(Tucson, AZ) Bill McCulloch
Heading into this season, Head Coach Adia Barnes knew she had a large task awaiting her.
With the graduation of most of the starting line up from last year, the job of assembling this season’s team with a host of newcomers would come with a break in period, a trial of patience and certain growing pains.
Coach Barnes added new Assistant Coach Morgan Valley from the University of Washington and a three time National Champion player at UConn last April to enhance an already solid coaching staff of Sunny Smallwood and Salvo Coppa.
Opening the 2017-18 season with the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico in an exhibition game, the Lady Cats has to shake off the jitters in the first quarter and trailed by one 14-13.
Sophomore Lucia Alonso from Spain, who played on the 19U Spanish National Team at the World Championships this past summer, held the young Cats together in the first two quarters by scoring ten points on 5-7 shooting on a variety of drives and short jumpers. Her improved ball handling ability was very apparent as she crossed over the Greyhound guards leaving them behind on her way to the hoop.
Enter JaLea Bennett who didn’t start the game but made her presence immediately known and complimenting Alonso’s effort, scored seventeen points as Zona outscored Eastern New Mexico 19-8 in the second quarter to lead at the half 32-22.
Coming out of the locker room for the third quarter, the Greyhounds played the young Cats even and cut the lead to nine heading into the final stanza.
Shelby Jones, Brandy Gomez and Deshea McCants couldn’t keep pace with the faster Wildcats as they all combined for half of EMNU’s points.
Bennett continued to perform well, adding eight more points in the third quarter, giving her 25 at the end of three.
The Cats outside shooting was almost non existent hitting only 2-14 beyond the arc and a growing pain that will be worked on before next Monday’s game against Western New Mexico University.
As Coach Barnes stated in the post game press conference, “We have good three point shooters this year,” and they will come into their own as the season progresses.
With her ten final points in the fourth quarter, including a spectacular alley oop pass from Alonso, Bennett finished with a game high thirty five points and an impressive 13-13 from the foul line.
Improvements will continue all year with this young squad as Coach Barnes bites off a little at a time saying, “I’d rather we did five things really well instead of ten things mediocre.”
Putting the pieces together of the 2017-18 team will be a work in progress but the dividends will pay off immensely going into next season when the transfers and new recruits will move Arizona up the ladder in the PAC-12.
