It’s no secret that the Arizona Wildcats are happy to be back in Tucson for three straight home games.
It’s been a long, tough stretch playing back-to-back weekends in the Pacific Northwest. That included a double-overtime game and a one-day delay leaving Eugene, Oregon, because of an ice storm. On top of that, three of the four games came down to one possession, with UA dropping all four games to fall to 10-9 overall and 2-5 in the Pac-12.
The most recent losses were to Washington 62-60 on Friday and to Washington State 78-57 on Sunday.
That’s a lot for any team to handle, let alone a young team trying to find its way.
“I think as a team when you’re so close and you don’t come up with that end result, I think it’s deflating,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said.
“Especially when you have a lead, and you lose it. You climb back. I think those are hard, hard things to do for a new, young team. But we have to figure it out. This is the hardest chunk in our schedule and it’s four road games against teams that we had chances to beat, and did not find a way to do it. …
Washington guard Elle Ladine, center, reaches back for the ball at her team's basket against Arizona guard Skylar Jones, right, during Friday's game.
“It doesn’t get any easier. Unfortunately, I hate to say that. We have to figure it out and find a way to be competitive and pull out some wins.”
Barnes was referring to the next stretch of games in this year’s loaded Pac-12. This weekend, Cal (13-6, 3-4) and No. 6 Stanford (17-2, 6-1) are in town. The following weekend, the Wildcats play their rivals, ASU, who knocked off Washington in Seattle on Sunday for its first Pac-12 victory. Then, it’s off to play two top-rated teams in No. 2 UCLA and No. 11 USC in Los Angeles.
While this might be the toughest the Pac-12 has ever been, 1-12, every season has its gauntlets, and no games can ever be overlooked.
This is just about the time, the halfway point in league action when fatigue sets in and players hit a wall. Going up against some of the best players every week doesn’t help either. Whether it’s a Charlisse Leger-Walker or Bella Murekatete from Washington State or an Alissa Pili from Utah, this year’s UA freshmen — Skylar Jones, Breya Cunningham and Jada Williams — are battling every minute.
Barnes said her rookies are learning fast and that “the benefit will be in a couple of years from now and that struggle will be now.”
She added that by the time they are sophomores, they will probably be playing like juniors with all the experience they are gaining from all the time on the court.
Up to this point, all three freshmen already look much different than they did at the beginning of the season.
Williams is showing her court vision and threading the needle on passes to her teammates. She’s been more confident shooting from long distance, after she started off with a sore Achilles, which made it hard to plant and push off her foot. Over the last six games, she’s gone 8 of 16 from beyond the arc and is averaging 12 points per game. She has also turned the intensity level up on defense, collecting seven of her 16 steals across these six games.
Jones has been using her length to disrupt on defense. She grabbed a key steal in Friday night’s game against UW to give the Wildcats a 58-57 lead with under two minutes left. She’s also shown off sweet moves on offense, including an acrobatic scoop layup.
Cunningham has eight blocks in the last six games — four coming in the double overtime loss at Oregon State. She, along with help from Esmery Martinez, Isis Beh, held the Beavers’ Raegan Beers to only nine points in 40 minutes in that game. And when the offense is singing with passes and movement, Cunningham is getting easy baskets down low.
What’s working, what’s not
When Barnes called timeouts in the second half of Sunday’s game it was about making adjustments — to correct one thing that was hampering the Wildcats at that specific time. Once, it was to show her team how to defend a play WSU was continuing to run — a misdirection stagger — that accounted for 10 points.
Another time, she was trying to get them to play smarter and not just foul out of frustration.
It didn’t help the Cats that WSU’s guards handle the ball well. One of the Wildcats’ biggest strengths — forcing turnovers — was neutralized as UA forced only six on Sunday.
“We’re kind of a step behind; We’re super reactive,” Barnes said. “The ball gets passed, then we’re defending. Typically, when we’re at our best, my teams, we are dictating the attack, we are dictating on defense, we’re attacking on defense.”
“I think as a team when you're so close and you don't come up with that end result, I think it's deflating,” said Arizona coach Adia Barnes, seen here in the game against Texas earlier this season.
That will be a focus in practice this week, along with combinations to balance keeping the intensity up while giving certain players a few minutes of rest. One player who has played in nearly every minute of the last six Pac-12 games is Helena Pueyo. She has only been on the bench for five minutes during this stretch, which includes the two-overtime game in Corvallis.
“It’s hard to take her off the floor,” Barnes said. “That’s a problem. Because think about it, when Isis gets in foul trouble and (Pueyo) is my starting like one or two, let’s say starting two, but then she’s my (post position) sub, because she knows every position. It’s putting a lot of pressure on Helena. She didn’t have really legs (Sunday). But I need it and sometimes when we are situations when I need her to bring up the ball and then go to the four.
“I’m asking for a lot from her. I have to be able to take her out of the game here and there for a few minutes. And that’s been hard to do. I’m going figure it out, but when we when we gave up the runs (Sunday) it was with the subs. I think they went on a 5-0 and a 9-0 run during that time. I have to figure out what combination can sustain in those important sub situations.”
It was even more difficult on Sunday when a number of players were ill — with either food poisoning or a flu-like illness. Barnes said that two Wildcats threw up before the game and then someone at halftime. She wouldn’t disclose who was sick but said it was a few who played more than 30 minutes.
On the plus side of things, Barnes liked what she saw in playing team ball on offense and crashing the boards.
“Fundamentally, we’re getting better,” Barnes said. “And now we’ve got to hit shots. And now we’ve got to move the ball better for 40 minutes, not just for 20 (minutes).”
Arizona Women's Basketball Press Conference | Adia Barnes | Jan 10, 2024 (Arizona Wildcats YouTube)
