TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats (6-1) are coming off a come from behind win on the road at San Diego State and are back home to host Montana on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. MST for School Day. Wednesday's game will be aired live on ArizonaWildcats.com and can be heard at 1400 AM with Derrick Palmer on the call.
 
Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. MST
Live Stream: ArizonaWildcats.com
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt
 
FROM THE TIP

• Arizona is on a five-game winning streak after knocking off San Diego State in their first true road game of the season on Sunday and welcome Montana to McKale for the first time on Wednesday for School Day.
   
• Aari McDonald was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks on Monday. Arizona has had three straight Conference Player of the Weeks (Freshman and Player) for the first time in school history.
   
• The Wildcats will be going for their first six-game winning streak since 2011.
   
• McDonald is the nation's second-leading scorer and is the only player in the country to average 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. She is also the leading Power Five Conference scorer in the nation.
   
• Arizona is the only team in the Pac-12 to rank in the top three in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and three-point percentage defense.

Series vs. Montana
First Meeting
 
Scouting the Grizzlies
Montana is coming off a 14-17 season, double the number of wins the Lady Griz had the year before. They went 9-9 in Big Sky Conference play to tie for seventh. Montana returns four starters, all of them upperclassmen: redshirt senior Jace Henderson, redshirt juniors Taylor Goligoski and McKenzie Johnston and junior Madi Schoening. On the season, McKenzi Johnston leads the Grizzlies with 13.0 points per game. They are coming off a wins over Northern Illinois and UC Davis in the Lady Grizz Classic.
 
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 in just the second game of the season and is currently second in the country and first among all Power Five Conference players at 26.6 points per game. The Fresno native is the only player in the country to average at least 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals per game. Through seven games, she has scored at least 20 points in six games and has also led Arizona in scoring six times.  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 Again
Aari McDonald was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the second time this season on Dec. 3 after averaging 26.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals in Arizona's two wins against Incarnate Word and San Diego State. She won her first 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.
 
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 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 seven games, Reese averages 15.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, which is the most of any freshman in the Pac-12. She is also the only non-senior in the Pac-12 to be in the top five in rebounds per game. 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 Nov. 26 after her 19-point and 16-rebound performance against South Carolina State. Reese became Arizona's first Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in school history.
 
I'll Have a Double-Double
Cate Reese is nearly averaging a double-double through the first seven games of her career and has posted three so far. The last freshman to have at least three in their first seven 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. Over the last four games, Reese is averaging a double-double with 12.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
 
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. 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 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 has been red hot over the last two games, shooting 9-15 from downtown including a career-high five trey balls at San Diego State. Over her last five games, she has an assist/turnover ratio of 23/6. 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 highest career three-point percentage in school history (40.7%).
 
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.
 
It's Been a While
Arizona has won their games against South Carolina State and Incarnate Word 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.
 
Heating Up
After struggling from the field in the first two games of the season, Arizona has seemed to find its shooting groove in the last five games. In the first two games of the season, the Wildcats shot a combined 35.3% from the field and have shot a combined 47.5% from the field in their last five.
 
Knocking Down the Trey
The Wildcats have struggled from deep in past years, but the three-point shot has become a weapon for Arizona this season. Through seven games, Arizona has already had three games where they have made at least 10 three-pointers. Last year, Arizona made 10 or more three-pointers in two of their 30 games. Aari McDonald (16) and Lucia Alonso (15) lead the way for Arizona and are one of the three pairs of teammates in the Pac-12 to be in the top 10 in made three pointers per game.
 
Let It Fly
Arizona was getting their threes in during the San Diego State game, especially in the first half when they took 20 three-pointers. At the end of it all, Arizona finished with 32 three-point attempts, which is tied for the second-most in school history. Aari McDonald and Lucia Alonso combined to make 10 as they each made five triples, while McDonald tied the school record with 14 attempts.
 
Lock it Up
The Arizona defense has been swarming so far through the first seven games. The Cats are allowing just 52.9 points per game, which is second in the Pac-12 and are allowing opponents to just 33.3% shooting, the second-best 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. Arizona is the only team in the Pac-12 to be ranked in the top three in scoring defense, field goal pct. defense and three-point pct. defense. Individually, Arizona has had at least one player with at least four steals in its last three games (Thomas twice and McDonald once).
 
Taking Care of the Ball
Turnovers were an issue in the first two games of the season as the Wildcats averaged 20.5 turnovers. Coach Adia Barnes made a point to her team to take care of the ball and since then, the Wildcats average just 11.4 turnovers per game in the last five games.
 
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