(Tucson, AZ) With a twelve win turnaround from the 2017-18 season where Arizona won a scant six games and just two wins in conference, were rewarded for their success garnering a bid to the 2019 WNIT Tournament.
Arizona turned some heads in the recent PAC-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament nearly two weeks ago by whipping a strong USC team 76-48 and the next night were able to hang with Oregon before falling 77-63. The Ducks received a #2 seed in the NCAA Women’s Tournament.
The University of Arizona had to put in a bid with the WNIT to host games at McKale Center.
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu
An interesting matchup insomuch as it’s a rematch of Arizona’s season opener on November 9th of last year. Enter the Idaho State Bengals and a return trip to Tucson.
In the first game, the Cats came out with a purpose taking a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.
Aari McDonald and Cate Reese in their first games as Wildcats lit up the Bengals defense for twenty two points and twenty one points respectively. Sam Thomas started her sophomore season with a strong fifteen points and nine rebounds.
Coach Adia Barnes in season number three won her third home opener, the only Wildcat coach to ever do that.
Arixona’s defense was locked in forcing Idaho State into only shooting 29% and forced 24 turnovers.
Both teams are breaking long post season droughts with the Wildcats first appearance since 2011. Idaho State was last in a tournament in 2013. Each team received At-Large bids.
The Bengals finished second in the Big Sky Conference behind in-state rival Idaho Vandals. They come into the Tournament with a 20-10 record.
Arizona playing in arguably the toughest women’s basketball conference, the PAC-12 went 18-13 and were 11-5 at McKale Center.
Both teams have improved immensely since that November game and the Wildcats are playing their best basketball of the season currently by showing “they belonged” in Las Vegas in the conference tournament.
The Big Sky received three bids with Idaho and Northern Colorado also in the WNIT. Portland State with their upset win in the Big Sky Tournament got the NCAA automatic bid.
Arizona will carry the flag for the PAC-12 being their only WNIT entrant. Six PAC-12 teams made the NCAA Tournament.
So the rematch featuring ISU Coach Seton Sobolewski and U of A Coach Adia Barnes should be tighter than the first meeting.
The winner of this game will know their next opponent prior to tip off because the marchup beteeen Fresno State and the University of Pacific will have been played a day earlier on Wednesday.
Tip off is at 6:30 pm on Thursday and Arizona should be an excellent host with a very respectable crowd due to the Wildcat Men’s Team not in the post season this year.
The buliding of the Wildcat program continues and this is the initial reward for a season of hard work and development for years to come.
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