TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats (5-1) will take their four-game winning streak on the road to face San Diego State on Sunday, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. MST in their first true road game of the season. Sunday's game will be live streamed on ArizonaWildcats.com and you can listen to Derrick Palmer at 1400 AM.
 
Sunday, Dec. 2 at San Diego State at  2p.m. MST
Live Stream: ArizonaWildcats.com
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt
 
FROM THE TIP

• Arizona is coming off their second-straight 40-point victory after routing Incarnate Word 84-42. The last time Arizona had back-to-back wins of 40 points or more was  back in the 1996-97 season.
   
• Cate Reese became Arizona's first Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Monday after recording her second double-double of the season with 19 points and 16 rebounds against South Carolina State. She had her third of the season against Incarnate Word with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
   
• Aari McDonald is second in the country and first among all Power Five Conferences with 26.2 points per game. Against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 13, she tied the single-game school record with 39 points while going 20-23 from the free throw line, which set new single-game free throw records.
   
• All five of Arizona's wins have come by at least 22 points this season and have three wins of 30 or more.

Last Five vs. San Diego State
12/3/17: SDSU 78, at UA 67
11/21/09: at SDSU 57, UA 38
11/23/98: at UA 76, SDSU 69
12/19/96: UA 66. At SDSU 52
12/11/93: UA 63, at SDSU 58
 
Scouting the Aztecs
The Aztecs, who are coming off a one-point loss to San Diego, lost four starters and six players total from a year ago and return just 34.6 percent of their scoring from last season. Najé Murray, who was named to the Mountain West All-Freshman Team last year, is the Aztecs' leading returning scorer (9.3 ppg). She led all MW freshmen in three-pointers made per game and was fourth overall in scoring among freshmen. Sophia Ramos is San Diego State's leading scorer at 14.4 points per game.
 
Aar it Out
After all the anticipation, redshirt sophomore guard Aari McDonald is finally eligible to put on the block A and represent the Wildcats on the court after transferring from Washington back in 2017. She stormed onto the scene and tied the single-game record with 39 points against Loyola Marymount (11/13) and is currently second in the country and first in the Pac-12 at 26.2 points per game. She also broke both free throw records against LMU, going 20-23 from the charity stripe. After turning the ball over a combined 12 times in her first two games, she has turned it over just nine times in her last four games.  During her freshman season in 2016-17, McDonald was named Pac-12 All-Freshman after averaging just under 10 points per game while shooting 47% from the field in 24.1 minutes per game. She started in 21 games for the Huskies, who would advance to the Sweet 16.
 
McDonald Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
Aari McDonald was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Nov. 19 after averaging 32 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 assists and 2.7 three-pointers per game on 56% shooting from the field over the three games. In two games in Honolulu, she averaged 28.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 3.5 three-pointers per game on 64% shooting from the field and was named the Bank of Hawaii Classic MVP. She had her second 30-point game of the season on vs. Portland after scoring 32 points with a career-high five made three-pointers and a career-high seven assists.
 
Reese's Buckets
Cate Reese entered the season with lofty expectations, and she has surely lived up to those expectations in the first few games. The freshman became the first Wildcat since Shawntinice Polk in 2002 to record a double-double in her collegiate debut and became the first freshman to score at least 20 in her first career game since Davellyn Whyte in 2008 after scoring 21 points and bringing down 10 rebounds in the opener on Nov. 9 against Idaho State. Against South Carolina State, she became the first Wildcat to grab at least 16 rebounds in a game since Whyte (Feb. 19, 2013) and is the first freshman to do so since Polk (Mar. 23, 2003). Through six games, Reese averages 17.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, which is the most of any freshman in the Pac-12. Reese was named to the Bank of Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 18 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two wins. As a senior at Cypress Woods High School, Reese averaged 30.6 points and 15.3 rebounds per game and was also named an honorable mention All-American by the Naismith Trophy.
 
Reese Named Arizona's First Pac-12 Freshman of the Week
Cate Reese was named Arizona's Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Monday after her 19-point and 16-rebound performance against South Carolina State on Friday. Reese becomes Arizona's first Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in school history. Reese, who averages 16.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game through the first five games of her career, led all scorers and rebounders in Friday's dominating win over South Carolina State.
 
I'll Have a Double-Double
Cate Reese is nearly averaging a double-double through the first six games of her career and has posted three so far, including two-straight. The last freshman to have at least three in their first six games was Shawntinice Polk, who had a double-double in each of her first eight career games. Reese needs one more to become the first freshman since Ify Ibekwe to have four double-doubles in one season. Additionally, the last player to have five or more double-doubles in a season was Davellyn Whyte in the 2012-13 season.
 
Sam I Am
Sam Thomas had a typical Sam Thomas game in the opener, scoring 15 points, bringing down nine rebounds and swiping four steals. She also showed improvement from three as well, knocking down three of her four attempts. Against South Carolina State, Thomas was a menace on the defensive end, blocking a career-high five shots and tied her career-high with four steals and followed that up with four more steals against Incarnate Word. She is one of just two players in the Pac-12 to be in the top 10 in both steals and blocks per game. Last year, Thomas was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team after leading all Pac-12 freshmen in rebounding (7 rpg), steals (1.5 spg), blocks (1.3 bpg) and minutes (36.3 mpg), making her the first Wildcat to be named First Team All-Freshman since Davellyn Whyte in the 2009-10 season.
 
Old Man Dominique
Ask anyone to characterize redshirt junior Dominique McBryde's game and they will all say "old man game." McBryde, who transferred from Purdue after the 2016-17 season is poised to have a big year for the Wildcats after sitting out the 2017-18 season. While at Purdue, McBryde was named honorable mention All-Big-Ten in 2017, averaging 6.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while making 25 starts. She had her first double-figure scoring game of the season on Friday against South Carolina State with 10 points to go with six rebounds.
 
Buenos Dias, Lucia
Junior guard Lucia Alonso returns to the court for year three with a ton of experience, playing 1,088 minutes last season to go along with 887 minutes the year before. The only player in Arizona history that played more minutes in their first two years was Arizona Ring of Honor inductee Davellyn Whyte, who played 2,095 in her first two seasons. The junior Spaniard tied her career-high with nine assists against Seattle with just one turnover. Over her last four games, she has an assist/turnover ratio of 21/4. Last year, Alonso finished the season third in minutes per game (36.3), 10th in three-point percentage (39.1%) and 14th in the Pac-12 in assists per game (3.1). Known as a knockdown three-point shooter, Alonso has the second-highest career three-point percentage in school history (39.2%).
 
Semaj Sends it Back
Semaj Smith blocked a career-high five shots last night and is now tied for the lead in the Pac-12 with 1.8 blocks per game in just 11.3 minutes per game. She is the only freshman in the country to average at least 1.8 blocks per game while playing fewer than 12 minutes per game.
 
It's Her Destiny
Destiny Graham is the lone four-year senior on the team who started her career at Arizona. Not only that, she is the only player on the roster who played for former head coach Niya Butts. She didn't miss a shot from the field against Seattle, shooting 4-4 for 10 points off the bench. Graham is poised for a big senior year after having a career year in 2017-18, averaging career highs in both points (8.1 ppg) and rebounds (6.4 rpg). Graham was the first off the bench in the opener and played 24 minutes while grabbing six boards.
 
Cats Dominate the Bank of Hawaii Classic
Arizona took the long flight to Honolulu for the Bank of Hawaii Classic on Nov. 16 and 18 against Seattle U and Portland, and came home with two convincing wins. In the two games, Arizona won by a combined 52 points and shot a combined 51.2% from the field while averaging 88 points per game. Aari McDonald and Cate Reese were named to the Bank of Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team, with McDonald being named the MVP.
 
It's Been a While
Arizona has won their last two games by 40+ points, which is a feat that hasn't happened in over 20 years. The last time the Wildcats won back-to-back games by 40 points or more was late November during the 1996-97 season when they beat Monmouth by 42 and Long Beach State by 40. Adia Barnes averaged 23 points in those two games. Additionally, the last time Arizona had two total 40-point wins in one season was during the 2001-02 season.
 
Off to a Hot Start
Over its last four games, Arizona is shooting a combined 47.2% after shooting a combined 35.3% in the first two games. In these last four games, Arizona has shot over 45% from the field in each game. Last year, the Wildcats shot over 45% in just two of their 30 games.
 
Lock it Up
The Arizona defense has been swarming so far through the first six games. The Cats are allowing just 51.7 points per game, which is second in the Pac-12 and are allowing opponents to just 32.2% shooting, the top mark in the conference. Against South Carolina State, the Bulldogs shot just 19.6% from the field, which is 0.2% higher than the school record for lowest field goal percentage allowed in one game. So far, Arizona has forced the opponent to shoot below 35% four times this year as opposed to last year when opponents shot under 35% four times all season.
 
Bringing Energy off the Bench
After averaging six points per game off the bench in the first two games of the season, the Arizona reserves are averaging 19.8 points per game over the last three games.
 
Barnes' Numbers vs. SDSU as a Player
Head coach Adia Barnes faced San Diego State one time as a student-athlete in the 1996-97 season. She helped lead the Cats as a junior to a 66-48 win and scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had seven steals. She led all scorers and set a new career-high for steals in one game.
 
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) and Instagram (@arizonawbasketball).