The Courtside Kitchen at the Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club was filling rapidly with Arizona women’s basketball fans.
It was so packed with Wildcat backers that, at one point, I literally couldn’t move. It was as if Becky Burke’s defense had sprung an impenetrable half-court trap.
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
While waiting for the traffic to clear, I couldn’t help but think — this being the 50th anniversary of the release of “Jaws” after all — you’re gonna need a bigger room.
Wisely, adjustments were made. Tables had been set up in an L shape in a corner of the Courtside Kitchen for the players to sit and sign autographs during Monday’s meet-and-greet. Allese Williams, Arizona’s new director of staff operations and a former Embry-Riddle Eagle under Burke, recognized that this configuration wasn’t going to work. So she and other staffers broke down and removed the tables. The players and coaches would mingle with the people.
After Burke arrived about 5:10 p.m., she stood on a chair amid the throng and announced that half the team would be hanging out upstairs at the Center Court Bar & Grill. Smart coaching decision. We could all breathe now.
Hundreds of fans showed up for a meet-and-greet event to chat, get photos and autographs with the Arizona women’s basketball team at the Tucson Racquet Club on July 28, 2025.
“This right here is what the Arizona women’s basketball fan base is all about,” Burke told the crowd. “Bear down, baby!”
Although the UA had promoted the meet-and-greet through emails and social media, attendance — estimated at 500 — exceeded all expectations.
The turnout also resolved a question that had been looming over the program since Burke took over in early April: Would fans who adored and appreciated Burke’s predecessor, Adia Barnes, be willing to turn the page and embrace the next chapter of Arizona women’s basketball?
“I think that question is answered for sure,” Burke told me during a brief break from shaking hands, giving hugs, signing autographs and taking selfies.
“They give us so much. This is a team and a program and a coaching staff that’s going to give it right back. I think, as a fan, that’s all you want to feel, that your efforts are being reciprocated by the players and the coaches, and it definitely will be. This is an incredible place with a fan base that’s second to none.”
Coach Becky Burke gives autographs and chats with fans during a meet-and-greet event with the Arizona women’s basketball team at the Tucson Racquet Club on July 28.
Introductions needed
If there was any leftover animosity about the breakup between Barnes and her alma mater, it wasn’t evident Monday. The fans were enthusiastic and welcoming in what was a true meet-and-greet situation: Only one player out of 13, Montaya Dew, is back from last season’s team. The coaching staff is almost entirely new, too.
As the players filed in, they paused to introduce themselves. Each said her name and number. Forward Nora Francois couldn’t remember hers, cracking up the crowd and her teammates. Like we said, this is all new.
Although most of them haven’t been in town very long, the players and coaches couldn’t have been more personable. As guard Mickayla Perdue — who introduced herself to everyone as “Mickey” — met with fans, she asked them where they sat at McKale Center and where they’re from.
“The women’s basketball fans are the best,” one told her.
“We hope to see you at every game,” Perdue replied. “I’ll be looking and listening.”
Ogheneruona “Miracle” Akpotayobo, left, and Daniah Trammell chat with fans during a meet-and-greet event with the Arizona women’s basketball team at the Tucson Racquet Club on July 28, 2025.
Perdue had been using one of the aforementioned tables as a writing surface to sign autographs. When they were taken away, she showed she can adjust midgame, using the wall or her thigh instead. Other Wildcats used each other’s backs.
The way the players interacted with one another, you wouldn’t know they’d only been together a short while. Burke took no credit for that. She wanted them to bond organically, and it appears that they have.
“I don’t think it’s anything that us as coaches can necessarily fabricate and force,” Burke said. “They spend a lot of time together. They are investing in one another on their own. They’re cooking dinner, they’re hanging out, they’re doing things on the weekends. That’s all you could ask. They understand how important their relationships with each other are.
“You can’t force friendships, relationships, in any capacity, let alone in a basketball team.”
It remains to be seen how it will all come together on the court. Burke basically had to start from scratch, and other programs had a two-week head start in the transfer portal.
Montaya Dew chats with fans during a meet-and-greet event with the Arizona women’s basketball team at the Tucson Racquet Club on July 28, 2025.
Burke assembled a roster that has both experience and youth, shooting and size. Many of the players are unproven at the “power” level. But Burke never has shied away from a challenge. And she’s thrilled to have a team and a staff to begin the process of resetting the program.
“I met a lot of these people my first day on the job,” Burke said. “Now meeting them again (almost) four months later, I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m in a lot better place now than I was when you first met me.’ It’s just nice to see things come along and come to fruition.”
‘Part of the family’
Burke knows how to work a room. She asked every single person she met what their name was. She was just as comfortable talking to grandmas as teenagers.
At one point, Burke noticed a group of women patiently sitting at a round table in the corner. She went over to greet them. They responded with a round of applause. One fan asked a pretty serious basketball question: “What’s your philosophy?” Burke said she wanted to play fast and that it starts on the defensive end.
Assistant coach James Ewing, far left, signs a basketball for Trish Preble, far right, as Ashley Odom, assistant head coach, watches during a meet-and-greet with the Arizona women’s basketball team at the Tucson Racquet Club on July 28, 2025.
Another fan named Carol thanked Burke for “the note I got in the mail.” Carol said she’d never gotten a personal note like that from a coach.
After taking a picture with two young, female hoopers, Burke told them: “Tag me, girls.” The 35-year-old speaks their language, too.
A woman wearing a red UA T-shirt with her silver hair neatly tied in a ponytail summed up the attendees’ sentiment when she told Burke: “You’re part of the family now.”
Burke felt the love — emotionally and, well, physically as she slowly and steadily squeezed through the overflow crowd.
“It’s just absolutely incredible,” Burke said. “This is everything that we’ve heard Arizona women’s basketball fans are about, and they just prove it to be true every time. The support, the love, the investment — it’s here.”
