TUCSON, Ariz. – For already the second time this month, Arizona (5-14, 1-7 Pac-12) will face No. 23 California (14-5, 5-3 Pac-12), this time in Berkeley, Calif. at 8 p.m. MST in Haas Pavilion. Last time out, Arizona and Cal had a very close matchup in which the Golden Bears came away with a two-point victory in McKale Center.
 
Friday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. MST
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FROM THE TIP

• Arizona is coming off a split against the Mountain schools last weekend as they defeated Colorado on Friday night and dropped one to Utah on Sunday afternoon.
   
• Freshman Sam Thomas has hit her stride her in Pac-12 play as she averages 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds in conference games. Over her last seven games, Thomas averages 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds. Thomas recorded her second-career double-double against Oregon (1/12) with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
   
• JaLea Bennett has taken the scoring up a few notches for Arizona this year as she averages a team-high 15.1 points per game, which is ninth in the Pac-12. The senior has scored in double-figures in a career-high 15 games this season after pouring in a team-high 23 against Colorado.
   
• Kat Wright had been struggling to find her shot for most of the season, but the senior transfer from FAU has seemed to get more comfortable in the last two weeks, averaging 10 points and 2.5 made threes per game over her last four games.
   
• Marlee Kyles, who missed three games with a concussion seemed to get her confidence back against Utah as she scored a team-high 15 points in 22 minutes off the bench.

Last Five vs. California
1/7/18: Cal 53, at Arizona 51
1/22/17: at Cal 71, Arizona 60
12/30/16: Cal 74, at Arizona 64
2/14/16: at Cal 75, Arizona 56
1/4/16: at Arizona 56, Cal 52
 
Scouting the Golden Bears
California is coming off a 62-59 win on the road at USC and now have a record of 14-5 after winning four of their last five matchups. Once again, Phoenix native Kristine Anigwe is dominating by averaging 17.9 points and 8.8 rebounds and is third in the conference in scoring and rebounding. Guard Asha Thomas, who sat out the last time Arizona and Cal played, also averages double-figures for Cal with 11.7 points per game. The Wildcats are looking to break a four-game losing streak vs. the Golden Bears.
 
Thomas Hits Her Stride
Through the first 19 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 10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks. 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. 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. Against Oregon, Thomas recorded her second-career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The freshman has scored in double-figures in six of the eight Pac-12 games this season and is the only player on Arizona's roster who is averaging more points per game in conference play than non-conference play. 
 
Sam in the Pac-12
In the Pac-12, Thomas is second in minutes played (37.3 mpg), sixth in blocked shots (1.6 bpg), seventh in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and ninth in steals (1.7 spg). She is the top freshmen in the categories mentioned in the previous sentence and is the third leading scorer among freshmen in the Pac-12. Thomas is the only player in the Pac-12 to be in the top 10 in rebounding, blocks and steals. Additionally, Thomas is third in minutes per game, fifth in rebounds per game and ninth in blocks per game in the country among freshmen.
 
Where She Ranks Among Arizona Freshmen
Thomas has a shot to break a couple freshman records, and below is a look at where Arizona's top freshmen stood through the first 19 games of their respective careers.
 
Blocks
Shawntinice Polk (2002-03) – 40
LaBrittney Jones (2013-14) – 30
Sam Thomas (2017-18) – 30
 
Minutes
Sam Thomas (2017-18) – 708
Reiko Thomas (2008-09) – 669 (2/5)
Davellyn Whyte (2009-10) – 640
 
We See Ya JaLea
JaLea Bennett is one of the two seniors on the team (Kat Wright) have been 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 15.2 points per game, which would be a huge career-high should she maintain and is currently ninth in the Pac-12. The senior has already set a new career-high in total points scored with 287 points. Her previous career-high was 187 total points in 2016-17. She has scored in double-figures 15 times this season, which is a career-high. Bennett was incredibly efficient against Colorado as she poured in 23 points on 11-15 shooting, including 7-7 in the first half.
 
Marlee Gets Buckets
Freshman Marlee Kyles is Arizona's third leading scorer through the first 16 games of her career by averaging 9.1 points per game off the bench while playing 23.8 minutes per game, which is the sixth-fewest on the team. She started off her career with a bang as 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). After missing three games against Colorado (12/31), Stanford (1/5) and California (1/7), she returned against the Oregon schools but struggled to get back into a rhythm. She seemed to figure it out against Utah on Sunday as she poured in a team-high 15 points, which is the most she has scored since Nov. 28 and is also the first time she scored in double-figures since Dec. 29 against Utah.
 
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 42% (28-66), which is seventh in the Pac-12. Additionally, Alonso third in minutes per game (36.0). 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. The sophomore knocked down three three-pointers against Utah on her way to 11 points, the first time she has scored in double-figures since Jan. 5. Over her last five games, Alonso has an assist/turnover ratio of 19/8.
 
It's Her Destiny
Destiny Graham has stepped up her game so far in 2017. She is scoring 8.5 points (162 total points, a career-high) per game to go along with 6.4 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 55-66 (83%) from the charity stripe, which is second in the Pac-12. She went 9-10 from the line against Colorado, including some clutch makes down the stretch. Coming into the 2017 season, Graham had scored in double-figures just three times and has already scored in double-figures seven times this season. On the rebounding side of things, she came into the season with one double-figure rebounding effort and has three this season after bringing down a game-high 10 boards against Cal (1/7).
 
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 179 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 had scored since her 33-point game, and nailed the game-winning three-pointer in double-overtime with eight seconds left on the clock. Wright really turned it on against Oregon, Oregon State and Colorado, scoring in double-figures in all three for the first time this season.
 
The Young Guns
Arizona is the only school in the Pac-12 to have freshmen (Sam Thomas and Marlee Kyles) be two of their top three scorers and is the second school in the Pac-12 to have three underclassmen (Thomas, Kyles and Lucia Alonso) be three of their top four scorers. Oregon is the other school to have three underclassmen in the top four.
 
Heating Up from Downtown
Against Colorado (9-19, 47%) and Utah (6-13, 46%), Arizona shot 15-32 (47%) from three-point range (Jan. 19 & 21). Not only is that the first time this season that Arizona has shot over 40% from three in back-to-back games, it is the first time this season Arizona has shot over 40% from three in one game this season. The last time an Arizona team shot at least 46% from three in back-to-back games while making at least six in each game was back in November of 2015 when the Wildcats shot 18-33 (55%) from three against Toledo (9-18, 50%) and Howard (9-15, 60%).
 
Lock it Up
Against Cal (1/7), Stanford (1/9) and Oregon (1/12) (all ranked opponents), the Wildcats allowed just 58.7 points per game. Oregon came into the game scoring just under 87 points per game, but Arizona held them to 62 points, which is the second-fewest the Ducks have scored all season. The only other team to hold Oregon to under 70 points this season is highly ranked Louisville. It was another great defensive effort on the part of Arizona against Colorado (1/19), forcing the Buffs to shoot just 32% from the field and 26% from downtown.
 
Winning the Turnover Battle
Arizona has done a good job of winning the turnover battle as of late as they have committed more turnovers than their opponent just two times in the last 11 games. During that stretch, Arizona's turnover margin is +26. Against Oregon State, Arizona committed just four turnovers, which is the fewest in school history.
 
Barnes vs. California as a Player
Adia Barnes had a great amount of success as a player against Cal as she went 7-1 during her four years as a student-athlete. In her eight career games against the Golden Bears, Barnes averaged 18.1 points and 7.1 rebounds. Her best game came on Jan. 4, 1996 when she scored 28 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in a 102-66 win at McKale Center.
 
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 third in the Pac-12. Destiny Graham ranks second in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (83%).
 
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