The University Arizona women’s basketball team closed its first season in the Big 12 with an 19-14 overall record of and a 10-8 conference record. Adia Barnes finished her ninth year at the helm, leading the Wildcats to the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament, where Arizona fell to NAU 71-69 on Thursday, March 20.
The Wildcats had eight players returning this year, along with five new additions coming from the transfer portal, high school and international. The returning players included: fifth-year forward Isis Beh, junior and dual sport-athlete Erin Tack, sophomores Jada Williams, Skylar Jones, Breya Cunningham, Brooklyn Rhodes and redshirt sophomore Montaya Dew.
Barnes found talent internationally as well, recruiting freshman German guard Mailien Rolf and first-year forward Katarina Kneževic from Belgrade, Serbia. Through the transfer portal, the Wildcats picked up three players, led by junior guard Paulina Paris from the University of North Carolina, sophomore Sahnya Jah from the 2023-2024 NCAA Champions, the University of South Carolina and former Pepperdine University forward Jorynn Ross. Barnes closed out the roster by signing four-star high school prospect Lauryn Swann from New York.
Regular season recap
Arizona opened the year 5-0 before suffering its first loss on the road against NAU on Wednesday, Nov. 20, falling 92-75 with Williams out due to injury. In the next seven games before conference play, the Wildcats went 4-3, including losing back-to-back games in the Acrisure Series in Palm Springs, Calif., falling to Vanderbilt University 71-60 and the University of California, Berkeley 74-62. Arizona then returned home and went 3-1 in that span, losing a heartbreaker to GCU 69-66 on Thursday, Dec. 5, but responded by winning back-to-back games against Cal State Bakersfield 76-39 and Weber State 87-66.
The Wildcats carried the momentum and opened up conference play with a win in Provo, Utah, defeating BYU 57-53, extending their win streak to three games in a row. However, over the span of the next five games, Arizona struggled, going 1-4. The most notable victory was in dominant fashion over the University of Central Florida, 75-53, with Jones coming off the bench, scoring a game-high 17 points, going 5-for-5 from the floor. Notably, Williams finished with 15 points, four assists, shooting 50% from beyond the arc and achieved 500 career points in the win.
At this point in the season, Arizona was 11-8 and 2-4 in Big 12 play after facing its first ranked opponent of the season in No. 11 Kansas State University and losing 62-47 on Thursday, Jan. 16, pushing its losing streak to three consecutive games.
The Wildcats bounced back and picked up three huge wins over the University of Kansas, 74-59 on Jan. 19, University of Cincinnati, 72-62 on Jan. 22 and upset No. 16 West Virginia University 77-62. During this stretch, Cunningham accomplished multiple career milestones, achieving a career high in rebounds, bringing in 15 in the win over Cincinnati. Cunningham would also complete 500 career points and 100 career blocks in the upset win over West Virginia. Paris joined Cunningham in the career accomplishments by securing 500 career points against the Mountaineers and 100 career assists against Cincinnati.
Throughout the three-game win streak, Arizona averaged 74 points per game, shooting 50% from the field with more than four players scoring in double figures, all while picking up the first-ranked win of the season.
During this time in the season, the victory over the Mountaineers would be the last game Jah played in the regular season after the sophomore transfer was suspended 10 games from the NCAA. Barnes did not comment on the reasoning behind the suspension.
After collecting three consecutive wins, Arizona only won one in its next five games, going winless on the road against the University of Utah and University of Colorado and losing to No. 20 Oklahoma State University and No. 11 TCU. Despite losing to the Horned Frogs, Jones scored a career-high 30 points on 9-for-11 shooting and went 4-for-4 from deep.
The only win during the five-game stretch was against rival ASU, winning 66-59 on Saturday, Feb. 8. Williams led with 18 points and seven rebounds, with Cunningham following with 16 points and eight boards of her own. Beh finished with 8 points and five assists and surpassed 500 career points in the win.
Nearing the end of the regular season, Arizona was on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and needed to win out in order to make a case to receive a bid for the fifth consecutive year.
Arizona capped off the regular season on a four-game win streak. The Wildcats swept the season series against BYU and ASU, defeated the University of Houston 74-72 in overtime and recorded a victory on Senior Night against Texas Tech University.
In the overtime win over the Cougars, the Wildcats saw four out of the five starters finish the night in double digits. Cunningham, who finished with her fifth career double-double, put up 17 points for Arizona and tied her career-high with 15 rebounds. Williams and Beh secured 18 points apiece while Jones followed with 16 points, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. She also added on five steals, all while accomplishing 500 career points.
In the 66-57 Senior Night win over Texas Tech, Dew finished with 8 points, eight rebounds and three assists on 75% shooting, but exited the game early after suffering a season-ending leg injury. This forced the Wildcats to have limited front-court depth as the team headed into the conference tournament.
Closing out the season, the Wildcats recorded a season-high 15 3-pointers in the crushing 71-59 victory over the Sun Devils. Arizona shot 53.6% from deep with Swann playing a huge role, shooting an impressive 6-for-8 from beyond the arc, finishing with a team-high 18 points.
The Wildcats finished the regular season going 4-0 and made the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship as the eighth seed, receiving a first-round bye. The team was focused on making a statement in its first year in the Big 12 tournament and pursuing the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona was second in the conference when it came to collecting steals, taking away 10.3 per game. The team was ranked seventh in 3-point percentage, shooting 34.7%. Cunningham was placed 26th in the country in field goal percentage, shooting 56.7%, and was named All-Big 12 Honor. Swann was named to the All-Big 12 freshman team.
Postseason recap
The Wildcats entered the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship as the No. 8 seed and faced off against No. 9 seed Colorado in the second round of the conference tournament on Thursday, March 6.
Jones led all scorers with 17 points on 70% shooting and Beh finished with a career-high 14 rebounds, 9 points and three steals. Despite the Wildcats’ effort, Arizona fell short to the Buffaloes, succumbing to a 61-58 loss, bringing the conference tournament campaign to an early close.
Moreover a week later, the Wildcats were selected as the No. 2 seed in the WBIT. Arizona was set to host NAU in the first round on Thursday, March 20, seeking revenge from the 17-point loss in November.
Three of Arizona’s starters scored in double figures, led by Jones, who dropped 21 points and nine rebounds. This was followed by a double-double from Cunningham, finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high five blocks. Swann rose to the occasion, scoring 13 points and bringing in five boards, going 4-for-4 from the line with Williams not being available to play.
Even with the valiant effort, NAU’s Sophie Glancey and Taylor Feldman were too much for the Wildcats to come up with a response, as the Lumberjacks came away victorious 71-69. Glancey led all scorers with a double-double consisting of 23 points and 14 rebounds. Feldman dropped 22 points while dishing out five assists herself, putting an abrupt end to Arizona’s season.
Looking ahead
As the 2024-2025 season for Arizona wraps up, the Wildcats reflect on a journey full of a wide range of emotions. The program overcame many obstacles throughout its first season in the Big 12. Nonetheless, players like Beh and graduate senior Ajae Yoakum have this season to cherish for a lifetime.
A new head coach commitment is yet to be announced for the women’s basketball team as Barnes was announced to join Southern Methodist University as its next head coach, ending her contract a year early. Barnes spent nine seasons guiding the Wildcats. A new identity is looking to be brought to the 2025-2026 roster as 10 players have entered the transfer portal.
Williams headlines the group that will not return to the team, recently announcing her commitment to Iowa State University. The other nine players who have announced their names into the portal include Jones, Cunningham, Jah, Kneževic, Ross, Paris, Rolf, Swann and Yoakum.
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