BOULDER, Colo. – The Arizona Wildcats (4-8, 0-1 Pac-12) have a New Year's Eve date with the Colorado Buffaloes (9-3, 0-1 Pac-12) in the Coors Events Center at 1 p.m. MST to round out the Utah/Colorado trip. Sunday's game will be live streamed on ArizonaWildcats.com.
 
Sunday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. MST
Live Stream: ArizonaWildcats.com
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt
 
QUICK NOTES

• Both Arizona and Colorado will be looking to bounce back for their first conference win on Sunday as they each lost their respective Pac-12 openers by a solid amount.

• Jalea Bennett has been a scoring machine for Arizona as she averages a team-high 16.7 points per game, which is fifth in the Pac-12. Over her last seven games, the senior is scoring 19.4 points per game.

• Sam Thomas recorded the first double-double for any Wildcat this season with 13 points and 10 rebounds against NAU (12/7). She is the first freshman since LaBrittney Jones to record a double-double. Against Southern Utah, Thomas grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, which is the most for any Wildcat since Jones had 15 on Dec. 15, 2013.

• Kat Wright had her breakout game against Southern Utah as she poured in a season-high 18 points on 7-13 shooting with four made three-pointers. At the end of double-overtime, Wright drilled the game-winning three-pointer to put the Cats up by two points. 

• Destiny Graham recorded her first-career double-double against Southern Utah with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Last Five vs. Colorado
1/6/2017: at Colorado 65, Arizona 56
1/17/16: at Arizona 63, Colorado 52
2/27/15: Colorado 66, at Arizona 51
2/1/15: at Colorado 81, Arizona 69
2/23/14: Colorado 61, at Arizona 56 (OT)
 
Scouting the Buffs
Colorado had a successful non-conference season going 9-2, but dropped their first Pac-12 game of the season against Arizona State on Friday night by a score of 72-47 at the Coors Events Center. The Buffs are led by All-Pac-12 player Kennedy Leonard, who scores 14.5 points and dishes out 6.7 assists per game. Colorado also features freshman sensation Annika Jank, who has won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week three times in this young season. Jank averages 13.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. As a team, Colorado scores just south of 80 points per game while allowing 63 per game.
 
We See Ya JaLea
JaLea Bennett is one of the two seniors on the team (Kat Wright) and will be looked upon as a leader for the young group of Wildcats this year. Along with Destiny Graham, they are the two remaining student-athletes that played for former head coach Niya Butts. Bennett has turned up the scoring this year as she averages 16.7 points per game, which would be a huge career-high should she maintain and is currently fifth in the Pac-12. Davellyn Whyte was the last player to average at least 16 points per game for a season when she scored 16.8 back in the 2012-13 season. The senior has scored in double-figures 11 times this season and 10-straight, which are both career-highs, after scoring 16 against Utah. Over the last seven games, Bennett averages 19.4 points.
 
Thomas Does It All
Through the first 12 games of her career, Sam Thomas has been rather impressive on the floor. All while playing a team-high 37.3 minutes per game, she averages 9.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.9 steals. After recording the first double-double of the season for any Wildcat against NAU (12/7), she became the first freshman since LaBrittney Jones (2014) to finish the game with a double-double. She is also the first freshman and player since Erica Barnes (2011) to have three double-figure rebounding games in the first eight games of the season. Her 15 rebounds against Southern Utah is the most since Jones grabbed 15 on Dec. 15, 2013 and her 49 minutes are the third-most in school history. In the Pac-12, Thomas is second in rebounding, second in blocked shots, fourth in defensive rebounding, sixth in offensive rebounding, sixth in steals and second in minutes played. She is the top freshmen in the categories mentioned in the previous sentence. Thomas is the only player in the Pac-12 to be in the top 10 in rebounding, blocks and steals. Additionally, Thomas is fifth in the country among all freshmen and 34th overall in blocks per game. The freshman has a shot to break a couple freshman records, and below is a look at where Arizona's top freshmen stood through the first 12 games of their respective careers.
 
Blocks
Shawntinice Polk (2002-03) – 28
Sam Thomas (2017-18) – 26
LaBrittney Jones (2013-14) – 25
 
Minutes
Sam Thomas (2017-18) – 447
Reiko Thomas (2008-09) – 440
Lucia Alonso (2016-17) – 402
Davellyn Whyte (2009-10) – 391
 
Marlee Gets Buckets
Freshman Marlee Kyles is Arizona's second leading scorer through the first 12 games of the season by averaging 10.6 points per game off the bench while playing 25.5 minutes per game, which is the sixth-fewest on the team. She scored 17 in the season opener against Iona (11/10), had 18 against Loyola Marymount (11/22) and had a career-high 19 against Long Beach State (11/28). Kyles is third amongst all freshmen in scoring in the Pac-12 and has seven double-figure games.
 
Buenos Dias, Lucia
It's hard to believe, but Lucia Alonso is already the third-longest tenured Wildcat on the 2017-18 roster as a sophomore. Alosno has been outstanding from beyond the arc as she is shooting a team-high 46% (19-41), which is fifth in the Pac-12. Additionally, Alonso is eighth in steals (1.8) and third in minutes per game (35.7). Against Hawaii (12/17), Alonso had a terrific game with a career-high 21 points on 8-17 shooting and 3-6 from beyond the arc.
 
It's Her Destiny
Destiny Graham has stepped up her game so far in 2017. She is scoring 9.6 points per game to go along with 6.3 rebounds per game, which is second on the team and are both career highs. Graham recorded her first-career double-double against Southern Utah with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in a career-high 37 minutes. The junior has done a good job of getting to the line and making her free throws as she is 35-42 (83%) from the charity stripe, which is first in the Pac-12. Coming into the 2017 season, Graham had scored in double-figures just three times and has already scored in double-figures five times this season.
 
Your Newest WildKAT
After visiting campus this past April, Kat Wright decided to finish out her college career at the University of Arizona. A transfer from Florida Atlantic University, Wright has 158 career made three-pointers, which would be sixth all-time in Arizona history. Wright was forced to sit out the 2016-17 season due to injury, but during her junior year in 2015-16, Wright lit it up as she made 87 trey balls on 40% shooting while scoring 11.7 points per game. To put that into perspective, only one Wildcat has made more than 82 three-pointers in one season, and that was Lisa Griffith wo made 92 in the 1996-97 season. The highlight of her career came on Jan. 30, 2016 when she drained 11 three-pointers against Charlotte, which is the second-most made three-pointers in NCAA history in a single game. She had her breakout game against Southern Utah as she dropped a season-high 18 points, which is the most she has scored since her 33-point game, and nailed the game-winning three-pointer in double-overtime with eight seconds left on the clock. Wright ranks ninth in made triples per game in the Pac-12 (1.9).
 
Sammy Gets Her Chance
Coming into the San Diego State game (12/3), Sammy Fatkin hadn't played more than eight minutes in a game and hadn't scored since the Utah State game (11/17). However, against the Aztecs, she played 18 minutes and scored 11 points with three made three-pointers.
 
Barnes vs. Utah as a Player and Coach
Head coach Adia Barnes never faced Colorado as a player and is 0-1 as head coach vs. the Buffs.
 
They're Called Free Throws for a Reason
Arizona has done a good job of converting their free throws this season as they are shooting at an 75% clip, which is second in the Pac-12. Destiny Graham ranks first in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (83%).
 
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