Arizona leading scorer Kailyn Gilbert, who has either missed or played sparingly in six of the Wildcats' last nine games, is no longer part of the UA women's basketball team.
Arizona coach Adia Barnes told host David Kelly on 1290-AM Monday that Gilbert is no longer with her program; Barnes later confirmed the news to the Star, saying that "making tough decisions is part of leadership and I had to do what was what is best for the team."
Arizona now has eight active players on its roster.Β
Barnes said she and Gilbert met earlier Monday afternoon, with the result being that the sophomore guard is no longer a Wildcat. Barnes said that Gilbert is still enrolled in school and will receive her scholarship for now. She would not comment further.
Averaging 15.1 points per game, Gilbert's 348 total points still lead the Wildcats despite her missing five games overall and playing just three minutes in the Wildcats' triple-overtime win over Washington on Feb. 18. Gilbert missed three home games (vs. Cal, Stanford and ASU) for undisclosed reasons, but was back traveling with the team at USC and UCLA but played sparingly, seeing the court for under 20 minutes each and averaging 13 points per game.
Arizona guard Kailyn Gilbert (15) takes a lon-range shot as the Wildcats get ready to take on Washington State Feb. 16 at McKale Center.
Her playing time decreased again when UA hosted the Washington schools; she scored 5 points in 15 minutes against Washington State and went scoreless in under three minutes against UW. She did not take the trip to the Bay Area this past weekend. Barnes said at the time Gilbert was in concussion protocol.
Over the course of the nine games that saw Gilbert either sit out of play decreased minutes, the Wildcats are 6-3 and are currently on a four-game winning streak that included a road win over No. 3 Stanford as part of a Bay Area sweep this past weekend.
Gilbert is the second player to part ways with the UA program this season. Maya Nnaji left in December, saying that she needed to focus her time on her studies.
Arizona did add a walk-on, Brooklyn Rhodes, to its roster before facing Cal on Sunday.
VIDEO:Β Arizona women's basketball coach Adia Barnes speaks Feb. 21, 2024, on her introduction to new UA athletic director DesireΓ© Reed-Francois. (Courtesy Arizona Athletics)
