night, UA took No. 7 USC to the brink — in a 95-93 double-overtime loss, with a chance to win in regulation.
But this was different.
Barnes said that Martinez — the Pac-12 and AP’s reigning Player of the Week for the previous weekend’s stellar performances that led UA to beating then-No. 3 Stanford and Cal — was down the last few days realizing that her time at Arizona was coming to and end.
Arizona forward Esmery Martinez, center, talks to her teammates as they huddle up to take the court at the start of the third quarter Saturday. The Wildcats lost by 20 on Senior Day, but will have the slate wiped clean at the Pac-12 Tournament this week in Las Vegas.
“She played how she looked the last couple days,” Barnes said. “She played bad (four points, three rebounds) and she put a lot of pressure (on herself). She was super anxious and tight and played tight. It was really reactionary and like a malaise the whole game. I just think it was rough.”
There have been many sad senior night celebrations during Barnes’ tenure as coach. Whether it was Lucia Alonso, Dominique McBryde or Tee Tee Starks — who were all foundational pieces in the rebuild — or the first time Aari McDonald, arguably the best player in UA history, walked, there were tears. McDonald’s second time was during COVID-19 when fans weren’t allowed at games.
And then there was Sam Thomas, which didn't leave many dry eyes in the house.
In each one of those, the full ceremony was held after the game — including after two tough losses.
This year, the ceremony was split. The walk onto the court with their families and giving of framed jerseys was before the game. Barnes spoke after the game.
“It’s just hard to say goodbye because you want them for just a couple more years,” Barnes said.
Saturday night was even more emotional and weighed heavily on the seniors.
Maybe it was the journeys each one of them took to become a Wildcat. Whether it was from the Dominican Republic (Martinez), Spain (Pueyo) or even stops at other schools (Martinez and Beh), each shared this week that there is no place they would have wanted to play than in Tucson.
Maybe it was how the fans embraced them or even their coaches.
“It's just a really special place. I love it,” Pueyo said.
In the media room after the game, more than 30 minutes after the game, all three were sad. Martinez kept looking down, and tears filled her eyes when she shared a little on how special Arizona is to her.
“Arizona really took me and made me feel like I was at home,” Martinez said. “I’m not from here. They made me feel like I was welcome here. The players are family — like Helena, she’s my sister.”
Arizona guard Helena Pueyo, right, consoles forward Isis Beh after the two seniors came off the floor in the final minutes Saturday. “It’s just hard to say goodbye because you want them for just a couple more years,” said coach Adia Barnes of the seniors.
A look ahead
Going into any tournament, everyone has a clean slate and anything can happen.
Arizona’s path to the Pac-12 semifinals is difficult but not impossible.
First up, Arizona plays No. 10-seeded Washington on Wednesday night.
In February at McKale, the Wildcats beat UW in triple overtime, 90-82, behind a career day from Beh, who scored 29 points on 10-of-11 shooting. She also scored the bulk of the Wildcats points in the final overtime – 9 of 14.
Arizona’s played one of its’ best first quarters of the season in that game — totally disrupting the Huskies' slow, Princeton-type offense.
UW is coming off a win over then-No. 18 Utah on Saturday and beat then-No. 9 Oregon State the week before. In January, UA played Washington close in Seattle, falling 62-60.
The Wildcats have the formula for how to beat the Huskies. Now, it's just a matter of executing it.
A win over Washington would mean a rematch with No. 2-seeded USC in the quarterfinals Thursday. The Wildcats would have an opportunity to avenge Thursday's loss, and they've done that before at this time of year. In 2020, after losing to Cal 54-53 on the last day of the regular season, Arizona flipped the script five days later by beating Cal 86-73 in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Arizona guard Jada Williams slices through a busy lane looking for a lay-in against UCLA on Saturday. No. 7-seeded UA faces No. 10-seeded Washington on Wednesday night in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Recruiting
Arizona had a few recruits in town over the weekend. Dayana Mendes, an international player from France, is a power forward would be part of the 2024 class along with Lauryn Swann. Swann, who is a guard from Long Island Lutheran, was also in Tucson.
The Wildcats also hosted Destiny Jackson, a point guard who was a teammate of Skylar Jones at Chicago’s Whitney Young High School. She is a four-star player in the Class of 2025.
Another recruit in the stands Thursday night was Destiny Lunan, a guard ranked No. 30 in the Class of 2025. She plays for Goodyear’s Millenium High School and has already attended numerous games this season.
Vegas, baby
Arizona is having a meet and greet with the team and coaches on Tuesday at Level Up in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas from 5-6 p.m.
The Wildcats’ days leading up to Wednesday’s matchup with Washington looked like this: Sunday was their day off, they practiced Monday before leaving for Las Vegas and they will have a short practice Tuesday.
However, as of Saturday night, the team had no idea when and where they will be practicing. In previous years, everything has been planned well in advance and communicated to the schools.
With it being the final year of the conference having 12 schools, Pac-12 employees have been leaving seemingly every day and things aren’t running as smoothly as usual.
“Everybody is sort of transitioning,” Barnes said. “… There are a lot of answers we don’t have. It's kind of rough right now. I'm curious to see how all that's going to play out because there's a lot of people that are losing their jobs or like, have left. I'm hoping it's good for the experience of the players. That's really important.”
Rim shots
Former UA standout McDonald led her team to the Grand Final for the WNBL with another big performance. She put up a double-double with 27 points (including four 3-pointers) and 11 assists.
Arizona forward Esmery Martinez waves to the crowd as the senior is recognized in a ceremony before the Wildcats’ season finale Saturday against UCLA at McKale Center.
Arizona forward Isis Beh waves to the crowd during her recognition on the team’s senior night ceremony prior to facing UCLA on Saturday at McKale Center.
Arizona senior guard Helena Pueyo hugs coach UA Adia Barnes during a pregame ceremony honoring the team’s seniors before tip against UCLA on Saturday at McKale Center.
