The University of Arizona women’s basketball team will take on the University of California, Riverside for its opening game of the season on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. in McKale Center. This will be the first game coached by new head coach Becky Burke, who was previously the coach at the University of Buffalo.
The Wildcats had two preseason exhibition games, losing its first and winning the second. In their first game, Arizona played West Texas A&M University, losing in a close battle 60-57. In their second game, they played California State University, Los Angeles and won comfortably 59-43.
Players to watch
In the growing age of transfer student-athletes, Arizona women’s basketball is no different. Leading the transfers is Horizon League Player of the Year Mickayla Perdue, who was previously at Cleveland State University. Perdue is the highest scoring transfer in Big 12, averaging 20.0 points and 3.3 assists per game during her time at Cleveland State.
In addition to many transfers, Arizona has also tapped into the global market to bring athletes to Tucson. Sumayah Sugapong, a transfer from the University of California San Diego, competed for the Philippines in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup. Mireia Jurado represented Spain’s Under-16 and Under-17 national teams. Blessing “Adde” Adebanjo was born in Nigeria but played collegiately in Japan and is also new to Tucson. In total, Arizona’s 2025-2026 team roster represents players from five different countries.
Look into the matchup
UC Riverside played one preseason exhibition game, where they lost to California Baptist University in a close game 56-53.
Arizona looks to make a statement with a win over UC Riverside. This is an important game for the Wildcats to show the world their identity under Burke.
It will be very interesting to watch this new version of Arizona basketball. It is no secret how much the culture around college sports has changed in the last few years. With the introduction of Name, Image and Likeness, many more transfer students flock to schools that can offer them the most money.
Across all sports, there is a question of how much loyalty is left in collegiate athletics. Additionally, the transfer portal age that college sports is in gives athletes the opportunity to develop their skills before transferring to a major powerhouse school, such as Arizona. This team is no stranger to that, as many athletes on this team were at smaller schools before coming to Arizona.
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