Returning starters Skylar Jones and Breya Cunningham led the Arizona Wildcats in scoring in their 62-39 victory over Tarleton State on Thursday night. It was the freshmen and other newcomers who shut down the Texans on the defensive end, though.
Arizona head coach Adia Barnes played her younger players for long stretches, often with only one returner on the floor.
The newcomers answered the bell in the second quarter, helping hold TSU to just seven points on 17.6 percent shooting. They did it again in the fourth when the Texans shot just 30.8 percent.
During the second quarter, it was sophomore Montaya Dew with six minutes, freshman Mailien Rolf with six minutes, freshman Katarina Knežević with eight minutes, and sophomore transfer Jorynn Ross with five minutes on the court. Dew is playing for the first time this season despite being in the program since January 2023.
Rolf played the entire fourth quarter. Ross and Knežević played over half of it. Dew, Lauryn Swann, and Erin Tack played five minutes each.
“I’m trying to make sure that I’m giving experience in tough times,” Barnes said. “So, in difficult situations, like Mailien coming in early, going to the one and putting Jada in, running mainly at the two, running Paulina (Paris) a little bit at the one, in case we need her at the one…Later, I’m putting Montaya at the three where she’s guarding on ball…So Montaya different positions, giving Erin some playing time, putting Katarina in earlier to get some reps, because we’re going to need those players down the stretch, and then putting different combinations.”
Dew made the first bucket of her career. She hit a three-point shot. They were her only points, but she made good decisions and played an important role in the team’s success. Barnes sees her confidence starting to return, too.
“She’s been out so long,” Barnes said. “Two years of being out and not getting that last year high school game experience. So it’s a long time without playing. So she just needs repetition….And for her, we play her in a lot of different positions…So she needs to know a lot of positions, and she’s really good at that, but it’s also asking for a lot, so she needs repetition, and she needs just minutes and time, and she’s going to be fine. She’s a really smart player. Even when she’s not scoring, she has some really good stuff off the ball. And I ran a flare screen for her, and she hit a three…I expect great things.”
Barnes’ admiration of Rolf’s game has been obvious since the freshman arrived from Germany, but it was especially clear against Tarleton State. The guard played more minutes than any player except Jones.
“Mailien is an awesome kid,” Barnes said. “She is a great person, a great teammate. Works her butt off. She dives on the floor. She’s relentless on defense. She makes mistakes, and I don’t care. She plays hard, so you’re allowed to make the mistakes. I’d say we have to work on her passing a little bit more, her turnovers…But, I mean, she’s an awesome—like a phenomenal—rebounder…I mean, our leading rebounder. Nine as a guard. So I’m letting her crash. I love the way she rebounds. I love how she draws fouls. I love how she dives on the floor. She has three steals. She has deflections, stuff that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. So the way she plays is the way I like to coach.”
Cunningham once again picked up two fouls in the first quarter. She went to the bench for a large chunk of time, but Barnes brought her back in the waning minutes of the first half. It was part of the coach’s attempts to stretch Cunningham during difficult parts of the game.
Williams also picked up two fouls in the first quarter. One was in the form of a technical foul at the very end of the quarter. Williams’ shot from halfcourt was blocked. Whatever the Tarleton State player said to her, Williams did not take kindly to. Her response drew the tech.
“There was words to her, and then Jada just had some words back,” Barnes said. “That’s not what we want to do, but that’s never happened to her, either. And they always talk. Other players always talk. But I think it was just they were loud right in front of (referee) Lisa Jones, so she had T her up.”
The fouls helped open minutes for the reserves, but the returners still had their moments.
Jones led the team with 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting. She added two rebounds, one assist, and two steals, although she also had four turnovers. She played a team high of 24 minutes.
Williams had a strong game although she didn’t score much until late in the game. She ended with nine points on 3-for-8 shooting, three rebounds, four assists, two steals, and just one turnover.
Cunningham ended with 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds, one steal, and three blocks.
Arizona doesn’t have a lot of time to think about this game. The Wildcats will leave for San Diego Saturday morning for their third game in seven days. UC San Diego is on the docket at 3 p.m. MST on Sunday, Nov. 10. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics