TUCSON, Ariz. – After hosting a school-record 6,268 fans last year, the Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball team will once again hold “School Day” Monday morning at 11 a.m., versus Kansas.
The Wildcats will welcome in several local elementary schools who will field trip to McKale Center for the game against the Jayhawks. Arizona defeated UC-Santa Barbara last year 61-34 on “School Day.” The win against the Gauchos started a span where the Wildcats won six out of seven games.
Through three games this season, Arizona has been led by redshirt freshman point guard Taryn Griffey, who has a team-high 10 points per game and has also dished out 10 assists in three games. Malena Washington, the team leader with 12 assists, is averaging nine points per game coming off the bench.
Kansas is led by Lauren Aldridge, who is averaging 13.5 points per game through two games. The Wildcats will look to rebound against the Jayhawks after suffering a 59-54 loss at San Diego on Saturday.
“The effort we got in the last five or six minutes against San Diego; we need to start out with that type of effort and intensity right away against Kansas,” Coach Niya Butts said. “We have to get that figured out quickly.”
The Wildcats were outscored by the Toreros 15-9 in the first quarter Saturday, before outscoring them the rest of the way by one point.
Butts’ squad is eager to get back in the gym at McKale Center after posting a 65-28 win over Howard in the home opener. The Wildcats posted a winning record of 8-7 at home last season and are looking to build on that this year.
The CraigLewis Band, top-five finishers in America’s Got Talent, will sing the national anthem.
Hello Students!
The Wildcats will host their annual “School Day” on Monday against the Jayhawks. Arizona welcomes in several elementary schools who field trip to McKale Center for the game. Last year, Arizona set a school attendance record of 6,628 on School Day against University of California-Santa Barbara. The Wildcats pleased the fans with a convincing 61-34 victory.
Shoot That 3, Hit That 3
Through three games this season, the Wildcats have shown off they can hit from deep range. Arizona is 21 for 41 from deep for a .512 shooting percentage. The Wildcats hit nine 3’s in each of their first two games before a three of eight performance against San Diego. Five different players, Taryn Griffey, Michal Miller, JaLea Bennett, Malena Washington and Keyahndra Cannon, have all hit from deep this season. The fast start from deep comes after the Wildcats shot .241 from 3 last season as a team. Defensively, Arizona is holding opponents to .265 shooting from deep (9-34). Griffey leads the Cats with eight 3-pointers and Washington and Miller each have five.
Go DJ, That’s Our DJ
Junior forward Dejza James made her season debut Saturday against San Diego and impressed with an eight-point, 10-rebound performance. James played 21 minutes off the bench and provided a good combination with fellow junior forward Breanna Workman. James was a regular for the Wildcats last season as a sophomore, playing in all 30 games and averaging 13.2 minutes per game. She averaged 3.6 points per game. Her production is expected to increase as an underclassmen as shown in her first game against the Toreros.
We See Ya JaLea
Sophomore JaLea Bennett had a strong end to the season for the Wildcats last year as a freshman and it has carried over to her sophomore season. In last year’s regular season finale against Utah, Bennett put together a big game as she scored 14 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, while also recording a career-best four assists. The 14 points tied a career high. She also grabbed a career-high six rebounds, while the seven field goals made were also a career best. Then, in the Pac-12 Tournament, Bennett started and played 25 minutes against UCLA. She finished with 10 points, making six of eight from the free throw line, and also added three assists. Now as a sophomore, Bennett is coming off perhaps the finest game of her career. Against Howard, Bennett led all scorers with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting. She also grabbed four rebounds in 21 minutes. The sophomore from Texas has also been a presence on defense for the Wildcats.
Fabulous 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.
The stellar play by the freshmen continued against Howard with even more players getting in on the action. Michal Miller, a true freshman from Michigan City, Ind., hit four of six 3-pointers and finished with 16 points in 14 minutes. Additionally, freshman post player A’Shanti Coleman made her second straight start and had eight points, five rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes. Arizona’s four freshmen on the roster, Griffey, Graham, Coleman and Miller should all make an impact in their debut seasons.
Against San Diego, Griffey had five points and three rebounds. Coleman played 15 minutes and Graham saw nine minutes of action.
Scouting Kansas
The Jayhawks come to town with a 2-0 record and are coming off a 72-63 home win over Memphis. First-year coach Brandon Schneider won his debut at Kansas on Nov. 15, beating Texas Southern 72-65 at Allen Fieldhouse. Lauren Aldridge is leading the Jayhawks with 13.5 points per game and 4.5 assists a contest. Kylee Kopatich is averaging 11.5 points per game and seven rebounds per game. Timeka O’Neal is 7 for 12 from 3-point distance to start the season. The Jayhawks are averaging 72 points a game through two and shooting .450 from the floor. Kansas is also outrebounding its opponents by more than six a game. The Jayhawks went 15-17 last year and 6-12 in the Big 12. They won their only game last season against a Pac-12 team, beating visiting California 62-39. Schneider is in his first year after a five-season stint at Stephen F. Austin.
Inside The Series
A look at the four all-time games in the Kansas-Arizona series:
1/5/87: Kansas 70, Arizona 68
1/31/98: Arizona 67, Kansas 62
12/21/99: Kansas 71, Arizona 68
12/29/00: Arizona 81, Kansas 73
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. The junior from Las Vegas also had a solid game against San Diego, putting up 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds. She played a season-high 30 minutes. Workman also added two assists, a block and a steal against the Toreros.
So Many Options
Through three games, the Wildcats have shown off their depth, which should be dangerous come Pac-12 play. The Wildcats played 11 different players so far with each player averaging at least eight minutes per game. No player is averaging more than the 27 1/2 minutes per game Keyahndra Cannon is averaging. Six players--Breanna Workman, Taryn Griffey, Malena Washington, Michal Miller, JaLea Bennett and A’Shanti Coleman are all averaging five or more points a contest. Workman, Griffey, Evans, Washington, Cannon, Graham and Coleman are all playing at least 20 minutes per game.
A Valuable Addition
After transferring from Virginia Tech and sitting out last season, Lauren Evans has made her presence felt so far through three games for Arizona. Evans is averaging 22.3 minutes per game and is second on the team with 14 rebounds. She leads the team with eight offensive boards and is tied for the team lead in steals with four. Evans can play both guard and forward and has for the Wildcats this season. Evans’ brother, Ryan, played four seasons at Wisconsin from 2008 to 2013.
Home Sweet Home
Eight of Arizona’s 10 wins last season came at the friendly confines of McKale Center. The Wildcats are 1-0 at home to start the season and outscored Howard 65-28 in that contest. Last season, Arizona picked up home wins against UC-Santa Barbara, Grambling State, Southern, UAB, UT-Martin, Oregon, Stanford and Utah. All total, Arizona is 10-7 in its last 17 games at McKale Center.
