(Tucson, AZ) Head coach Adia Barneswas named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List and Aari McDonald was named to the Wade Trophy Watch List on Wednesday.
Barnes has led Arizona to a 21-4 start for the first time in 20 seasons and are in the middle of the best stretch in school history as the Wildcats have won 27 of their last 31 games dating back to last season. Only Baylor, Princeton, Florida Gulf Coast and Oregon have won more games than Arizona in the last 31.
The Wildcats have only lost to teams who were ranked in the top 10 at the time and have also knocked off two top-10 teams for the first time since 2003. Additionally, Arizona beat a top-10 team on the road for the first time in school history when they beat then-ranked No. 9 Oregon State in overtime on Feb. 9.
Arizona, who was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12, are currently in fourth place with a two-game lead over Arizona State, who is in fifth place. The Wildcats are 10-4 in Pac-12 play and have double-digit conference victories for the first time in nine seasons.
It has been a historical season for Barnes and the Wildcats so far as Arizona has won 21 regular-season games for the first time since the 2003-04 season and are ranked No. 11 in the country, their highest ranking since 1998 when Barnes was a senior at Arizona.
The Wildcats have consistently been one of the top defensive teams in the country as they are first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense and ninth in the country (53.9). Through the first 14 conference games of the season, Arizona has held all their Pac-12 opponents under their scoring average.
Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List
| Adia Barnes | Arizona |
| Cori Close | UCLA |
| Dawn Plitzuweit | South Dakota |
| Dawn Staley | South Carolina |
| Doug Bruno | DePaul |
| Geno Auriemma | UConn |
| Jeff Walz | Louisville |
| Joe McKeown | Northwestern |
| Kelly Graves | Oregon |
| Kim Mulkey | Baylor |
| Lisa Bluder | Iowa |
| Lisa Fortier | Gonzaga |
| Scott Rueck | Oregon State |
| Tara Vanderveer | Stanford |
| Wes Moore | North Carolina State |
McDonald is coming off a weekend where she averaged 20 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 71% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from three. On the season, she is averaging 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game. She leads the Pac-12 in scoring and steals per game and is eighth in the country in scoring.
The Fresno native has scored in double-figures in 62-straight games, which is the longest active streak in the nation and is also her entire Arizona career. The next closest players in the Pac-12 are Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Washington State’s Borislava Hristova, who have scored in double-figures in 20-straight games.
She is a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Week and has been named the Naismith and ESPNw Player of the Week earlier this season as well.
McDonald is currently eighth all-time in Arizona history with 1,402 points and also owns the school record for points in a game when she scored 44 on the road at Texas back in November, becoming the first Wildcat to score 40 points in a game.
National Recognition for McDonald this season
Wade Trophy Midseason Watch List (Feb. 19)
Naismith Player of the Year Midseason Team (Feb. 11)
Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Top 10 Finalist (Feb. 11)
Dawn Staley Award Watch List (Feb. 7)
Naismith Player of the Week (Feb. 4)
2x Pac-12 Player of the Week (Nov. 18 & Feb. 3)
Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 (Feb. 3)
Naismith DPOY Midseason Team (Jan. 23)
Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List (Jan. 8)
Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List (Dec. 5)
Ann Meyers Drysdale USBWA Player of the Week (Nov. 19)
ESPNw Player of the Week (Nov. 18)
Preseason Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List
Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 Watch List
Preseason Wade Trophy Watch List
Press Release courtesy of Arizona Communication Services – Adam Gonzalez
