蜜柚直播

They didn鈥檛 go down without a fight: Aari McDonald scored 34 points for the UA, which rallied late after trailing by 25 points at halftime and 11 points at the end of three quarters.

Before the Wildcats take the floor at McKale Center on Friday night against No.鈥�24 Cal, let鈥檚 take a look back at the program-best streak. Here are the highlights:

鈥� Sam shoots the UA to a win. 蜜柚直播鈥檚 69-67 victory over the Buffs last Friday was the closest of any during the streak. It was the most dramatic one, too. 蜜柚直播 and CU were tied late when Dominique McBryde took an inbounds pass and was quickly trapped by the Buffs鈥� defense. She passed to teammate Sam Thomas, but the ball was tipped. Fortunately for the UA, the ball fell into Thomas鈥� hands 鈥� and she had a clear path to the basket.

鈥淚t was very clutch of Sam,鈥� McDonald said. 鈥淪ome players would panic, but she calmly got to the basket.鈥�

Poise is key to Thomas鈥� game.

鈥淓ven if the play is broken, if the ball is tipped, she鈥檒l go get that 50/50 ball,鈥� forward Semaj Smith said. 鈥淲e all love Sam, so we all got hyped when she scored.鈥�

鈥� 蜜柚直播 upsets ASU. 蜜柚直播鈥檚 51-39 win over ASU on Dec. 30 was arguably the highlight of the Wildcats鈥� young season. The Sun Devils came into the game ranked No. 17 nationally but struggled against a tough UA defense. The Wildcats held ASU to 23.2 percent shooting; the Devils finished with just two second-chance points; only one player, Kianna Ibis, scored in double figures.

鈥淭hat win solidified that we can win and make noise in this conference,鈥� McDonald said.

Dominique McBryde was a force inside in the rivalry game.The forward finished with nine rebounds, two blocks, four steals, and six points. It鈥檚 her defense that McDonald remembers most.

鈥淗er defensive effort against Kiana Ibis 鈥� she took her out of her game from the jump,鈥� said McDonald. 鈥淪he got Ibis frustrated. It was really effective how she got her assignment done.鈥�

In many ways, the rivalry win put the UA on the national map. The Wildcats received 15 votes in the following week鈥檚 AP poll, and two in the USA Today coaches鈥� poll.

鈥淭hat was a good moment for the program to show we are on the right track and moving in the right direction,鈥� coach Adia Barnes said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 get caught up in all of that, but it鈥檚 still a positive for the program.鈥�

鈥� Cats figure out Long Beach State and a 鈥渇unky鈥� defense. The Wildcats鈥� 70-43 win over Long Beach State on Dec. 9 was a strange one. McDonald picked up her first foul less than one minute into the game, and Cate Reese and Thomas each had two fouls halfway through the first quarter. McDonald had two more in the next few minutes.

With three of the starters in foul trouble, Lucia Alonso took control of the game. She played 31 minutes and had no turnovers.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 win this game without her composure,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淭here were tough matchups for our guards, especially with all the fouls, and Lucia took the game on her back and ran the offense with pressure the entire game.

McDonald liked the way Alonso 鈥渉andled the ball with all their funky-type of defense.鈥�

鈥� Aari goes off. McDonald had so many highlight-reel moments during the streak that it鈥檚 hard to pick just one.

Could it be the time she flexed after scoring against ASU?

McDonald is averaging 25.4 points per game, the second-most of any player in the country. She has won the Pac-12 Player of the Week award three times; on Wednesday, she was named to the Wooden Award Midseason Watch List.

鈥淥ne of the unique things about Aari is that she is a great offensive player and a great defensive player. That is rare,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淚f you look at the other top players in the country, they may be good at offense, but not defense; they aren鈥檛 both. What I love about her is that she is a great teammate, a great person and is very unselfish. You may see her score 38 points, but it鈥檚 unselfish. She wants to win, and her mentality is that she鈥檇 rather have 10 assists, 10 boards. She鈥檚 not a score-first person.鈥�

Her teammates bring up the little things she does every day.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not even about her numbers; it鈥檚 her ability to stay humble,鈥� Tee-Tee Starks said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 had multiple 30-point games, yet you wouldn鈥檛 even know. She鈥檚 not one to boast about it. Her ability to stay humble is not something many people have.鈥�

鈥� Reese鈥檚 rise. Freshman forward Cate Reese scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Wildcats鈥� 73-32 win over South Carolina State on Dec. 23, earning Pac-12 honors. Throughout the 11-game winning streak, Reese averaged nearly 11.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. She leads all Pac-12 freshmen in both categories.

Reese also has the most double-doubles among all freshmen in the Pac-12 with four.

鈥淪he鈥檚 not playing like a freshman,鈥� Starks said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no excuse of, 鈥極h, she鈥檚 a freshman and she鈥檚 learning.鈥� It shows on the court fighting for rebounds and 50/50 balls. Typically, you don鈥檛 see that from a freshman. She鈥檚 a competitor. One thing that stands out when we watch film is of Cate diving on the floor for loose balls. On a lot of possessions she ends up on the floor. She wants to be the first one to the ball,鈥� Starks said.

Barnes said she didn鈥檛 have one favorite moment from the 11-game streak. She said she鈥檚 more proud of where the Wildcats are as a program.

鈥淭his team has a personality to do special things,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat may not mean we win the Pac-12, but we will do special things. We have all the tools.

鈥淭he city loves basketball, and they filled the arena against 蜜柚直播 State 鈥� bringing 5,000 people. That was great. They are a great sixth man. It鈥檚 exciting because we can bring basketball to another level, and my goal is to do that.鈥�