TUCSON, Ariz. -- Following a tough two-game road trip at Washington State and Washington, the Arizona Wildcats will return to their home court Friday evening to host Utah at McKale Center. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be live streamed on pac-12.com.
The Wildcats (10-6, 1-3 Pac-12) are hoping to continue their strong play at home against a Utah team that’s off to a 3-1 start in Pac-12 play. Arizona is 8-2 in its last 10 home games, dating back to last season, and is 7-1 on its homecourt this season. The team’s only loss at home came to No. 11 Stanford earlier this month.
Coach Niya Butts’ team has an average margin of victory of 14.4 in the eight wins and topped No. 21 Cal at home last time out on Jan. 4.
Following the contest with Utah on Friday, Arizona will host Colorado Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised by Pac-12 Arizona.
Defending the 3
While Arizona has seen its 3-point field goal percentage shoot up from .241 last season to .361 this season, the Wildcats have also shown a strong ability to limit the 3-point shot on the defensive end. Through 16 games, teams are shooting just .255 (69-271) from 3-point range against Arizona. That mark is second best in the Pac-12, behind just Oregon State, who is at .254. Last weekend, Washington was just 4 of 18 from 3-point range against Arizona. Washington State was just 4 of 22 from deep range in the game before against the Wildcats. Arizona is the only team in the Pac-12 in the top three in 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage defense.
Halftime Adjustments
The Wildcats seem to have benefited from NCAA women’s basketball shifting from halves to quarters. Arizona enters Friday night’s game with Utah with a 241-215 scoring advantage in third quarters this season. It’s the team’s widest scoring advantage of all four quarters. The Wildcats have shown an ability to make adjustments at halftime and execute better out of the break. Last game, Arizona outscored Washington 14-12 in the third. In their last home game, the Wildcats outscored Cal 16-12 in the third en route to winning 57-52.
McKale Domination
Arizona is 7-1 on its home court this season, with its only loss coming to No. 11 Stanford earlier this month. The Wildcats are 8-2 in their last 10 at McKale, including wins over Cal, Utah, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State and Kansas. The team’s average margin of victory during that stretch is 14.4, with the most lopsided win coming Nov. 18 when the Wildcats beat Howard 65-28.
Last 10 Home Games for Arizona
1/4/16: Arizona 57, Cal 52
1/2/16: Stanford 59, Arizona 34
12/29/15: Arizona 68, George Mason 60, OT
12/10/15: Arizona 77, Louisiana Tech 67
12/5/15: Arizona 69, Pacific 56
12/2/15: Arizona 68, New Mexico State 64
11/23/15: Arizona 67, Kansas 52
11/18/15: Arizona 65, Howard 28
3/1/15: Arizona 64, Utah 41
2/27/15: Colorado 66, Arizona 51
Hitting the glass
LaBrittney Jones pulled down 10 rebounds against Cal earlier this month for her seventh career double digit rebounding game. Jones, who is averaging 5.5 boards a game in eight games, missed a double-double against the Golden Bears by one point. Jones had nine points and six rebounds against Washington State.
Jones’ career double digit rebounding games
11/8/13: 10 at Iona
12/15/13: 15 vs. Texas Tech
1/3/14: 11 at Washington
11/17/14: 13 vs. Cal-State Bakersfield
12/3/14: 12 vs. Grambling State
1/5/15: 10 vs. Washington
1/4/16: 10 vs. California
Taryn it Up
Redshirt freshman point guard Taryn Griffey, the daughter of newly inducted Baseball Hall of Fame member Ken Griffey Jr., is off to a hot start in her career after sitting out last season with a knee injury. Griffey is averaging 9.6 points per game through15 contests. She sat out the Louisiana Tech game with a minor injury. The point guard from Seattle is doing most of her damage from beyond the 3-point line. Griffey has hit 29 of 64 3-pointers this season for a .453 shooting percentage. She is third in the conference with that mark. Griffey also pulled down a career best eight rebounds last game against Washington.
Top 3-point shooters in Pac-12
1. Katie Kuklok, Utah; .464 (32-69)
2. Katie Hempen, ASU; .458 (33-72)
3. Taryn Griffey, Arizona; .453 (29-64)
4. Courtney Range, Cal; .436 (24-55)
5. Lexi Bando, Oregon; .431 (28-65)
It’s A Bench Party
Malena Washington’s production has been a big reason why Arizona’s bench has been so dangerous this season. Arizona’s second leading scorer, Washington, who is at 10.2 points per game, has come off the bench the first 14 contests this season, before being inserted into the starting five last game. Lauren Evans, Michal Miller, Farin Bell, Dejza James and Destiny Graham have all come off the bench in 10 or more games to provide production. Through 14 games, the bench is outscoring opponents 414-257. The bench has scored 30 or more points six times.
Bench Scoring
at Washington: 20-7
at Washington State: 16-43
vs. Cal 30-7
vs. Stanford: 20-44
vs. George Mason : 22-24
vs. Gardner-Webb: 35-9
vs. Florida Gulf Coast: 25-17
vs. SMU: 21-2
vs. Louisiana Tech: 44-18
vs. Pacific: 40-25
vs. NMSU: 32-13
at North Texas: 16-3
vs. Kansas: 31-11
at San Diego: 29-9
vs. Howard: 26-6
at Toledo: 27-26
Cashing in at the Charity Stripe
In their win over Cal, the Wildcats went 13-14 from the free throw line for their best performance of the season. Arizona went 7-8 from the line in the fourth quarter with LaBrittney Jones and Malena Washington combining to go 4-4 in the final 15 seconds to extend a 53-52 lead to the final 57-52 score. Jones went 5-5 in the game and Washington went 3-4. Taryn Griffey and Lauren Evans each went 2-2 and Dejza James was 1-1.
LB’s Block Party
It hasn’t taken long for LaBrittney Jones to show off her ability on the defensive end. The junior from Cedar Hill, Texas has 12 blocks in seven games this season, giving her 88 for her career. Jones just passed Anne McFadden for sixth all-time in school history. Jones will likely pass Dana Patterson soon, who is fifth all-time in school history with 91. In her career, Jones is averaging more than a block per game. She has 89 blocks in just 69 career games. Jones has also scored in double figures three times in her eight games this season and has gotten to the free throw line 46 times in eight games.
Arizona Career Blocked Shots Leaders
1. Shawntinice Polk, 222
2. Ify Ibekwe, 166
3. Elizabeth Pickney, 147
4. Marte Alexander, 121
5. Dana Patterson, 91
6. LaBrittney Jones, 89
7. Anne McFadden, 87
Scouting Utah
The Utes come to Tucson off to its best start in league play since joining the Pac-12. Utah is 3-1 on the season in league play and 11-4 overall. Last week, Utah received two votes in the AP Top 25. Emiliy Potter leads the Utes with 16.9 points per game and 11.5 rebounds a contest. She’s shooting .561 from the floor and plays 28.3 minutes per game. Paige Crozon is second on the team with 12.9 points per game. Katie Kuklok is the top 3-point shooter in the country at .464. She’s 32-69 on the season. The Utes’ +9.6 rebounding margin is second in the league. Coach Lynne Roberts’ team comes in 6-1 in their last seven games. Their only loss came at Stanford earlier this month.
Last 10 vs. Utah
3/1/15: at Arizona 64, Utah 41
1/30/15: at Utah 62, Arizona 48
2/21/14: Utah 52, at Arizona 47
1/26/14: at Utah 60, Arizona 57
3/7/13: Utah 66, at Arizona 48
2/17/13: at Arizona 61, Utah 52
1/18/13: Arizona 62, at Utah 58
2/11/12: at Utah 73, Arizona 67
1/19/12: Utah 65, at Arizona 60, OT
12/9/06: at Utah 66, Arizona 60
Recapping Non-Conference Play
Arizona went 9-3 in non-conference play this season, which is its best mark since going 11-1 in 2011-12. It marks the third time in coach Niya Butts’ eight seasons that the Wildcats won at least nine games in pre-conference play. The Wildcats enter their Pac-12 opener with Stanford with junior guard Malena Washington leading the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game. LaBrittney Jones, who missed the first eight games with a foot injury, is averaging 11.0 points a contest in the four games she has played in. Redshirt freshman guard Taryn Griffey has soared in her first season and is averaging 10.9 points per game and is shooting 49 percent from 3-point distance. Arizona went 6-0 at McKale Center during non-conference play and outscored opponents by an average margin of 14.5 points per game. The most lopsided contest game on Nov. 18, when the Wildcats beat Howard 65-28, setting a new school record for fewest points allowed in a game. The closest contest was a 68-64 win over New Mexico State on Dec. 2.
