The Arizona women’s basketball team will face UCLA in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday. As the No. 12 seed, the Wildcats face a tough task to make a run in the tournament and need to win it all to reach the NCAA Tournament. Here’s a look at some key players, performances and moments from the 2011-12 regular season:
MVP
Davellyn Whyte
Her struggles in the last half of conference play hurt Arizona, but in spite of that, Whyte still managed to have another top-notch season for Arizona. The team asks a lot of her, but she delivers, averaging 17 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
Best Performance
Whyte against Utah
Just look at her stat line from the game: 32 points, 10-of-22 shooting, 4-of-10 3-pointers, 8-of-9 free throws, five rebounds, five steals, one block.
Worst Moment
Pac-12 performance
After starting the season 11-1, the Wildcats lost 15 of 18 games in conference play. Some games were close but most were not. The low point of the season came when conference powerhouse Stanford beat the UA by 40 points.
Unsung Player
Layana White
Statistically, the freshman guard’s contributions don’t appear to be very significant, but in limited spurts of playing time White was able to make an impact. Butts often cited White as the team’s hardest-working player, and while she will never be a leading scorer, she made solid contributions and hustled every play she was on the floor for.
Looking Ahead
Coming off a three-win Pac-12 season, an NCAA tournament berth is a little much to ask for, but expect significant improvement from the Wildcats next year. While the loss of senior guard Shanita Arnold is unfortunate, Arizona will be able to weather the storm with a healthy Candice Warthen. That — coupled with the experience center Aley Rohde gained from starting every game and the return of leading scorer Davellyn Whyte — could make next season potentially solid.
– Zack Rosenblatt
MVP
Davellyn Whyte
The junior guard was far and away the best player for the Wildcats this season. Her scoring ability kept the team in many games— but too many times her effort was for nothing, like in a 32-point performance against Utah in which the Wildcats were still unable to come up with a win.
Best Performance
Pummeling Washington State 90-51
The win ended an eight-game losing streak and the Wildcats shot 53.1 percent. The game was the first time in which Arizona scored 90 points since March 2011.
Worst Moment
Warthen’s injury
Sophomore guard Candice Warthen was making a name for herself early in the season, and was the team’s second-highest scorer with 16.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game before missing eight games due to an ankle injury.
Unsung Player
Erica Barnes
The sophomore forward started more than 20 games and had the third-highest minutes of any player on the team. Those minutes proved valuable, as Barnes averaged 11.5 points per game and led the team in rebounds with 198, or 7.6 per game.
Looking Ahead
The Wildcats will return most of the 2011-2012 squad, which may sound bad if you look solely at its record. Arizona will be able to rely on a healthy Warthen, more scoring from Whyte, another good year for leading rebounder Barnes and freshman center Aley Rohde can benefit from a full off-season workout accompanied by another full season as the starting center. After an extremely disappointing season, the future looks bright for a more experienced Wildcat team.
-Cameron Moon
