After another close loss on Sunday 鈥 this time 71-64 to then-No. 2 Oregon 鈥 UA coach Adia Barnes had a hard time putting into perspective what the weekend meant for her team. The Wildcats took on No. 3 Oregon State on Friday and the second-ranked Ducks on Sunday, a weekend double unlike any the program has ever faced.
The Wildcats lost both games by a total of nine points. Barnes came away certain that her team is almost there 鈥 she knows that they are almost there 鈥 a defensive stop or two, a few more defensive rebounds, a few shots going through, and the results would have been different.
鈥淚 know we鈥檙e capable of beating a top team in the country, but we just need to do it,鈥 Barnes said. 鈥淎nd I think we will. Before the season鈥檚 over, I think we will upset a Top 10 team.鈥
Her players believe, too. And with Dominique McBryde at full strength and Helena Pueyo back from her ankle injury, the Wildcats might have the pieces to pull it off.
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Despite slipping in the polls this week from 18 to 21, the Wildcats say they鈥檙e focused on taking care of business this weekend. They鈥檒l face Washington State on Friday night and Washington on Sunday afternoon. Last season, the Wildcats braved a blizzard on the way to Pullman, where they lost 90-88. This time out, they have a little inside intel 鈥 first-year assistant coach Jackie Nared was on the Wazzu sideline for that game.
They also have a defense that continues to rank among the best in the country.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter if you play against Oregon or any other team,鈥 senior point guard Lucia Alonso said. 鈥淚n the Pac-12, that鈥檚 gonna show.鈥
Aari McDonald added: 鈥淲e can compete with anybody; don鈥檛 overlook us. Our defense definitely keeps us in games.鈥
蜜柚直播 has the third-best scoring defense in the nation at 49.6 points per game. Their field goal percentage defense is fifth best in the nation at 32.7%.
Another area that has been stellar in the last four games is free-throw shooting. They hit 39 of their 42 attempts over that span.
Another McDonald鈥檚 All-American?
UA signee Lauren Ware was nominated for the McDonald鈥檚 All-American game Tuesday morning, joining 900 male and female basketball players from across the country. Ware is the only nominee from the state of North Dakota.
The teams should be announced in the next month. The women鈥檚 game will be played April 1 in Houston.
Sophomore Cate Reese is the only McDonald鈥檚 All-American in UA history.
Ware, who is in 蜜柚直播鈥檚 class of 2020, is a 6-foot-5-inch post player from Bismarck Century High School. She is a five-star recruit who was rated as No. 22 overall and No. 3 in her position by ESPN.
She is a two-sport athlete who will be playing for the UA鈥檚 volleyball team, as well. Prep Volleyball listed her as the No. 50 prospect in the nation.
蜜柚直播 keeps coming out
The Wildcats drew 13,374 to McKale Center last weekend 鈥 the most in program history to attend a two-game series.
During nonconference play, 蜜柚直播 averaged 4,650 鈥 up nearly 3,000 from the previous year.
Oregon and Oregon State are the only teams in the Pac-12 that draw more fans per game. Both Oregon State coach Scott Rueck and Oregon coach Kelly Graves mentioned the McKale Center atmosphere when they were in 蜜柚直播.
Barnes called it 鈥渋ncredible.鈥
鈥淵ou know, I love 蜜柚直播. I think 蜜柚直播 is embracing our team, which has been really fun,鈥 she said Sunday. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I really wanted this one (against Oregon), too, because everybody came out and it鈥檚 a great atmosphere. But I think it鈥檚 just showing how much the program has changed. And I think we鈥檙e a fun team to watch because we play hard, we play with heart 鈥 that鈥檚 our identity.
鈥淎nd we鈥檙e getting there. We鈥檙e not there yet. I think everybody is supporting them. I don鈥檛 think anybody鈥檚 like 鈥極h, they should have won鈥 or maybe they are. But I think it just shows what we鈥檙e doing here. And we鈥檙e going to get better. And we鈥檙e going to continue to recruit great kids and great people and just kind of do what we鈥檙e doing. But this is my expectation. I didn鈥檛 ever think that I would come here and stay bad forever. I just didn鈥檛 think that.鈥
Not even college football is getting in the way. Barnes鈥 radio show, held Monday night at Brother John鈥檚 BBQ, drew nearly 100 people 鈥 even with the national championship game starting at the same time.
Where鈥檚 the game?
The Pac-12 Conference鈥檚 108 league games are all being televised this season, either on the Pac-12 Networks or ESPN.
But not all TV is created equal.
This weekend鈥檚 games against the Washington schools will be shown on Pac-12 Networks 鈥 but only on the Washington regional network. If you live in 蜜柚直播, you鈥檒l have to stream on the Pac-12 Now app or through a smart TV.
蜜柚直播 State, however, will appear on Pac-12 蜜柚直播 twice this weekend. How does this happen? For starters, the games featuring the UA and 蜜柚直播 State both start at the same time 鈥 7 p.m. Pacific, 8 p.m. in 蜜柚直播. The 7 p.m. local tipoffs were requests by the schools.
鈥淲hile this allows better local start times, it also means the games cannot go to both of the respective home regional networks,鈥 said Patrick Griffin, Pac-12 Networks鈥 senior director of programming. 鈥淲e must 鈥榮plit鈥 the network distribution to ensure every game can be seen on at least one of the regional networks.
鈥淭he volume of women鈥檚 basketball games, coupled with the improved start times, will cause this to happen more frequently than in previous years. We try to balance the distribution as best as possible, but it鈥檚 important to note that in addition to the extensive women鈥檚 hoops coverage, there鈥檚 also a number of wrestling, women鈥檚 gymnastics, men鈥檚 volleyball, and early season softball events mixed in on Fridays and Sundays.鈥
To avoid an overlap, some games are placed on the Pac-12 Networks鈥 primary channel. Friday night, the main channel will show Utah at Colorado, followed by No. 7 UCLA at USC. Sunday, it will air the showdown between No. 3 Stanford and No. 8 Oregon State and Cal at No. 6 Oregon.
