TUCSON, Ariz. – Following a tough road win at Toledo to open the season, the Arizona Wildcats will return home to host Howard on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Wildcats are looking to go 2-0 to start the season for the fifth time under coach Niya Butts.
“Obviously playing in a tough environment on the road in Toledo was good for us, but we want to play in front of our fans,” Butts said. “Being on the road certainly makes you appreciate coming back to McKale and giving our fans a chance to watch a team that has been working really hard and wants to do well.
“We want to make sure we take care of home court and we want to make sure we focus on all the little things that we need to focus on to do that.”
In the opener, the Wildcats were paced by redshirt freshman Taryn Griffey, who had a game-high 18 points. Her 18 points were the most by a freshmen in her debut since Davellyn Whyte poured in 27 in her debut in 2009.
Griffey’s six made 3-pointers were the most by any Wildcat since Kama Griffitts had seven against UNLV in 2012. The point guard also nearly had a triple-double in the exhibition game, scoring 13 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out nine assists.
Arizona also got a strong contribution from fellow freshmen Destiny Graham in the win over Toledo. Graham had nine rebounds in 28 minutes. The nine boards were the most by a freshman in her debut since current Wildcat LaBrittney Jones had 10 in her debut in 2013.
The performances by Griffey and Graham, along with strong play from a host of others has Butts excited about the home opener against the Bison.
“Looking at the Toledo film, we were tough,” Butts said. “We bounced back. We were down, we went up, then we went down again. It was one of those things that truly tested our ability to perform through adversity. They had a really good crowd. They weren’t screaming for us. To handle that is very encouraging.”
Fabolous Freshmen
Freshmen Taryn Griffey and Destiny Graham had memorable collegiate debuts in Arizona’s 62-59 win over Toledo last week. Griffey had 18 points and was 6 of 10 from the floor. She was 6 of 9 from 3-point distance and led all scorers with her 18 points. It was the most points scored by an Arizona freshmen in a debut since Davellyn Whyte poured in 27 in a 75-70 win over Iona in 2009. Griffey, a redshirt freshman, also had four assists and four rebounds and was nominated for the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. Graham, a true freshman had two points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists in the win over the Rockets. The nine rebounds were the most in a freshman debut since current Wildcat LaBrittney Jones pulled down 10 boards in Arizona’s 2013-14 season opener against Iona. Griffey started and played 23 minutes, while Graham came off the bench and put in 28 minutes of work.
Another Memorable Debut
Lauren Evans isn’t a freshman like Griffey and Graham, but still made her Arizona debut against Toledo. Evans, a Chandler Hamilton High School product, began her college career at Virginia Tech, but transferred to Arizona after two seasons. Evans sat out last season, but made her impact felt against Toledo. Evans played 26 minutes and had eight points and a game high 10 rebounds. Evans’ brother, Ryan, played four seasons at Wisconsin from 2008 to 2013.
A “Key” Bucket
The only senior on this year’s roster, Keyahndra Cannon will serve as one of the primary leaders this season. In the win over Toledo, she did her talking with her play at a critical moment. Cannon’s lone bucket in the game came with 1:57 left and the score tied. Her lay up gave Arizona a 59-57 lead. Breanna Workman hit another layup less than a minute later to ensure victory for the Wildcats.
Scouting Howard
The Bison dropped their first two games of the season, losing to University of Illinois-Chicago 75-48 and Northwestern 89-49. Coach Ty Grace’s team continues its road trip to open the season with its matchup at Arizona. Despite the slow start to the season, Victoria Gonzales, a senior center from Atlanta, is averaging 20.5 points per game and 9.5 rebounds a contest so far this season. She’s 16 for 40 from the field in two games. Sydni Johnson, a junior forward from Homewood, Illinois, is the only other player averaging double figures in points. Johnson is averaging 10 points per game on 7 of 24 shooting in two games. On the young season, Howard is just 2 for 25 from 3-point distance and 38 for 122 from the floor total.
Closing Strong
In the season opening win over Toledo, the Wildcats showed their strong ability to end halves and games. After being outscored 15-13 by the Rockets in the first quarter, Arizona posted a 16-8 advantage in the second quarter to take a six-point halftime lead. Toledo erased the deficit and tied the game after the third quarter, outscoring Arizona by six. But Arizona again closed with a bang, outscoring Toledo 16-13 and notching the victory.
A “Workman” Like Effort
With LaBrittney Jones currently out with a foot injury, Breanna Workman is the post player with the most experience on Arizona’s roster. Against Toledo, Workman played a game high 28 minutes and had 10 points and seven rebounds. She got to the free throw line five times in the win. After fouling out against Eastern New Mexico in the exhibition game, Workman had just two fouls against Toledo.
How the 14-15 season ended
Arizona’s 2014-15 season ended in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament with an 80-62 loss to UCLA. Senior Candace Warthen scored a team-high 12 points and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals in her final game as a Wildcat. Breanna Workman added 11 points and four rebounds in 20 minutes and JaLea Bennett had one of her better games as a freshman, scoring 10 points and adding three assists in 25 minutes. Arizona finished the season with a 10-20 record and a 3-15 mark in the Pac-12 Conference.
The Kid’s Kid Can Play
There’s a familiar last name on Arizona’s roster this season: Griffey. Taryn Griffey, a redshirt freshman guard for the Wildcats, is the daughter of Ken Griffey Jr., a 13-time Major League Baseball All-Star. And like her dad, nicknamed “The Kid,” Taryn showed she has some skills of her own. The freshman guard, who hadn’t played in a game in three years because knee injuries, had 13 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. She committed just one turnover and had two steals in 35 minutes. She was a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line and 3 of 7 from 3-point distance. Griffey’s brother Trey is a redshirt junior on Arizona’s football team. Griffey had more than 20 family members at Arizona’s season opener at Toledo.
Washington Cashes In
Malena Washington had a game-high 26 points on 3 of 20 shooting from the floor in the exhibition game. She was 4 of 7 from 3-point range. The four 3-pointers would have been a career high if stats from exhibition contests counted. Washington’s career high is three 3-pointers, which came against UCLA last season. All total, she had just nine 3-pointers last season as a sophomore.
New Faces Ready for Bright Lights
Coach Niya Butts added four new pieces to this year’s roster with her 2015 recruiting class. The group consists of guard Michal Miller, forwards Destiny Graham and A’Shanti Coleman and center Eugenie Simonet-Keller.
Butts on Miller: “She’s a very, very hardworking player. You know what you’re going to get from her everyday, and I can certainly respect that. She can score the basketball. She does a good job with that. She has to slow down a bit and make sure she understands the entire game. But she’s one of the most coachable kids we have on our team. That with her hard work, she will be an asset for us.”
Butts on Graham: “She’s been out for two weeks (concussion), but I like what she can do on the floor. She provides us with more size. She has a nice jumper from 15-16 feet out. She’s going to add more length on the inside. I’m just looking forward to getting her back on the floor and continuing her development. I’m looking for great things from her as well.”
Butts on Coleman: “Ashanti is coming along nicely. She’s progressing. She’s picking things up slowly, but surely. We need her to get stronger, but I like what she brings to our team. She’s extremely long and athletic. I think grasping the speed of the game will really help her and us tremendously. I’m looking forward to seeing her on the floor.”
Lights, Camera, Action
Twelve of Arizona’s 18 conference games will be televised by Pac-12 Networks this season. Among the scheduled television games: home contests with Stanford, California and Arizona State and road tilts with Oregon State, UCLA and Washington.
About That Schedule
Arizona’s nonconference schedule features road games at Toledo, San Diego and North Texas. The Wildcats will make all three trips this month, mixed in with home games against Howard and Kansas. In December, the Wildcats won’t play any true road games. Instead, Arizona will travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico for three games in the Puerto Rico Classic. Arizona will play SMU, Florida Gulf Coast and Gardner-Webb. In conference play, Arizona will play Stanford and Arizona State each twice. The Cardinal and Sun Devils are both ranked in the AP Preseason Top 25. Arizona State is ranked 15th and Stanford is one spot behind at No. 16. Oregon State, ranked 10th in the preseason poll, is on the schedule just once this season. The Wildcats will travel to play the Beavers on Jan. 29.
A Look at the Preseason Polls
The Wildcats were picked to finish 12th in the Pac-12 in both the media and coaches preseason polls. Arizona received 36 points in the media poll and 17 in the coaches poll. Oregon State was picked to win the league in both polls, receiving all but one first place vote in each poll.
