Arizona women's basketball coach Becky Burke discusses the Wildcats' 85-64 victory over Grambling State that lifted her team to 3-0.

Aside from point guard Noelani Cornfield, who played for her at Buffalo, every Wildcat has faced an adjustment period under first-year Arizona coach Becky Burke.

Some players haven’t done enough of the little things to earn playing time early in the season. In the case of guard Tanyuel Welch, she was trying to do too much.

“Sometimes she just gets overly aggressive and she just wants to go deny everything,” Burke said. “She’s more athletic than I’ll be in 100 lifetimes. ... We just need you to stick to our defensive system.”

After what Welch described as “a couple of tough conversations” with her new head coach, the transfer from Memphis finally got her chance Sunday vs. Grambling State. She sparked the Wildcats off the bench, recording 12 points, eight rebounds, a steal and a block in 20 minutes. All were season-high marks after Welch played just three minutes in the first two games.

“T’s another one that I’ve been challenging in a lot of different ways,” Burke said after Arizona’s 85-64 victory at McKale Center. “I really was excited to see how, when she got an opportunity today, she was gonna check into that basketball game. Was she ready? Was she poised? Was she able to contribute in the ways that we needed her? I thought from the jump, she came into the game and she set the tone defensively.”

Arizona Wildcats guard Tanyuel Welch (11) eyes the basket as she releases the ball in the first half during a game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Nov. 16.

Welch entered about midway through the second quarter. Almost immediately, she made a layup off a backdoor feed from Nora Francois.

In the third quarter, when Arizona began to pull away, Welch stole the ball and got fouled; hit a 3-pointer from the corner; and sank a pullup jumper from the free-throw line.

In the fourth quarter, Welch tried to fight through a Grambling screen. She was called for a foul. Burke enthusiastically applauded her effort.

Welch finished with a plus-22 plus/minus rating, tied for second best on the team with Cornfield behind Mireia Jurado (plus-31).

Regarding those “tough conversations” with Burke, Welch said: “That’s just her wanting the best for me and I appreciate it. She’s challenging me. She’s making me better on and off the court.”

Even when she wasn’t playing very much, Welch “kept my head down, kept working,” she said. “Individual (workouts), getting shots. When I’m off the court, wasn’t playing, I was looking at where I could fit in, where I could help the team. I finally got the opportunity and I capitalized as much as I could.”

Arizona Wildcats guard Tanyuel Welch (11) and forward Daniah Trammell (33) congratulate each other after beating Grambling State.

Welch spent her first three seasons at Memphis. She missed her second year because of a knee injury. She averaged 10.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals last season before entering the transfer portal.

In a preseason interview, Welch said her competitive nature appealed to Burke. UA teammate Freddie Wallace said of Welch: “She’s gonna get up in your grill, she’s gonna pressure you, she’s gonna make that extra play, she’s gonna jump out of the gym for that rebound. She’s a dawg.”

But that alone wasn’t enough to win over Burke. Welch had to prove herself every day in practice.

“Everything in our program is earned,” Burke said. “‘T’ just earned more opportunities from today.

“I am a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately coach. How have you been practicing lately? How have you been playing lately? And what has your production been? She earned a tremendous amount of trust in me, confidence in me today (with her) ability to stick to a game plan, come in and do what’s asked of her.”

Arizona Wildcats guard Mireia Jurado (8) and forward Blessing Adebanjo (14) defend Grambling State Lady Tigers guard Claire Simmons (10) in the first half during a game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Sunday.

‘Defensive team’

Arizona (3-0) trailed 22-13 at the end of the first quarter. Grambling (1-4) shot 9 of 15 (60%) in the opening period.

From that point forward, the Wildcats outscored the Tigers 72-42. They shot 12 of 45 (26.7%) over the final three quarters.

“We’re a defensive team,” Burke said. “That’s what we’re gonna hang our hat on. It’s nice when we’re able to score 80, but we know that’s not gonna be us every single night. We’re probably a 60s, low-70s team, which means we gotta hold the other team well under their average.

“When we turn it up defensively, it’s crazy how your offense then (thrives). They’re starting to believe that. Let’s lock down on the defensive end of the floor, because we want to go make our lives easier offensively.

“When we get live rebounds and we can just go play with some pace, we’re a much better-looking team, which was why we were able to score (85) today. I thought we were able to get out and play with more pace than the last couple games.”

Grambling State Lady Tigers guard Monica Marsh (21) and Arizona Wildcats guard Sumayah Sugapong (3) stumble to the ground to grab a loose ball in the first half during a game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 16, 2025.

Arizona had significant advantages in points off turnovers (21-12) and fastbreak points (22-9). Five Wildcats had one steal apiece. Welch, Daniah Trammell (two) and Blessing Adebanjo (one) combined for four blocks.

“We didn’t come out the strongest defensively in the first quarter,” said guard Sumayah Sugapong, who had 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. “But every timeout, every huddle, it’s like productive talk about what we need to be doing.

“I think we adjusted well after that, taking pride in keeping the ball in front. And then we had ‘D’ (Trammell) and ‘Adde’ (Adebanjo) back there protecting the paint.”

Rim shots

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Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com. On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @