When she became the head coach of the Arizona women’s basketball program, Becky Burke didn’t know Aari McDonald or Sam Thomas.
Burke knew of them, of course. How could she not?
But there were no connections or prior relationships when Burke arrived in Tucson in April.
Since then, she has worked to build those bridges — welcoming McDonald, Thomas and others to be part of the rebuilding process at their alma mater.
Thomas was a member of the search committee that landed upon Burke as Adia Barnes’ successor. Thomas attended Burke’s introductory news conference, and the two now talk “all the time,” Burke said.
McDonald is returning to McKale Center for a special “Aari McDonald Night” when Arizona hosts NAU on Friday. Assistant coach Julie Brase Hairgrove suggested that the program do something to recognize its greatest player and bring her back into the fold.
Former Arizona All-American Aari McDonald, shown before a December 2020 game, is set to return to McKale Center on Nov. 21, 2025.
“Aari has been such a big supporter since the moment we got this job,” Burke said. “She reached out immediately. Her and I go back and forth on social media really often. She’s just excited for the new direction of this program, she’s excited about this being her alma mater.
“The support that she’s shown us from the very beginning, since we got here, has just been felt. So we wanted to do something in return to make sure that we honor her ... make sure that we just remind everybody what she meant to this place.”
McDonald played at Arizona from 2018-21. She led the Wildcats to the 2019 WNIT championship and to the '21 NCAA Tournament title game. She was a three-time All-American, a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the league’s overall Player of the Year in 2021 and is the program’s all-time leader in points per game, among other categories.
McDonald played for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever this past season, averaging 9.8 and 4.7 assists per game before suffering a foot injury. She recently joined the Unrivaled three-on-three league, which tips off Jan. 5.
Indiana Fever guard Aari McDonald (2) goes to the basket past Washington Mystics guard Jade Melbourne (5) in the first half in Indianapolis, June 3, 2025.
McDonald is expected to attend practice, meet with the team, address the crowd and possibly appear on the ESPN+ broadcast. Burke said it’s impossible to “put a price tag” on the value of her young team getting to meet UA women’s basketball royalty.
“She's arguably the best to ever do it here,” Burke said. “She took us to the promised land. That's where we want to go.
“That's the goal, to get back to a Final Four here at Arizona. So to have somebody in the building that's been there and done it, I think, is invaluable. And somebody that's close in age to them, that this place meant so much to, because she embraced Tucson, she embraced the University of Arizona. We want our players to do the same thing.”
Although McDonald and Thomas played for her predecessor, Burke said it feels as if they were her players because of “how much they wrapped their arms around me.”
“It's not about who the head coach is sitting in that seat,” Burke said. “It's about this place. It's about McKale. It's about the city of Tucson. It's about their experience here, and I think they'll be forever grateful for that.
“It's just the least I could do to continue to make them feel at home and make them feel welcome. It's a really good feeling because I'm sure there are places where a new head coach can come in and not feel that love from the really important alums. I haven't been one of those. I felt it from Day One, and I'm just extremely grateful for that.”
Lumberjack payback?
Friday represents a revenge game for Arizona — well, sort of.
The Lumberjacks swept a pair of games against the Wildcats last season, including in the WBIT at McKale Center.
Since then, both programs have changed head coaches. Laura Dinkins, a former NAU player and assistant coach at Grand Canyon, succeeded Loree Payne, who left to become the head coach at Santa Clara.
Both programs also have almost entirely new rosters. Only two NAU players are back from last year’s team. Arizona has only one, forward Montaya Dew, who’s currently rehabbing an injury.
Lumberjacks forward Sophie Glancey (12) does a postgame interview with ESPN after NAU’s 71-69 point win over Arizona in Round 1 of the WBIT at McKale Center, March 20, 2025.
“They ain't got anybody left, we ain’t got anybody left,” Burke said, laughing. “But did I tell our players what happened twice last year? Yes, I did.”
Burke and her team have spent considerable time working on a game plan to slow down redshirt-freshman guard Naomi White. The transfer from GCU ranks among the national leaders in scoring, averaging 23.8 points per game.
“We haven’t seen a player as dynamic as this player that’s coming in here on Friday night,” Burke said. “We’ve seen some teams that do it collectively. We’ve seen some teams that do it by committee, who have solid, good players.
“But as far as the head of the snake, her being the heartbeat of the team, how she goes everything goes, we haven’t quite seen that yet. So focused our prep on doing a good job of making everything hard for her — making her play in a crowd, making her feel our presence, making her feel our length ... making things difficult for her for 40 minutes.”
Rim shots
Arizona guard Noelani Cornfield (4) looks to make a pass as Grambling State guard D'Mya Griffin (22) defends in the second half at McKale Center on Nov. 16, 2025. Arizona won 85-64.
– Point guard Noelani Cornfield is averaging 10.0 assists per game, the most in the nation entering Wednesday night’s games. “I didn't teach her any that,” Burke said. “That's God-given ability and feel. Some of her passes are just absolutely incredible. That's all the stuff I saw last year at Buffalo that made me sign her here.”
– Cornfield is listed at 5-foot-6. Fellow guard Sumayah Sugapong is 5-7. McDonald is 5-6. Could they draw inspiration from her success as an undersized guard? “I sure hope so,” Burke said. “If Sumayah and Lani can't look at her and be like, ‘Holy cow, look what she was able to do here at Arizona, at our size,’ and just draw some inspiration from that ... she was able to be one of the most dynamic players in the country.”
– Forward Freddie Wallace, a transfer from Kansas, has yet to appear in a game. “The two things for me are consistency and reliability, and I don't think she's done either one of those at a high enough level,” Burke said. “I ... tell her those two words all the time — be consistent, be reliable.
“Freddie's got a lot of talent but gets in her own way sometimes. If she can be consistent every day at practice, and she can be reliable, then she will earn opportunities.
“Freddie really could help us. But I'm not a coach that's just going to play the people that are talented.
“I hope she comes around. I hope she earns the opportunity.”
