TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona women's basketball team is set to officially open the 2018-19 season on Friday evening against Idaho State at 6:30 p.m. in McKale Center. Friday's game will be live streamed on ArizonaWildcats.com and will be broadcast on 1400 AM with Derrick Palmer.
 
Friday, Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Live Stream: ArizonaWildcats.com
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt

FROM THE TIP

• The Arizona Wildcats open up the 2018-19 season against Idaho State in head coach Adia Barnes' third year at the helm. The Wildcats and Bengals are taking the court together for the first time.
   
• Arizona made quick work in their two exhibition games against Eastern and Western New Mexico. Cate Reese averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds in the two games while Aari McDonald averaged 18.5 points per game. The Wildcats shot a combined 56% from the field while holding Eastern and Western New Mexico to a combined 23% shooting.
   
• Arizona returns three starters from last season (Alonso, Graham and Sam Thomas) and bring in three transfers into the fold after sitting out last season (Dominique McBryde, McDonald and Tee Tee Starks).
   
• Adia Barnes is looking to become the first coach in school history to win their first three season openers as head coach of Arizona.

Series vs. Idaho State
First official meeting.
 
Scouting the Bengals
Idaho State returns eight letter winners and four starters from last season's squad that finished fifth in the regular season with a 21-11 overall record. The Bengals tallied an 11-7 mark in conference play and made it to the semifinals in the conference tournament before falling to eventual champion Northern Colorado 73-66. The Bengals return three players that averaged double-digit points a season ago: Grace Kenyon (12.9 ppg), Saylair Grandon (10.9 ppg) and Estefania Ors (11.0 ppg). Idaho State will look for ways to produce the 13.2 points per game that departed Brooke Blair brought to the team.
 
Sam I Am
Last year, Sam 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. She also finished third in scoring (10.2 ppg) and third in three-point percentage (37%). Thomas led the Wildcats in field goal percentage, rebounds, blocks and steals. The sophomore scored in double-figures in 17 games last season, including a career-high 22 points to go along with a career-high five three-pointers against USC on Feb. 11. Her 209 total rebounds was the fourth-most among Arizona freshman and finished scoring the 10th-most points any freshman has scored in Arizona history.
 
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. 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).
 
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. 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 is the only player in Arizona history to shoot over 40% from three with at least 50 made threes (career 40.5% (60-150) from beyond the arc).
 
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. During her freshman season in 2016-17, McDonald was a two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and 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 averaged 13.7 points per game in the three NCAA Tournament games.
 
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.
 
Reese's Buckets
It's no secret that Cate Reese will be making the most highly anticipated debut for a freshman in Arizona history on Monday night. Coming in as Arizona's first McDonald's All-American that headlined the No. 5 class in the country, Reese will be looked upon to shoulder a heavy load in the paint. 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.
 
An Upward Trend
Destiny Graham and Lucia Alonso are Arizona's two longest tenured players. Graham is Arizona's lone four-year senior and Alonso is entering her third season as a Wildcat. During their time here, both have upped their scoring numbers from the prior year, with Graham more than doubling her points per game average.
 
Graham
2015-16: 3.3 ppg
2016-17: 3.8 ppg
2017-18: 8.1 ppg
 
Alonso
2016-17: 5.3 ppg
2017-18: 7.9 ppg
 
Top Class in Arizona History
Adia Barnes and her coaching staff finally get to coach the four freshmen that make up the No. 5 recruiting class in the country by ProspectsNation.com. The top class in the Pac-12 consists of McDonald's All-American Cate Reese, Bryce Nixon, Shalyse Smith and Semaj Smith. All four are expected to see the floor this season and make an impact on the 2018-19 Wildcats.
 
An Exceptional Trio of Transfers
It's been over a year since either Dominique McBryde, Aari McDonald or Tee Tee Starks have played in a game after transferring from their respective schools, but now they are eligible to play and are ready to make an immediate impact. Between the three, they have played in a combined 135 games, made 66 starts, scored 868 points and played in seven NCAA Tournament games.
 
An Additional Hurdle for Reese
Freshman Cate Reese is getting a ton of attention for being Arizona's first McDonald's All-American in school history. But her journey to becoming a McDonald's All-American and a Naismith Trophy honorable mention All-American hasn't been the easiest of tasks as she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, the same disease that her sister Ali has dealt with, on April 4, 2016.
 
No Longer a Walk-On
After two years of trying out to make the team, Lindsey Malecha finally earned a walk-on spot on the team before the 2017-18 season and found herself on the court a decent amount last season. She scored a total of 31 points in118 minutes and played in 23 of Arizona's 30 games. On July 20, 2018, Malecha was awarded a scholarship and the video of Adia Barnes presenting her with the scholarship went viral. Barnes consistently sings the praises for Malecha's perennial hard work and good leadership. Not only does she work her tail off on the court, she is also
 
Baller Barnes
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.
 
April Phillips Joins the Team
April Phillips was hired as assistant women's basketball coach on July 19, 2018. Phillips spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Loyola Marymount with the last two as associate head coach under head coach Charity Elliott. Phillips, who was named recruiting coordinator due to her elite recruiting abilities, helped LMU land two of the best classes in program history in 2017 and 2018 and brought in back-to-back WCC Newcomers of the Year with Jackie Johnson winning in 2017 and Gabby Green winning in 2018. Her hard work has paid off as she was named a WBCA Thirty Under 30 honoree at the 2018 Final Four, which recognizes 30 up-and-coming women's college basketball coaches age 30 and under at all levels of the game. As a student-athlete, Phillips is a proven winner having advanced to the NCAA Tournament with Xavier all three years of her career and won two Atlantic 10 titles. During her senior season in 2010, the Musketeers advanced all the way to the Elite Eight and was one shot away from a Final Four appearance.
 
Valley Teams Up with Barnes (again)
As soon as there was an opening on Barnes' coaching staff, she looked no further than Morgan Valley. During the 2015-16 season, Barnes and Valley were assistant coaches at Washington, where they made a historic run to the Final Four on the backs of Kelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor. All Valley knows is winning as she has been a part of five Final Fours, four of them as a player at UConn in which she won three National Championships playing for Geno Auriemma. She is just one of two Division I assistant coaches to have played in four Final Fours and three National Championships.
 
It's a Family Affair
When Adia Barnes was deciding who she would hire for her three assistant coach spots, she looked no further than her husband Salvo Coppa, who has coached all over the world. Some of his coaching stops include Italy, Thailand, Sicily, Malta, the Seattle Storm and Montana State. Coppa is a certified FIBA coach and is also fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian. He is the son of legendary international coach Santino Coppa, who founded and coached the club Trogylos Priolo, who has won two Italian league titles and one European Cup. The two have one son, Matteo, who is three years old and is around the program all the time.
 
Barnes Loves the Season Openers
Adia Barnes is the third head coach in Arizona history to win her first two season openers. The other two were Lois Sheldahl (72-73) and Nancy Trego (74-75). No other coach in Arizona history has won her first three season openers.
 
#MadeForIt
This season, and for future seasons to come, you will see the words 'Made For It' associated with the Arizona women's basketball team. Similar to 'A Players Program' for the men's team, 'Made For It' is the women's team's mantra for the program.
 
Down on the Ranch
From Sept. 21 – Sept. 23, the coaching staff and players ventured off to the White Stallion Ranch, which is located in the northwestern part of Tucson, for a team retreat. Activities consisted of horseback riding, corralling cattle and other team building exercises.
 
#CommunityCats
Last year, the women's basketball program won the Athletic Director's Cup for Community Service at the inaugural CATSYs Awards for the second-straight year, which is given to the program with the most community service ours. Since Barnes took over as head coach, she has made it a point to get out and do their part in the community.
 
Lights, Camera, Action
Eleven of Arizona's 18 conference games will be televised by Pac-12 Networks this season. Of those 11 games, Arizona will play eight of the at home against Arizona State, California, Stanford, USC, Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State.
 
Worldwide Recruiting
The coaching staff has made it a point of emphasis to recruit overseas. Assistant coach Salvo Coppa coached overseas for quite some time, so he is taking full advantage of the relationships that he has formed since he began his coaching career, as well as Adia Barnes, who played professionally overseas.
 
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