The Arizona women’s basketball team held their first open practice in McKale Center on Oct. 17 before their first exhibition game.
The practice was open to season ticket holders and ZonaZoo members, making fans eager to see the team take the next step in its first year in the Big 12. With players bringing the intense energy by talking during drills and celebrating when executing plays, the Wildcats teased high hopes for the upcoming season.
Improving the offense
The team started practice working on their half-court offense against zone defense. Last season Arizona was one of the fastest paced teams in the Pac-12 averaging 70.2 possessions a game. Now joining a slow paced Big 12 conference, the Wildcats will need to adjust in order to make a good first impression.
“The style of play is different. A lot more big post play in the Big 12,” said Arizona Women’s Basketball Head Coach Adia Barnes.
During the team’s scrimmages, forward Breya Cunningham and Montaya Dew were going back and fourth knocking down mid range shots and could not be stopped. Cunningham, who led the team with a shooting percentage of 51.7% from the floor last year looks to improve that mark and Dew, who has yet to play a single collegiate game due to injury, wants to make an impact anyway she can.
“We’re really happy to have Montaya on the court,” said Barnes.
Dew was asked by a fan what she worked on during her time off while she was injured and Dew said, “I worked on my shooting and getting mentally prepared to play.”
Energy was ecstatic
After every bucket scored, the Wildcats started to clap. The teams cheered and high-fived each other to keep the high energy going throughout practice. The squad came up with a saying called the Energy Vampire which translates to sucking the energy out of the team in any situation.
Anytime a player complains about a call, has poor body language or bad attitude, the coaches blew an air horn and after the horn sounded the team immediately lifted the energy back up.
Getting to know the team better
Once practice ended, the players and staff sat down with fans to answer questions. One fan asked what each player individually worked on in the offseason.
“Putting on a lot of muscle and being consistent in my shooting,” answered sophomore Jada Williams.
“Conditioning, three point shooting and eating healthier,” said red-shirt senior Isis Beh.
The team was also asked by fans about what would impact them the most this season besides travel.
“The refs will let us play more physical, so me and Breya won’t be in foul trouble as much,” Ben said.
Looking ahead
The Wildcats will open the season with an exhibition game in McKale Center against West Texas A&M University on Friday, Oct 25. The team’s first real game will be on Monday, Nov. 4, in McKale Center against University of Texas Arlington.
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