2020–21 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team

2020–21 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball
2020–21 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball
NCAA tournament, runner-up
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 11
Record	21–6 (13–4 Pac-12)
Head coach	Adia Barnes (5th season);
Assistant coaches	Tamisha Augustin; Salvo Coppa; Jackie Nared;
Home arena	McKale Center
	Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Stanford†	19	–	2	.905	31	–	2	.939
No. 11 Arizona	13	–	4	.765	21	–	6	.778
No. 9 UCLA	12	–	4	.750	17	–	6	.739
No. 23 Oregon	10	–	7	.588	15	–	9	.625
Oregon State	7	–	6	.538	12	–	8	.600
Colorado	8	–	8	.500	12	–	11	.522
Washington State	9	–	10	.474	12	–	12	.500
USC	8	–	10	.444	11	–	12	.478
Arizona State	6	–	9	.400	11	–	12	.478
Utah	4	–	15	.211	5	–	16	.238
Washington	3	–	13	.188	7	–	14	.333
California	1	–	12	.077	1	–	16	.059

† 2021 Pac-12 Tournament winner As of March 29, 2021 Rankings from AP poll

The 2020–21 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team represented University of Arizona during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by fifth-year head coach Adia Barnes, play their home games at the McKale Center and are members of the Pac-12 Conference. The Wildcats finished the season second behind Stanford in the Pacific-12 conference with a 13–4 record. They advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 Pac-12 women's tournament where they lost to no. 9 ranked UCLA and As a no. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament where they defeated Stony Brook and BYU in the first and second rounds, no. 4 ranked Texas A&M in the Sweet Sixteen, they won their region with a win over no. 12 ranked Indiana in the first-ever Elite Eight, knocked off no. 1 ranked UConn in the first-ever Final Four. Arizona reached the first-ever National Championship game, losing to no. 2 ranked Stanford (in a rematch from earlier this season) 54–53 and finishing the season with a 21–6 record.

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the season 24–7, 12–6 in Pac-12 play to finish in fourth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Pac-12 women's tournament where they lost to Oregon. The NCAA tournament and WNIT were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1]

Offseason

Departures

Arizona Wildcats Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes

Reference:

Incoming Transfers
Name	Number	Position	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School	Remaining Eligibility	Notes
	--
Reference:

Recruits

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Madison Conner G	Chandler, AZ	Arizona Compass Prep	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	N/A	Apr 20, 2020
Madison Conner G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91
Lauren Ware F	Bismarck, ND	Century HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A	Jul 11, 2020
Lauren Ware F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97
Derin Erdoğan G	Istanbul, Turkey	İstanbul Üniversitesi SK	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	N/A	Sep 25, 2020
Derin Erdoğan G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Marta Garcia G	Sevilla, Spain	Segle XXI	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A	Jan 30, 2020
Marta Garcia G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.

2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aaronette Vonleh G	West Linn, OR	West Linn HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A	Jul 11, 2020
Aaronette Vonleh G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91
Anna Gret Asi G	Tartu, Estonia	University of Tartu	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	N/A	Jul 13, 2020
Anna Gret Asi G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Gisela Sánchez F	Barcelona, Spain	Segle XXI	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A	Feb 11, 2021
Gisela Sánchez F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 11, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 11, 2021.

2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2022)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Maya Nnaji F	Lakeville, MN	Hopkins High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	N/A	May 10, 2021
Maya Nnaji F	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98
Paris Clark G	Mount Vernon, NY	Long Island Lutheran High School	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	N/A	Dec 13, 2021
Paris Clark G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 96
Kailyn Gilbert G	Tampa, FL	Seffner Christian Academy	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	N/A	Jan 6, 2021
Kailyn Gilbert G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95
Lemyah Hylton G	London, ON	Southwest Academy Girls Prep	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	N/A	Oct 16, 2021
Lemyah Hylton G	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91
Overall recruiting rankings: ESPN: 6
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 13, 2021. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 13, 2021.

Personnel

Roster

2020–21 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Trinity Baptiste	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Hillsborough Virginia Tech	Tampa, FL
G	1	Shaina Pellington	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	RS Jr	Dunbarton Oklahoma	Pickering, ON
G	2	Aari McDonald	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	RS Sr	Brookside Christian HS Washington	Fresno, CA
G	3	Tara Manumaleuga	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	So	Hillcrest Christian	Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
G	4	Madison Conner	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Fr	AZ Compass Prep	Chandler, AZ
G	10	Derin Erdoğan	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Fr	İstanbul Üniversitesi SK	Istanbul, Turkey
G	11	Mara Mote	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	TTT Riga	Cēsis, Latvia
G	13	Helena Pueyo	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	So	Segle XXI	Palma de Mallorca, Spain
F	14	Sam Thomas	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Centennial	Bloomfield Hills, MI
G	22	Marta García	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Fr	Segle XXI	Sevilla, Spain
G	23	Bendu Yeaney	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	St. Mary's Academy Indiana	Portland, OR
F	25	Cate Reese	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Jr	Cypress	Cypress, TX
F	32	Lauren Ware	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	Fr	Century	Bismarck, ND
C	34	Semaj Smith	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	Jr	St. Anthony	Long Beach, CA

Head coach

Adia Barnes (Arizona)

Assistant coach(es)

Tamisha Augustin (Alabama A&M)
Salvo Coppa (IULM)
Jackie Nared (Saint Mary's)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: March 17, 2021

Madison Conner was only on the roster for the spring semester of 2020/2021 season, joining the team in March 2021, after reclassify from 2021 season class.

Schedule

Source:^[2]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
November 29, 2020* Noon	No. 7	Northern Arizona	W 76–63	1–0	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
December 4, 2020 7:00 p.m., P12N	No. 7	No. 9 UCLA	W 68–65	2–0 (1–0)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
December 6, 2020 1:00 p.m.	No. 7	USC	W 78–77	3–0 (2–0)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
December 10, 2020 4:00 p.m., P12N	No. 6	Arizona State Territorial Cup	W 65–37	4–0 (3–0)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
December 18, 2020 5:00 p.m., P12N	No. 6	at Colorado	W 62–59	5–0 (4–0)	CU Events Center (0) Boulder, CO
December 20, 2020 Noon, P12N	No. 6	at Utah	W 77–60	6–0 (5–0)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (0) Salt Lake City, UT
December 23, 2020* Noon	No. 6	Idaho	W 96–42	7–0	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
January 1, 2021 5:00 p.m., P12N	No. 6	No. 1 Stanford	L 54–81	7–1 (5–1)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
January 3, 2021 Noon, P12N	No. 6	California	W 69–33	8–1 (6–1)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
January 8, 2021 9:00 p.m., P12N	No. 7	at Washington	Postponed		Alaska Airlines Arena Seattle, WA
January 10, 2021 Noon, P12N	No. 7	at Washington State	L 69–71 ^OT	8–2 (6–2)	Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA
January 14, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 11	No. 10 Oregon	W 57–41	9–2 (7–2)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
January 17, 2021 2:00 p.m., P12N	No. 11	Oregon State	W 67–51	10–2 (8–2)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
January 22, 2021 4:00 p.m., P12N	No. 10	Utah	W 66–54	11–2 (9–2)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
January 24, 2021 1:00 p.m., P12N	No. 10	Colorado	Postponed		McKale Center Tucson, AZ
January 29, 2021 5:00 p.m., P12N	No. 10	at USC	Postponed		Galen Center Los Angeles, CA
January 31, 2021 4:00 p.m., P12N	No. 10	at No. 5 UCLA	Postponed		Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
February 5, 2021 5:00 p.m., P12N	No. 9	at Oregon State	Postponed		Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR
February 8, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 10	at No. 11 Oregon	W 79–59	12–2 (10–2)	Matthew Knight Arena (0) Eugene, OR
February 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., P12N	No. 10	Washington State	W 60–51	13–2 (11–2)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
February 14, 2021 Noon, P12N	No. 10	Washington	W 73–53	14–2 (12–2)	McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ
February 19, 2021 1:30 p.m., P12N	No. 10	at California	W 59–50	15–2 (13–2)	Haas Pavilion (0) Berkeley, CA
February 22, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 9	at No. 4 Stanford	L 48–62	15–3 (13–3)	Maples Pavilion (1) Stanford, CA
February 28, 2021 Noon, P12N	No. 9	at Arizona State Territorial Cup	L 64–66	15–4 (13–4)	Desert Financial Arena (0) Tempe, AZ
Pac-12 Women's Tournament
March 4, 2021 6:00 p.m., P12N	(2) No. 11	vs. (7) Washington State Quarterfinals	W 60–44	16–4	Michelob Ultra Arena (41) Paradise, NV
March 5, 2021 9:00 p.m., P12N	(2) No. 11	vs. (3) No. 9 UCLA Semifinals	L 49–58	16–5	Michelob Ultra Arena (0) Paradise, NV
NCAA tournament
March 22, 2021* 11:00 a.m., ESPN2	(3 M) No. 11	vs. (14 M) Stony Brook First Round	W 79–44	17–5	Alamodome San Antonio, TX
March 24, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPNU	(3 M) No. 11	vs. (11 M) BYU 2nd Round	W 52–46	18–5	UTSA Convocation Center San Antonio, TX
March 27, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPN2	(3 M) No. 11	vs. (2 M) No. 4 Texas A&M Sweet 16	W 74–59	19–5	Alamodome (2,434) San Antonio, TX
March 29, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPN	(3 M) No. 11	vs. (4 M) No. 12 Indiana Elite Eight	W 66–53	20–5	Alamodome San Antonio, TX
April 2, 2021* 5:30 pm, ESPN	(3 M) No. 11	vs. (1 R) No. 1 UConn Final Four	W 69–59	21–5	Alamodome San Antonio, TX
April 4, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN	(3 M) No. 11	vs. (1 A) No. 2 Stanford National Championship	L 53–54	21–6	Alamodome (4,604) San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. M=Mercado R=River Walk. All times are in Mountain Time.

Rankings

Ranking Movement
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
Poll	Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Final
AP	7	7	6	6	6	6	7	11	10	10	9	10	10	9	11	11	11
Coaches	8	6	6	7-T	8	10	13	10	9	9	8	7	9	11	11	11	2

References

^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". Archived from the original on March 12, 2020.
^ "2020-21 Women's Basketball Schedule". arizonawildcats.com. University of Arizona. Retrieved March 17, 2021.

[1] "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". Archived from the original on March 12, 2020.

[2] "2020-21 Women's Basketball Schedule". arizonawildcats.com. University of Arizona. Retrieved March 17, 2021.

[1]

[2]

v t e Arizona Wildcats women's basketball
Venues	Bear Down Gym (1972–1973) McKale Center (1973–present)
Culture & lore	Wilbur and Wilma "Fight! Wildcats! Fight!"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics