TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats will hit the road for the third time this season when they head to Denton, Texas to take on the North Texas Mean Green on Friday.
It will be the Wildcats’ third road game in five contests to open the season. Arizona won its first game on the road, topping Toledo 62-59 and then fell to San Diego in a competitive affair, 59-54.
Coach Niya Butts has been pleased with how her team has handled playing away from McKale Center so far this season.
“I’ve seen a lot of togetherness from us, and I really like our energy,” Butts said. “I like our bench production right now. Collectively, we’ve been pretty good defensively the last couple of games, so we have to make sure we keep that up.”
The game will serve as a homecoming for several players on the roster. Four players – JaLea Bennett, Malena Washington, Farrin Bell and LaBrittney Jones – are Texas natives. Bennett, who has started all four games this season and is averaging eight points per game, said she will have more than 30 people at the game to cheer her and the Wildcats on.
Bennett said the North Texas campus is just about 20 minutes from where she grew up in Grand Prarie, Texas.
“I can not wait,” the sophomore guard said. “A lot of people were wondering if they’d get the chance to see me play and since this is only 20 minutes from my house, it will be perfect. I’m excited, and I know they are going to be loud cheering for us.”
Bennett won’t be the only one playing in front of familiar faces. Washington, who is second on the team with 11.8 points per game, is from Beaumont, Texas. Bell, an SMU transfer, is from Richardson, Texas, and Jones, a junior who is currently out with a foot injury, is from Cedar Hill, Texas.
“It’s all about being able to take players home where they are from so their family and friends can come out and see them,” Butts said. “It should be fun for our group. They understand we have a team full of Texas kids. They’re all looking forward to it. I just hope they go there focused, ready to play and not a lot of nervous energy. We know how it is when you’re playing in front of friends and family and they haven’t seen you in a while. Sometimes your nerves can get the best of you, but I really believe this group will be focused and hungry.”
Packed the House
The Wildcats drew 6,652 fans to their Monday matinee matchup with Kansas, setting a new program record for single-game attendance. Monday was School Day, where Arizona welcomed in several thousand students from local elementary schools to enjoy the game with the Jayhawks. The students helped provide an electric atmosphere that helped the Wildcats win 67-52. Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said after the game that the fans certainly had an impact: “I felt like the environment really bothered us early. We knew it was going to be loud. We knew they would have 6,000 plus with the promotion going on today. We practiced with music and crowd noise the last couple of days.” The total surpassed last year’s School Day of 6,268, which stood as the program record.
Shoot That 3, Hit That 3
Through four games this season, Arizona has proven it has plenty of shooters who can hit from deep. The Wildcats are 28-53 from 3-point range this season (a .528 shooting percentage), which leads the country. Taryn Griffey is 11 for 19 on the season (.579) and Malena Washington and Michal Miller have each added six long balls in four games. Washington is six for 14. Miller is six of 10. JaLea Bennett, Dejza James and Keyahndra Cannon have all also connected from three-point range this young season. Arizona’s strong showing from deep comes one season after shooting .241 from three last season.
Top 3-point shooting teams
1. Arizona .528 (28-53)
2. Oregon State .509 (27-53)
3. Colorado .462 (18-39)
4. Oakland .444 (44-99)
5. Eastern Michigan .439 (18-41)
6. Creighton .435 (40-92)
7. Michigan .434 (33-76)
8. Montana State .431 (22-51)
T9. St. Francis Brooklyn .424 (14-33)
T9. Texas A&M .424 (14-33)
It’s A Bench Party
The Wildcats have gotten some significant contributions from its bench early this season. Through four games, Arizona is outscoring its opponent’s bench 113-52 for a +61 scoring margin. The bench has scored at least 26 points in each game this season and has posted a +20 scoring margin in each of the last three games. Malena Washington is leading the bench crew, averaging 10.8 points per game. The junior guard is also tied for the team lead in assists with 12. Dejza James has also been solid off the bench, averaging seven points and 7 1/2 rebounds in 19 minutes. Michal Miller, Lauren Evans, Farrin Bell and Destiny Graham have also been productive coming off the bench for the Wildcats.
Answering the Bell
Junior Farrin Bell played a career-high 17 minutes last game against Kansas and finished with three points, four assists and three rebounds. But coach Niya Butts thought Bell’s production went far past the box score and praised the redshirt junior after the win over the Jayhawks: “To me, Farrin Bell was our player of the game. She didn’t score the most points but she stepped in at every position on the floor and made plays for us. So you have to be proud of that and we have to continue to celebrate each other’s success as a team. If we can do that the sky’s the limit.”
Bell, an SMU transfer, is a redshirt junior and is scheduled to graduate this spring.
Scouting North Texas
The Mean Green enter Friday’s matchup with a 1-2 record, posting a win over Oklahoma and setbacks to San Francisco and Texas State. Terra Ellison leads the way for North Texas, averaging 13.7 points per game. Acheil Tac is averaging 11.7 points per game and pulling down 8.7 rebounds a contest. Ellison doesn’t come off the floor much, averaging 37.7 minutes per game. North Texas is shooting .454 from the field and holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting at .393. As a team, the Mean Green is shooting .405 from 3-point distance, hitting 15 of 37. Opponents are shooting just .294. UNT also gets solid production from starters Teadra Jones and Kelsey Criner. Jones is averaging 9.7 points per game in 28 minutes. Criner is at 7.7 points per game, but leads the team with 14 assists and is averaging 5.3 rebounds. She plays 29.3 minutes a contest.
Inside The Series
A look at the three all-time games in the North Texas-Arizona series:
12/21/10: Arizona 88, North Texas 73
11/28/11: Arizona 69, North Texas 62
11/28/12: Arizona 71, North Texas 66
Home Sweet Home
Eight of Arizona’s 10 wins last season came at the friendly confines of McKale Center and the solid play at home has rolled over to this season. The Wildcats are 2-0 at home to start the season. Arizona beat Howard 65-28 and then topped Kansas 67-52 on School Day. Arizona has won three straight at McKale Center dating back to last season. 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 11-7 in its last 18 games at McKale Center.
Go DJ, That’s Our DJ
Junior forward Dejza James made her season debut 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. One game later, James hit the first 3-pointer of her career and had six points and five rebounds in 17 minutes. 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 couple of contests.
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. Now as a sophomore, Bennett is at it again. Against Howard, Bennett led all scorers with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting. She also grabbed four rebounds in 21 minutes. Two games later against Kansas, Bennett had 11 points and five rebounds. 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. Griffey again scored in double figures against Kansas, pouring in 17. Coleman had a career best four blocks against the Jayhawks and also converted a steal into a fast break layup.
