PALO ALTO, Calif. – The Arizona women's basketball team (5-15, 1-8 Pac-12) will be in Palo Alto, Calif. on Sunday evening for a matchup against the Stanford Cardinal (13-8, 7-2 Pac-12) at 6 p.m. MST. The game will be aired live on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
Sunday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. MST
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Ann Schatz & Tammy Blackburn)
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt
 
FROM THE TIP

• Arizona is coming off a loss to the 23rd-ranked California Golden Bears on Friday night, while the Stanford Cardinal had a convincing win over Arizona State by a score of 74-50.
   
• Freshman Sam Thomas has hit her stride her in Pac-12 play as she averages 11.3 points and 6.4 rebounds in conference games. Over her last eight games, Thomas averages 12 points and 6.5 rebounds. Thomas recorded her second-career double-double against Oregon (1/12) with 14 points and 11 rebounds and has scored in double-figures in seven of her last eight.
   
• JaLea Bennett has taken the scoring up a few notches for Arizona this year as she averages a team-high 14.4 points per game, which is 11th in the Pac-12. The senior has scored in double-figures in a career-high 15 games this season.
   
• Destiny Graham recorded her second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Cal on Friday. The junior averages 9.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in her last three.
   
• 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. Stanford
1/5/18: Stanford 61, at Arizona 46
1/20/17: at Stanford 74, Arizona 46
1/1/17: Stanford 77, at Arizona 55
2/12/16: at Stanford 82, Arizona 58
1/2/16: Stanford 59, at Arizona 34
 
Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford is coming off a nice win over Arizona State by a score of 74-50 on Friday night at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal, who are uncharacteristically unranked, are led by Brittany McPhee who scores 16.3 points per game and brings down 4.8 rebounds per game. McPhee has only played 12 games this season as she missed a good chunk of the non-conference season, which explains the 6-6 non-conference record. Alanna Smith has been consistent all season long averaging 13.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The Cardinal have really hit their stride in Pac-12 play with a 7-2 conference record.
 
Thomas Hits Her Stride
Through the first 20 games of her career, Sam Thomas has been rather impressive on the floor. All while playing a team-high 37 minutes per game, she averages 10.4 points, 7.9 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 seven of the nine 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 (37.0 mpg), fifth in blocked shots (1.6 bpg), seventh in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and seventh 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, seventh in rebounds per game and 13th 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 20 games of their respective careers.
 
Blocks
Shawntinice Polk (2002-03) – 44
LaBrittney Jones (2013-14) – 33
Sam Thomas (2017-18) – 31
 
Minutes
Sam Thomas (2017-18) – 740
Reiko Thomas (2008-09) – 700
Davellyn Whyte (2009-10) – 674
 
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 14.4 points per game, which would be a huge career-high should she maintain and is currently 11th 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 20 games of the season by averaging 9.0 points per game off the bench while playing 24 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 Jan. 21 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. She played 28 minutes against Cal on Friday and scored seven points.
 
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 41% (29-70), which is ninth in the Pac-12. Additionally, Alonso third in minutes per game (36.0) in the Pac-12. 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 (1/21) on her way to 11 points, the first time she has scored in double-figures since Jan. 5. Over her last six games, Alonso has an assist/turnover ratio of 20/10.
 
It's Her Destiny
Destiny Graham has stepped up her game so far in 2017. She is scoring 8.6 points (172 total points, a career-high) per game to go along with 6.6 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 and had her second one on Friday against Cal with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The junior has done a good job of getting to the line and making her free throws as she is 58-69 (84%) from the charity stripe, which is third in the Pac-12. She is 17-18 from the line in her last four games. Coming into the 2017 season, Graham had scored in double-figures just three times and has already scored in double-figures eight times this season. On the rebounding side of things, she came into the season with one double-figure rebounding effort and has four 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 180 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 three-straight 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 three times in the last 12 games. During that stretch, Arizona's turnover margin is +22. Against Oregon State, Arizona committed just four turnovers, which is the fewest in school history.
 
Barnes vs. Stanford as a Player
Adia Barnes has a record of 1-7 vs. Stanford as a player and averaged 17.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Her best game against the Cardinal came on Mar. 6, 1997 when she scored 29 points and brought down seven rebounds. Arizona's lone win while Barnes was a student-athlete came on Jan. 12, 1998 when Barnes scored 22 points and had seven rebounds in a 91-90 victory over the 11th-ranked Cardinal. Reshea Bristol made a buzzer-beating game-winning bucket that day.
 
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 third in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (84%).

FOLLOW WOMEN'S HOOPS ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Arizona women's basketball by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaWomensBasketball), Twitter (@ArizonaWBB) Instagram (@arizonawbasketball) and Snapchat (arizonawbball).