During shootaround before the Arizona women’s basketball team faced Kansas on Tuesday, guard Kamryn Kitchen asked Wildcats coach Becky Burke a pressing question:
"What do I have to do to play more?"
Since Big 12 play started, Kitchen had played only 12 minutes across four games. Even the injury suffered by fellow guard Mickayla Perdue didn’t result in a bump in playing time for the redshirt freshman.
Burke’s answer shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s followed the coach’s first year at Arizona:
"Compete and go hard at all times."
Kitchen’s offensive skill has never been an issue. She was the 57th-ranked player, per ESPN, in the class of 2025 before reclassifying to the class of '24 and enrolling early at Virginia. She became a national recruit largely because of her shooting prowess.
Arizona guard Kamryn Kitchen yells after nailing a 3-pointer to keep the Wildcats in contention in the dying moments of their game against Kansas, Jan. 20, 2026, at McKale Center.
Kitchen made 200 3-pointers in three seasons at Independence High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the summer of 2023, she participated in Curry Camp — as in Stephen Curry, the greatest 3-point shooter in basketball history.
But scoring alone isn’t enough to crack Burke’s rotation. Defensive effort and intensity are non-negotiables.
Just as Perdue did before getting hurt, Kitchen is learning how to impact the game on both ends of the court. She tied her career high with 16 points in 19 minutes vs. the Jayhawks. She also matched her career best with two steals.
“Kam can go for 20 every night. That is not a question,” Burke said. “What I challenged her on is the defensive end of the floor. ...
“She stayed in the game. Y’all might think it's because she's making shots, but she was guarding. I'd have her on the floor for 40 minutes if she'll guard that way.
“She was a plus-1, one of two players that was even in the positives for us. So if she'll keep guarding, defending and competing and playing hard, she'll be on the floor a ton.”
Arizona forward Nora Francois (13), center, gets ahold of Kansas forward Jaliya Davis (25) as the two and guard Kamryn Kitchen (1) try to get their hands on a rebound during the third quarter of their Big 12 Game, Jan. 20, 2026, at McKale Center.
Arizona (10-8, 1-6 Big 12), which visits Iowa State on Saturday, needs what Kitchen can provide on the offensive end. The Wildcats have made 79 3-pointers, third fewest in the Big 12. Perdue — who has missed the past three games and is out indefinitely because of a wrist injury — has 36 of those.
Kitchen is tied for third on the team with nine made 3's despite averaging just 12.6 minutes per game. She was 4 for 8 from beyond the arc against Kansas.
“They were just sagging off a shooter,” Kitchen said. “We have good enough guards that are gonna find me and give me the ball.
“My teammates kept finding me. Coach Burke kept drawing up plays where they were getting me open and getting good looks.”
Burke has long wanted to coach Kitchen, but that wasn’t going to happen while Burke was at Buffalo.
“It was too far up north for me,” Kitchen said before the season. “I love up north but ...”
Kitchen instead signed with Virginia. She reclassified and planned to redshirt during the 2024-25 season. She ended up suffering an injury that required surgery.
Arizona guard Kamryn Kitchen (1) lines up a shot as Kansas forward Regan Williams (24) comes out to pressure her during the fourth quarter of their Big 12 Game, Jan. 20, 2026, at McKale Center.
Kitchen entered the transfer portal in the spring. Burke, who had been recruiting her for years, was no longer “too far up north.” Arizona also has a higher pedigree than Buffalo as a power-conference program that has reached the Final Four.
“When I hit the portal from Virginia, I knew where I wanted to go,” Kitchen said. “Coach Burke was always someone I wanted to play for. It just wasn't the right time in high school. When I saw she got the job, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to go there.’”
Burke sees Kitchen as a high-ceiling player. Burke also acknowledges that Kitchen is essentially a freshman and has a long way to go.
“Kam is so talented,” Burke said earlier in the season. “She's literally not even scratched the surface.
“She has so far to go to reach her full potential, and I mean that in a good way.”
Audi and Jada
Iowa State center Audi Crooks (55) does a dance as she celebrates a basket and foul call as guard Jada Williams (8), Houston forward Jade Jones (14) and forward Addy Brown (24) look on, Dec. 31, 2025, in Houston.
Iowa State junior center Audi Crooks leads the nation in scoring, averaging 26.8 points per game. She ranks third in field-goal percentage at 67.2%.
Crooks has scored 40-plus points three times this season and 30-plus on three other occasions.
“I'm not sleeping a ton right now anyway, and I'm not gonna sleep a ton knowing that she's on the horizon,” Burke said. “She's a very good player. We'll have a great game plan.”
Despite Crooks’ prolific scoring and presence in the paint, the Cyclones (15-5, 3-5) lost five games in a row from Jan. 4-18. The losing streak coincided with a lower-leg injury suffered by junior forward Addy Brown, who last played Jan. 4 vs. Baylor and is out indefinitely.
Iowa State got injured forward Arianna Jackson back for Wednesday’s win over Cincinnati, but the star of the night was former UA guard Jada Williams.
Iowa State guard Jada Williams, left, puts up a shot over Houston guard Briana Peguero during the second half of their game, Dec. 31, 2025, in Houston.
Williams, who spent her first two seasons at Arizona before transferring last year, scored a career-high 44 points. Her previous high was 28.
“I was just in rhythm,” Williams told reporters afterward. “I think my teammates knew that. There was a lot of ball-screen action tonight. Honestly, I just wanted to win.”
Williams made 15 of 22 shots, including 6 of 10 3-pointers, while also dishing out eight assists. She’s averaging 13.6 points and 7.7 assists. The latter ranks first in the Big 12, just ahead of Arizona’s Noelani Cornfield (7.4).
“We’re all victims of the moment, but that was pretty impressive,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said of Williams’ career night. “For her to do it the way she did it, scoring at every level, handled the ball ... she was phenomenal. I don’t know if she could possibly play any better.”
Rim shots
– While Cornfield continues to distribute the ball at a high rate in Big 12 play (6.9 assists per game), she has struggled from the field. Cornfield is shooting 26.8% in conference games. She shot 47.3% in nonconference games.
– Cornfield leads the Big 12 in steals per game (2.6). Arizona ranks seventh as a team (9.8).
– Iowa State leads the conference in field-goal percentage (49.5%), 3-point percentage (37%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7-1). The Cyclones rank second in scoring (84.4 ppg).
– Iowa State is the only school in the Big 12 that draws more fans than Arizona. The Cyclones’ average home attendance at Hilton Coliseum is 9,983, sixth highest in the nation.
– Burke on her team’s chances of upsetting Iowa State: “I'm not going away from the fact that I believe there's some wins left in our Big 12 season for this group. When we get them, it'll feel like a million bucks. But it's gonna take everything we got to get those few. You never know — it could be on Saturday if we do what we're supposed to do.”
