TUCSON, Ariz. – The 18th-ranked Wildcats are back in McKale on Thursday evening as they will host the Tennessee State Tigers at 6:30 p.m. MST. Arizona is looking to go 10-0 for the first time in school history.
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Thursday, Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. MST
Live Stream: ArizonaWildcats.com
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Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt
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FROM THE TIP
- Arizona has their eyes on the best start in school history as they host Tennessee State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MST.
- The Wildcats have won their first nine games of the season for the first time since the 1999-00 season, which is tied for the best start in school history. Arizona is the first Pac-12 team to reach nine victories this season.
- Dating back to last season, Arizona has won a school-record 15-consecutive games.
- Cate Reese was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday for the first time in her career. It is also the first time since the 2004-05 season that two Wildcats have been named Conference Player of the Week in one season.
- Arizona is the first team in the Pac-12 to have two Player of the Week honors.
- Arizona is ranked in the top 20 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2003 as they check in at No. 18, the highest since the 2002-03 season.
- Arizona's scoring margin of 30.9 is the third-highest in the nation behind Baylor and Maryland.
- Arizona leads the country in field goal percentage defense (28.8%).
- The Wildcats are one of two teams in the country (Baylor) to rank in the top six in field goal percentage defense (28.8%) and field goal percentage (48.2%).
- Arizona's 52-point win over Monmouth is the largest margin of victory since December, 4 2004.
- Arizona is second in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense (44.0) and is the only team in the conference to allow fewer than 50 points per game.
- Aari McDonald is 16th in the country and scoring and tops in the Pac-12 (20.1).
- Sam Thomas is the only player in school history to have 100 career made threes and blocks.
- Arizona won seven games in the month of November for the first time in school history.
- The Wildcats allowed just 27 points to UC Riverside on Nov. 29, the fewest since joining the Pac-10.
- McDonald was named Player of the Week by ESPNw, the USBWA and the Pac-12 the week of Nov. 18 after averaging 34 points per game on 79% (23-39) shooting from the field and 100% (20-20) from the line in two road wins.
- McDonald was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List last week.
- Arizona shot below 43% from the field for the first time this season on the road at UTEP.
- For the first time since December of 2000, Arizona won three-straight games while scoring at least 80 points in each of those games.
- McDonald was one rebound short of her first-career triple double as she had 15 points, a career-high 14 assists and nine rebounds. 14 assists is the fifth-most in a single game in school history.
- Arizona enters the season as the reigning WNIT Champions and return eight players from last year's team while only losing two to graduation.
- The Wildcats welcome in seven newcomers, including six that were born outside of the United States.
- McDonald was named to the Preseason Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List, which recognizes the top shooting guard in the country, was named Preseason All-Pac-12 and was named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 and the Preseason Wade Trophy Watch List.
- Cate Reese was named to the Katrina McClain Award Watch List, which recognizes the top power forward in the country. Reese scored a career-high 22 points in the season opener.
- Arizona won 24 games last season, the most of any Arizona team in the last 15 years.
- The Wildcats had an 18-win turnaround last season, the largest in school history. It was also the second-largest of any Division I team since 2000.
Last Time Out
Arizona came into El Paso on Sunday heavily undermanned as the Wildcats were without
Dominique McBryde,
Helena Pueyo,
Mara Mote and
Sevval Gul. In a tough environment, Arizona was able to win their ninth-straight game to start the season and were led by
Cate Reese, who had 19 points and 17 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
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A Historic Week
McDonald broke the Arizona single-game scoring record on Nov. 17 with 44 points on the road vs. No. 22 Texas. She was incredibly efficient, making 14 of her 18 attempts while making all 14 of her free throws. The junior was named Player of the Week by ESPNw, the USBWA and the Pac-12 after averaging 34 points per game on 79% shooting from the field vs. Chicago State and Texas. 44 points is the second-most any player in the country has scored this season and only six other players in the country have scored 40 in one game.
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National Recognition for Aari
McDonald garnered a ton of preseason attention this season, as she was named preseason All-Pac-12 and was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List, Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 and the Wade Award Watch List. Last Thursday, she was named to the first Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List of the season.
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Flirting with the Trip-Dub
McDonald was one rebound shy of her first-career triple-double against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 20. She finished the game with 15 points, a career-high 14 assists and nine rebounds. 14 assists is tied for the fifth-most in school history, while McDonald is the first Wildcat since Reshea Bristol to have at least 14 assists in a game (2001).
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Scoring at a High Level of Efficiency
Not only is McDonald averaging 20.1 points per game, which leads the conference and is 16th in the nation, she is shooting 54% from the field. McDonald is one of two players in the nation to average at least 20 points per game while shooting at least 54% from the field (Ruthy Hebard).
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Arizona Single-Game Scoring List
                                   Points Opp.    Date
1. Aari McDonald        44        Texas  Nov. 17, 2019
2. Aari McDonald        39        LMU    Nov. 13, 2018
    Davellyn Whyte        39        Cal      Jan. 16, 2009
4. Candice Warthen      36        GSU    Nov. 13, 2011
5. Aari McDonald        35        UCLA  Jan. 27, 2019
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Arizona All-Time Scoring List
                                   GP      Points
14. Lisa Griffith            122      1,199
15. Natalie Jones         126      1,149
16. Yolanda Turner       111      1,144
17. Candice Warthen    115      1,128
18. Aari McDonald       46        1,071
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Cate the Great
Cate Reese, who had one of the best freshman seasons in Arizona history, will look to take another step in her career after averaging 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last year. During the 2018-19 season, Reese was named Pac-12 All-Freshman and was a three-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, the first in Arizona history. She led all Pac-12 freshmen in scoring and rebounding and also had the most double-doubles of all Pac-12 freshmen. During Arizona's run to the WNIT Championship, Reese averaged over 14 points per game. Before this season started, she was named to the Katrina McClain Award Watch List, which recognizes the top power forward in the country.
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I'll Have a Double-Double
Last season, Reese led all Pac-12 freshmen with seven double-doubles, and has three this season after a 19-point and 17-rebound performance at UTEP, becoming the 12th player in school history with at least 10 double-doubles. Reese is second on the team with 14.3 points per game and averages a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game, which is the third in the Pac-12.
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First Timer
Reese was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Dec. 9 after averaging 17.5 points and 14 rebounds per game on 59% shooting vs. Monmouth and UTEP. On the road at UTEP while the Wildcats were shorthanded, especially in the post, Reese carried the load scoring a game-high 19 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds. She also blocked three shots.
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Season Openers Are Good to Cate
Reese scored a career-high 22 points in the season-opener vs. North Dakota on Tuesday. Last season, she scored 21 points in the opener.
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I'm Coming Home Again
Reese played in her home state for the first time in her college career against No. 22 Texas and showed out in front of tons of family and friends. In 30 minutes, she scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals. She was dared to shoot the three, so she went 3-4 from behind the arc, which is a new career high.
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Sam I Am
Known as one of the best defenders on the team,
Sam Thomas was the only player in the Pac-12 to average at least 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game last year. Throughout a game, you can find Thomas guarding the opposing team's point guard or center. She became a threat from long distance last year, making 47 threes, the second-most on the team. She is scalding hot to start the season, shooting 55% (32-58) from the field and 46% from three (12-26) and became the 11th player in school history to make 100 career triples at Montana. She blocked three shots against UTEP and became the sixth player in school history with 100 career blocks and is the only player in school history with 100 three-pointers and blocks in a career.
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Spanish Smooth
Expectations were high for
Helena Pueyo coming into her freshman season, and through eight games, she has not disappointed. Pueyo has brought a spark off the bench all year, especially from behind the arc as she has made 15 triples this year, which leads the team. On the season, she is shooting 55% from the field and 48% from three while playing over 20 minutes per game off the bench, the most of any non-starter. She is averaging 12.3 points per game in her last four and had a career-high 15 vs. Monmouth last week.
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McBryde's Magic
Her numbers may not jump off the page, but
Dominique McBryde proves day in and day out how important she is to
Adia Barnes and the Arizona Wildcats. Considered the best post defender on the team, McBryde averages two per game, which is tied with McDonald for the most on the team. McBryde will play her second and final year for the Wildcats this season after transferring from Purdue prior to the 2017-18 season.
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Nice to Meet You Amari
Amari Carter decided to spend her fourth year of eligibility in Tucson after grad transferring from Penn State this past summer, and she will certainly play an important role for Barnes and the Wildcats. After only playing in one game during her freshman season due to injury, she went on to average over 10 points per game over her next three, including 14.2 per game during her junior season. She is three points away from 1,000 for her career.
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Buenos Dias, Lucia
Senior guard
Lucia Alonso was
Adia Barnes' first recruit back when she took over the Arizona program for the 2016-17 season, and her senior season is now upon us. Known as a knockdown three-point shooter, Alonso has the second-highest career three-point percentage in school history at 39.7%. She became the 10th player in school history to make 100 three-pointers in a career last season and is currently in eighth place all-time.
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Most Made 3-Pointers in Arizona History
6. Julie Brase – 125 (118 games)
7. Natalie Jones – 117 (126 games)
8. Lucia Alonso – 110 (101 games)
9. Kama Griffits – 110 (56 games)
10. Monika Crank – 106 (118 games)
11. Sam Thomas – 102 (76 games)
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Tee Tee is Back
At the beginning of last season,
Tee Tee Starks had made the decision that this would be her final year playing college basketball. On senior day, she announced that she will be returning for her final year of eligibility and will be a fifth-year senior for the 2019-20 season. It's no secret that Starks causes absolute havoc on the defensive end, and the numbers show it. In the 15 games against Pac-12 teams she played at least 10 minutes in last season, opponents averaged 64.5 points per game while shooting 40% from the field. In the five Pac-12 games she either missed or played fewer than 10 minutes, opponents averaged 74 points per game and shot 47% from the field.
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Long Range Latvian
Mara Mote leads the Wildcats in three-point percentage through the first nine games of the season as she is shooting 7-13 (54%) from distance. She had a breakout performance vs. UC Riverside, making four of her five attempts for a career-high 12 points.
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Ranked
For the first time since the 2004-05 season, the Arizona Wildcats are ranked in both the AP poll and the coaches poll. This week, the Wildcats check in at No. 18 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the coaches poll. The Wildcats are in the top 20 for the first time since 2003.
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It's Been 20 Years
For the first time since the 1999-00 season and the third time in program history, Arizona has started the season winning nine-consecutive games. In both the 1995-96 and 1999-00 seasons, Arizona won their first nine games of the season and lost their 10th.
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Lock It Up
Arizona's defense has been suffocating to start the season, allowing just 44 points per game and forcing opponents to shoot just 28.8% from the field, which leads the nation. Per 100 possessions, the Wildcats are allowing 62.7 points per game, the third-best in the country. Additionally, no team has reached the 60-point mark against the Cats this season and are allowing just 38.8 points per game in their last five.
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Field Goal Pct. Defense Leaders (NCAA)
1. Arizona: 28.8%
2. Tennessee: 29.5%
3. Rutgers: 29.7%
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Scoring Defense Leaders (NCAA)
1. Georgia Tech: 42.0
2. Arizona: 44.0
3. Kentucky: 46.7
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Opponent Points Per 100 Possessions (NCAA)
1. Georgia Tech: 61.9
2. Baylor: 62.4
3. Arizona: 62.7
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Most Games in a Season Opp. Scores <50 (since="">50>
1. 2018-19: 11 games
2. 2019-20: 6 games Â
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Cooking Up Some Turnovers
The Wildcats are turning over their opponents 21.7 times per game this season, the second-most in the Pac-12. Six players have at least 13 steals on the season, with
Aari McDonald leading the way with 22.
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Winning Big
Arizona's scoring margin of +30.9 is first in the Pac-12 and third in the nation. Through the first nine games of the season, Arizona has yet to win by single digits and have six wins by at least 30 points. The last time Arizona had six 30-point wins in one season was during the 1996-97 campaign. The Cats' 52-point victory was their largest margin of victory since Dec. 4, 2004.
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Highest Scoring Margin (NCAA)
1. Baylor: +38.1
2. Maryland: +32.5
3. Arizona: +30.9
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Sharpshooters
The Wildcats average over seven made three-pointers this season, and are getting good shooting from many different players. All in all, five players shoot at least 40% from deep.
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Helena Pueyo – 15-31 (48%)
Sam Thomas – 12-26 (46%)
Mara Mote – 7-13 (54%)
Tara Manumaleuga – 7-16 (44%)
Cate Reese – 3-5 (60%)
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Give me 80
For the first time since December of 2000, Arizona won three-straight games while scoring at least 80 points in each of those games.
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82 – Chicago State (Nov. 12)
83 – Texas (Nov. 17)
83 – Prairie View A&M (Nov. 20)
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Coming in Hot
Through eight games, Arizona is outscoring their opponents by an average of 13.1 points in the first quarter. In total, Arizona has outscored their opponents 195-90 in the first quarter. Last time out, Arizona led UTEP 21-14 at the end of the first.
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A November to Remember
For the first time in school history, Arizona won seven games in the month of November.
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A Defensive Performance for the Ages
Against UC Riverside on Nov. 29, Arizona put up one of the best defensive performances in school history. For starters, the Highlanders scored just 27 points in the entire game, the fewest an Arizona opponent has scored since joining the Pac-10. Additionally, UC Riverside made just nine field goals, which is also the fewest Arizona has allowed since joining the Pac. The Highlanders did not make a basket in the second quarter.
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We're Back
Arizona returns 95% of it's scoring from the 2018-19 season, which is the fourth-most of any power five team in the country.
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Power Five Conference Returning Scoring
100% - Boston College
100% - Florida State
100% - Purdue
95.3% - Arizona
94.7% - Duke
94.4% - Texas A&M
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Tucson Loves Their Cats
The WNIT run captivated the city of Tucson last spring as the average attendance for the six games was 7,600, capped off by a sellout crowd of 14,644 for the WNIT Championship on April 6, 2019, breaking the Pac-12 attendance record. Arizona's game against North Dakota broke the program record for attendance at a home opener (3,450). Through the first few weeks of the season, Arizona is third in the Pac-12 and 17th in the nation in average attendance (5,406).
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Pac-12 Average Attendance
1. Oregon – 8,827
2. Oregon State 5,499
3. Arizona – 4,832
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