TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona (7-2) and Utah State (7-3) are set to clash on Wednesday night with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. MST in McKale Center. The last time these two teams faced each other was on March, 17, 2011 in the WNIT. Utah State came out victorious by a score of 103-95 back then.
 
On the Aggies
Utah State comes into the game with a record of 7-3 and are fresh off a 60-40 loss against in-state rival BYU. Prior to that, the Aggies had won four of five though. The two teams do have one common opponent though, and that is Southern Utah. While Arizona defeated the Thunderbirds 77-65 in Cedar City, Utah State lost by a score of 70-54 at home. The Aggies have one double-figure scorer in Rachel Brewster who scores 13.3 points per game. She is lethal from beyond the arc as well as she is shooting 48% from downtown (12-25). Shannon Dufficy does her work in the post as she scores eight points and leads the team with 9.3 boards per game. Eliza West has been a pest on the defensive end all season as she averages 2.5 steals per game. As a team, Utah State allows just 54.6 points per game and has allowed more than 59 points just three times this season and hasn't allowed anyone to score more than 70 points one time. So something has to give as Arizona has scored at least 73 points in all but two games this season. The last time these two teams faced was back on March, 17, 2011 when they squared off in the first round of the WNIT. Arizona came out on the losing end by a score of 103-96. Soana Lucet scored 35 points and had 11 boards while Davellyn Whyte had 24 and Ify Ibekwe added in 15. In that game, 113 points were scored in the second half between the two teams.
 
Last 5 vs. Utah State
3/17/11: at Utah State 103, Arizona 94
12/4/86: Arizona 75, at Utah State 41
1/11/86: at Arizona 79, Utah State 50
1/27/84: at Arizona 72, Utah State 53
2/2/79: at Utah State 105, Arizona 63
 
LB in the Arizona Record Books
Senior LaBrittney Jones is back for her senior season in Tucson. Jones will go down as one of the great Wildcats as she is sure to climb the record books should all go well. She is currently fifth all time in blocked shots with 117 and needs five more to pass Marte Alexander for fourth. Jones is also 42 rebounds away from cracking the top 10, which shouldn't be an issue as she has averaged a little over 161 boards a year. She already has 76 this year for an average of 8.4. Her average of 6.0 rebounds per game for a career is seventh all time. Finally, Jones needs just 47 points to crack the top 20 in Arizona history. Jones' average of 14.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 46.7% shooting are all career highs.
 
Jones in the Pac-12
Through nine games, Jones averages 14.8 points per game, which is 10th in the Pac-12, 8.4 rebounds per game, which is seventh in the Pac-12 and 2.0 blocks, which is ranked third in the Pac-12. Additionally, Jones' 7.0 defensive rebounds per game is fourth and she is also seventh with 29.8 minutes per game. Jones has led the Wildcats in scoring four times this season and has led the team in rebounds six times.
 
Washington's World
Although she is a senior, Washington is entering just her third season as a Wildcat as she started her career at Tyler Junior College, where she was named a JC All-American. Washington exploded for a career-high 26 points against New Mexico State. 22 of her points came after halftime and 14 of them came in overtime. The senior also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and made a career-high 10 free throws. She made eight alone in overtime, which would've been set a new career-high even if she hadn't made one before overtime. Washington led the Wildcats in scoring for the second game in a row as she scored 17 against Kansas on Saturday. She scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter as well. The senior is 15th in the conference in scoring with 13.9 points per game and is second in free throw shooting (86.2%), only behind Washington's Kelsey Plum (92.1%).
 
Buenos Dias, Lucia
Freshman guard Lucia Alonso has started in the first nine games of her college career at the point guard position. So far, she averages 7.2 points, 3.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds, just under one steal and makes about one three-pointer per game. Alonso was red hot from the field against FAU as she scored a career-high 15 points in the first half. For the game, she shot 5-6 from the field and was 3-4 from behind the arc. The Spaniard leads the team in field goal percentage (49%) and is also second in the Pac-12 in minutes per game (33.8), just behind Washington's Kelsey Plum (35.6).
 
We See Ya JaLea
Junior wing JaLea Bennett had a career night against Southern Utah on Nov. 26 as she scored 21 points off the bench for a new career high. Her previous career high was 18 points. Against Southern Utah, she shot 7-11 from the field, made one three-pointer and was 6-6 from the charity stripe. Bennett started her first game of the season against Grambling State and scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in just 17 minutes. The junior started again against Kansas, but struggled to find her groove as she scored just four points and fouled out in 24 minutes. Bennett is fifth in the Pac-12 in free throw shooting (82.1%) and leads the team with 1.6 steals per game.
 
Give 'em That Work
Senior Breanna Workman has come off the bench in all nine games this season and is playing her best basketball of the season right now. Over the last five games, Workman has scored 10.6 points per game and has grabbed 6.8 boards per game. She is also shooting 51% from the floor in that time. Workman has scored 12 points in three of her last four games, which all tie a season high.
 
TG For Three
Redshirt Sophomore Taryn Griffey has been through her fair share of adversity as she has undergone multiple knee surgeries, but she is back this year after having a solid start to her college career in the 2015-16 season. Last year, she shot 42.4% from downtown, which was the third-highest three-point percentage for one season in school history. So far this year, has knocked down 42.3% of her threes this year (11-26) and has a career three-point field goal percentage of 42.3% (47-111). Griffey came off the bench and scored a season-high 19 points in a season-high 27 minutes against Florida Atlantic. She was 3-5 from beyond the arc and still leads the team with 11 three-pointers made this season. The redshirt sophomore sat out against San Diego, Grambling State and Kansas due to precautionary reasons.
 
Bucket City
Through nine games this season, the Wildcats average 71.2 points per game. The last time an Arizona team averaged at least 70 points through nine games was back in 2011 when the squad averaged 78.6 points per game. Davellyn Whyte averaged 15.3, Ify Ibekwe scored 14.6 points and Soana Lucet scored 14.2 points per game. The 2011 team also had a record of 7-2.
 
Top Five Individual Scoring Efforts
26, Malena Washington (at NMSU, 12/4/16)
23, LaBrittney Jones (vs. North Texas, 11/22/16)
21, JaLea Bennett (at Southern Utah, 11/26/16)
20, LaBrittney Jones (vs. San Diego, 12/7/16)
20, LaBrittney Jones (at George Mason, 11/18/16)
 
About That Third Quarter
It's not even close, the third quarter has been Arizona's best quarter in the 2016-17 season. Through nine games, the Wildcats have scored 188 points, good for an average of 20.9 points. Arizona outscores their opponents by 5.3 points in the third quarter. The next best quarter for Arizona is the fourth quarter as they have scored 173 (19.2 avg.)
 
Like Clockwork
It's inevitable that Arizona will have at least one big quarter in a game, it just depends on when. Arizona's best quarter of all time though came last game against San Diego as the Wildcats scored 33 points in the third period, which is the most points scored in one quarter in Arizona history. They also hit 12 of their 16 shots, which is the most made shots in one quarter as well. Against Grambling State, Arizona scored 24 points on 10-16 shooting in the third quarter. The Wildcats outscored the Lady Tigers 24-12 in the third.
 
List of Arizona's highest scoring periods (game-by-game)
Alcorn State: 21 (3rd/4th qtrs.)
George Mason: 28 (4th qtr.)
North Texas: 19 (2nd/4th qtrs.)
Southern Utah: 23 (4th qtr.)
Florida Atlantic: 26 (3rd qtr.)
New Mexico State: 18 (OT)
San Diego: 33 (3rd qtr.)
Grambling State: 24 (3rd qtr.)
Kansas: 16 (4th qtr.)
Average: 23.1 points
 
Cats Have the Clutch Gene
Through nine games this season, Arizona has shot a combined 49.3% (66-134) in the fourth quarter and overtime. Additionally, Arizona is 54-72 (75%) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Wildcats were perfect from the line in overtime against New Mexico State (12-12) to seal the deal in a 74-63 victory.
 
It's a Block Party and LB is Hosting
Senior LaBrittney Jones has 117 career blocks through 93 games, which is good for an average of 1.3 swats per game. Last year, she blocked 23 shots in 21 games. Throughout her career, she has posted 31 games where she has blocked multiple shots and as blocked 3+ shots in 16 games. Her career high was set back on Feb. 1, 2015 when she sent six shots into the seats. This year, Jones is third in the Pac-12 with 2.0 blocks per game.
 
Arizona Career Blocked Shots Leaders
1. Shawntinice Polk, 222
2. Ify Ibekwe, 166
3. Elizabeth Pickney, 147
4. Marte Alexander, 121
5. LaBrittney Jones, 117
6. Dana Patterson, 91
7. Anne McFadden, 87
 
Depth Isn't Overrated
Last season, nine Wildcats averaged at least 15 minutes on the floor per game. What is the significance of that? Eight of those players are back for the 2016-17 season, so they know what to expect when it comes to college basketball. So far this season, seven players average at least 20 minutes per game.
 
2016-17 Minutes (min. 20 mpg)
1. Lucia Alonso (33.8)
2. LaBrittney Jones (29.8)
3. Malena Washington (27.7)
4. Breanna Workman (21.6)
5. JaLea Bennett (21.4)
6. Taryn Griffey (20.5)
7. Destiny Graham (20.1)
 
One Last Go Around
Of the 13 players on the roster, six of them are seniors, which is the most in the Pac-12 as no other team has more than four seniors on their roster. Those six seniors include LaBrittney Jones, Malena Washington, Breanna Workman, Lauren Evans, Dejza James and Farrin Bell. They have combined to play in 403 games.
 
Experience Pays Off
Although there is a brand new coaching staff in place, this team is generally made up of players who were a part of the 2015-16 campaign. 11 of the 13 current players on the roster are returning this year and have played in a combined 577 games. Only one other school in the Pac-12 has more than nine returners (Colorado returns 11).
 
Barnes is Back
Adia Barnes is back in Wildcat Country, and this time it's as the head coach of the University of Arizona. Barnes is known as one of, if not the best women's basketball player to come through Tucson. As a player, she is the program's leading scorer as she finished with 2,237 career points (18.5 ppg). She is also second all-time in career rebounds (921). During Barnes' freshman year in the 1994-95 season, the Cats finished with a record of 11-19. The next three years were a complete turnaround as the Wildcats won at least 22 games in each season and made a three-straight postseason appearances. Over those three years, Arizona was 68-23, which is still the best three-year stretch in Arizona history.

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