Confidence leads to special moments on, off the court for Arizona's Isis Beh in win over Washington

In 55 minutes of basketball last Sunday afternoon, there were so many good moments for Arizona — most notably the Wildcats coming out with the 90-82 win over Washington.

There was the team effort in not allowing the Huskies to get into a rhythm in the first quarter, leading to a 21-7 early UA lead. That included Courtney Blakely hitting a 3-point buzzer beater — a shot way beyond the arc but yet, somehow, one where she still had just enough time to set up and be square with the basket before letting it fly.

There was UA freshman Breya Cunningham going straight up and scoring easily inside; there was Jada Williams, also a rookie, was playing tenacious defense, setting up her teammates on the offensive end and passionately sparking them to keep going.

And there was the other freshman, Skylar Jones, taking the ball to the hoop over and over again.

Of course, there was also Helena Pueyo’s aggressiveness on offense and taking (and making) that 3-pointer to send into a third overtime on a play that she didn’t even think was set up for her. Once she made the shot, she ran down the court — in the 50th of her 55 total minutes played — and blocked one on the other end.

There was Esmery Martinez doing everything she could on the court — and off — including being Arizona’s No. 1 cheerleader when Pueyo hit that shot.

But possibly the biggest thing that will stick about this one for a long time was not only Isis Beh’s career day — 29 points on 10 of 11 made shots and 9 of UA’s 13 in the third overtime — but additionally one special moment after the game.

As Beh was getting ready as the Wildcats “player of the game” to bang the victory drum, Arizona coach Aida Barnes motioned to her dad, Issacher and her two brothers — one older, Issacher, Jr., and one younger, Isaiah — to come to center court.

Beh gave all of them big hugs before banging the drum 14 times for UA’s 14 wins so far this season.

“I think it was her wanting to do her best at the end and her father came which is really meaningful for her,” Barnes said. “He comes to stuff and showed up. I think that she’s just in a really good place.”

Her teammates hope she stays in that good place this weekend as the Wildcats hit the road with a tall task Friday night. Arizona (14-12, 6-8) plays at No. 3 Stanford at 8 p.m. Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy will be on the call for the game which can be streamed via Pac-12 Bay Area. Derrick Palmer has the local radio call on 1290-AM.

Beh was a bit surprised to see her father and brothers at the game on Sunday. It was a good surprise and she was “glad they were here to see my best college game.”

Basketball family

Her dad is the one who put a ball in her hands at age five and taught her the fundamentals. In middle school they went to the gym together every day. When she’s home she gets up early with him to hit the gym. He still teaches her about life and basketball seemingly every day.

“He’s always keeping my head in it. If I have a bad day he’s always like, ‘Keep going,” Beh said. “After every single game my dad clips game film. He shows me all my bad possessions; all the possessions where I did good things so he gives me his opinion on a lot of things.”

Both her dad and her older brother played basketball in college — Issacher at Humboldt State and Issacher, Jr., at Vassar College. Isaiah, who is 16 years old, plays forward at Murray High School near Salt Lake City, averaging 14 points, six rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in 22 games this season.

While Beh was influenced by her dad and her older brother, she is now the one doing this for her younger brothers and sisters. She has nine siblings and is the third oldest.

She stays connected to all of them through FaceTime every day — talking about basketball and even crushes at school with her little sisters.

What her family, let alone Arizona fans, saw over the UA’s last two home games – and specifically Sunday against Washington – is a more determined Beh.

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Confidence, coaching, teammates

Beh and Barnes both say much of the transfer’s evolution is due to confidence, although there’s more too it than just that.

Some of it is Beh’s journey to Arizona. It wasn’t a straight line to become a Wildcat. She started out at UNLV then moved to Salt Lake Community College. She injured her femur and sat out her first season at West Virginia. She played sparingly last season for the Mountaineers, but did see action in the NCAA Tournament first-round game against Arizona where she went 4 of 4 from the field with one block and one steal.

“I think everything happens for a reason and everything I’d been through was so I could be here with this team and so I think it was all worth it,” Beh said.

This year’s Wildcats have started to gel since their last series in January; they’ve won 4 of 5 games at home and since that point have only lost overall to teams ranked in Top 10 nationally.

Some of that is Barnes’ players being more comfortable in the UA system and with their teammates; it’s part of the ups and downs of a season becoming one unit. Some of it is also coaching — something evident in Beh’s offensive outbursts of late.

Beh’s 40 points over her last two games was a new development for the Wildcats, but not new for Beh. In her senior year of high school, the all-state player averaged 17 points and dished three assists per game. Her highlight reel is full of offensive plays. Yet, when she got into college, she was asked to play only defense until now.

“I haven’t really thought (about being an) offensive threat but Adia has been telling me they need me to be offensive threat while I’m on the floor,” Beh said. “I’ve just been working on it every day.”

Barnes said that Beh has improved the most from the beginning of the season until now. She wasn’t surprised by Sunday’s performance because she knew Beh was capable of doing that. Beh’s footwork has improved; she’s more agile; she’s playing aggressively.

“That’s because of maturity (and) time, it’s not because we’ve done anything special,” Barnes said.

“I think that she’s at the point where now ... that she’s willing to do whatever it takes. She never complained that she got two shots or three or four or played 10 minutes vs. 20. She’s just as happy with whatever she got. And she’s a good teammate,” Barnes added. “Those are the kinds of kids you want in your program. Whatever your team needs someone’s willing to do and she’s that type of person. She’s great off the floor. She’s a connector, people gravitate towards her.”