2023–24 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

2023–24 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball
NCAA tournament, First round
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Record18–16 (8–10 Pac-12)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Salvo Coppa (8th season)
  • Bett Shelby (1st season)
  • Anthony Turner (1st season)
Home arenaMcKale Center
Seasons
← 2022–23
2024–25 →
2023–24 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 9 Stanford 15 – 3   .833 30 – 6   .833
No. 5 USC † 13 – 5   .722 29 – 6   .829
No. 10 UCLA 13 – 5   .722 27 – 7   .794
No. 8 Oregon State 12 – 6   .667 27 – 8   .771
No. 15 Colorado 11 – 7   .611 24 – 10   .706
No. 22 Utah 11 – 7   .611 23 – 11   .676
Arizona 8 – 10   .444 18 – 16   .529
California 7 – 11   .389 19 – 15   .559
Washington State 7 – 11   .389 21 – 15   .583
Washington 6 – 12   .333 16 – 15   .516
Arizona State 3 – 15   .167 11 – 20   .355
Oregon 2 – 16   .111 11 – 21   .344
† 2024 Pac-12 tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023–24 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by eighth-year head coach Adia Barnes. This was the Wildcats' 50th season at the on-campus McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona and 45th season as a member of the Pac-12 Conference.

This was also the last season that Arizona will play in the Pac-12 Conference before moving to the Big 12 Conference.[1]

Previous season[edit]

Main article: 2022–23 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team

The Wildcats finished the 2022–23 season with a record of 22–10, 11–7 in Pac-12 play. The Wildcats were invited to the 2023 NCAA tournament where they defeated West Virginia in the first round before losing to Maryland in the second round.

Offseason[edit]

Departures[edit]

Arizona Wildcats Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Notes
Shaina Pellington 1 G 5'8" Graduate Student Pickerington, OH Completed college eligibility
Cate Reese 25 F 6'2" Graduate Student Cypress, TX Completed college eligibility
Jade Loville 30 G/F 5'11" Graduate Student Scottsdale, AZ Completed college eligibility
Reference:

Outgoing Transfers[edit]

Arizona Outcoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown New School Source
Madison Conner 4 G 5'11" Sophomore Chandler, AZ Transferred to TCU
Lemyah Hylton 10 G 5'11" Freshman London, OH Transferred to Miami (FL)
Paris Clark 22 G 5'8" Freshman Mount Vernon, NY Transferred to Virginia
Lauren Fields 23 G 5'9" Senior Shawnee, OK Transferred to West Virginia
Lauren Ware 32 F 6'5" Junior Bismarck, ND Transferred to Texas A&M
Reference:

Acquisitions[edit]

Incoming Transfers[edit]

Arizona Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School Years Remaining Date Eligible Source
Courtney Blakley 1 G 5'8" Junior Gary, IN Middle Tennessee 2
Sali Kourouma 24 F 5'11' Redshirt Senior Kati, Mali Little Rock 1
Isis Beh 33 F 6'3" Redshirt Junior Murray, UT West Virignia 2
Reference:

2023 recruiting class[edit]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Montaya Dew
F 		Las Vegas, NV Centennial High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A Dec 23, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 97
Breya Cunningham
POST 		Chula Vista, CA La Jolla Country Day School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) N/A Jun 26, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 97
Jada Williams
PG 		Kansas City, MO La Jolla Country Day School (CA) 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) N/A Aug 1, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96
Skylar Jones
W 		Chicago, IL Whitney Young 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) N/A Jun 5, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 91
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:

  • "2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

Preseason[edit]

Preseason rankings[edit]

Pac-12 media poll (Coaches)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Utah 116 (7)
2 UCLA 109 (3)
3 Stanford 100 (2)
4 Colorado 90
5 Washington State 84
6 USC 70
7 Arizona 51
8 Oregon 49
9 Washington 46
10 Oregon State 43
11 California 22
12 Arizona State 12

Source:[2]

Preseason All-conference teams[edit]

Award Player Position Year
Preseason All Pac-12 team Esmery Martínez F GS

Source:[3]

Roster[edit]

2023–24 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Courtney Blakely 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Bishop Noll
Middle Tennessee 		Gary, IN
G 2 Jada Williams 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr La Jolla County Day Kansas City, MO
F 3 Montaya Dew 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Centennial Las Vegas, NV
G 4 Skylar Jones 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Whitney Young Chicago, IL
F 12 Esmery Martínez 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) GS Hamilton Heights Christian Academy
West Virginia 		Hato Mayor del Rey, DR
G 13 Helena Pueyo 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) GS Segle XXI Palma de Mallorca, Spain
G 15 Kailyn Gilbert 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Seffner Christian Academy Tampa, FL
F 23 Maya Nnaji 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) So Hopkins St. Louis Park, MN
G/F 24 Salimatou Kourouma 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS Sr Life Preparatory Academy
Little Rock 		Kati, Mali
F 25 Breya Cunningham 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Fr La Jolla County Day Chula Vista, CA
F 33 Isis Beh 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS Jr Murray
West Virginia 		Murray, UT
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results[edit]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 25, 2023*
6:00 p.m. 		West Texas A&M W 103–58 
 24 – Gilbert   7 – Tied   7 – Pueyo  McKale Center (6,400)
Tucson, AZ
November 1, 2023*
6:00 p.m. 		Point Loma W 52–44 
 17 – Kourouma   6 – Nnaji   3 – Gilbert  McKale Center (6,335)
Tucson, AZ
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at New Mexico State W 68–57  1–0
  16 – Gilbert   10 – Cunningham   4 – Williams  Pan American Center (1,297)
Las Cruces, NM
November 10, 2023*
6:30 p.m. 		Northern Arizona W 87–64  2–0
  18 – Cunningham   10 – Gilbert   5 – Tied  McKale Center (6,909)
Tucson, AZ
November 12, 2023*
2:00 p.m. 		Loyola Marymount W 70–54  3–0
  14 – Gilbert   9 – Gilbert   5 – Tied  McKale Center (6,784)
Tucson, AZ
November 14, 2023*
6:30 p.m. 		San Diego W 79–66  4–0
  21 – Gilbert   9 – Pueyo   6 – Pueyo  McKale Center (6,727)
Tucson, AZ
November 18, 2023*
12:30 p.m., FloSports 		vs. Memphis
Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals 		W 90–57  5–0
  19 – Martinez   11 – Martinez   5 – Pueyo  Imperial Arena (247)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 19, 2023*
10:00 a.m., FloSports 		vs. No. 23 Ole Miss
Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals 		L 47–56  5–1
  12 – Nnaji   8 – Cunningham   3 – Tied  Imperial Arena (207)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 20, 2023*
12:30 p.m., ESPNU 		vs. South Dakota
Battle 4 Atlantis 3rd place game 		W 61–52  6–1
  14 – Martinez   8 – Martinez   3 – Tied  Imperial Arena 
Nassau, Bahamas
December 2, 2023*
6:00 p.m., MW Network 		at UNLV L 53–72  6–2
  21 – Gilbert   11 – Martinez   3 – Gibert  Thomas & Mack Center (3,953)
Paradise, NV
December 7, 2023*
6:30 p.m. 		UC San Diego W 81–38  7–2
  15 – Williams   10 – Cunningham   4 – Cunningham  McKale Center (6,702)
Tucson, AZ
December 13, 2023*
7:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 5 Texas L 75–88  7–3
  26 – Gilbert   5 – Tied   4 – Tied  McKale Center (7,261)
Tucson, AZ
December 17, 2023
5:00 p.m., P12N 		at Arizona State W 91–52  8–3
(1–0) 		 19 – Gilbert   8 – Cunningham   4 – Gilbert  Desert Financial Arena (3,907)
Tempe, AZ
December 20, 2023*
2:30 p.m., P12N 		vs. No. 20 Gonzaga
Jerry Colangelo Classic 		L 69–81  8–4
  21 – Gilbert   7 – Pueyo   4 – Williams  Footprint Center 
Phoenix, AZ
December 31, 2023*
2:00 p.m. 		Seattle W 89–52  9–4
  18 – Williams   10 – Gilbert   6 – Gilbert  McKale Center (7,500)
Tucson, AZ
January 5, 2024
6:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 5 Colorado L 74–75  9–5
(1–1) 		 19 – Gilbert   6 – Pueyo   5 – Williams  McKale Center (7,386)
Tucson, AZ
January 7, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 15 Utah W 71–70 OT 10–5
(2–1) 		 22 – Gilbert   12 – Gilbert   4 – Pueyo  McKale Center (7,385)
Tucson, AZ
January 12, 2024
8:00 p.m., P12N 		at Oregon State L 70–73 2OT 10–6
(2–2) 		 22 – Gilbert   8 – Martinez   3 – Tied  Gill Coliseum (4,497)
Corvallis, OR
January 14, 2024
1:00 p.m., P12N 		at Oregon L 68–70  10–7
(2–3) 		 23 – Williams   4 – Beh   7 – Pueyo  Matthew Knight Arena (N/A)
Eugene, OR
January 19, 2024
8:00 p.m., P12N 		at Washington L 60–62  10–8
(2–4) 		 18 – Gilbert   12 – Martinez   3 – Gilbert  Alaska Airlines Arena (2,090)
Seattle, WA
January 21, 2024
1:00 p.m., P12N 		at Washington State L 57–78  10–9
(2–5) 		 22 – Gilbert   11 – Gilbert   3 – Tied  Beasley Coliseum (1,232)
Pullman, WA
January 26, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N 		California W 66–55  11–9
(3–5) 		 20 – Martinez   7 – Martinez   4 – Pueyo  McKale Center (7,268)
Tucson, AZ
January 28, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 6 Stanford L 64–96  11–10
(3–6) 		 24 – Blakley   4 – Tied   7 – Pueyo  McKale Center (7,692)
Tucson, AZ
February 4, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N 		Arizona State W 63–52  12–10
(4–6) 		 18 – Martinez   15 – Martinez   4 – Pueyo  McKale Center (8,210)
Tucson, AZ
February 9, 2024
9:00 p.m., P12N 		at No. 9 UCLA L 58–66  12–11
(4–7) 		 16 – Martinez   8 – Martinez   2 – Tied  Pauley Pavilion (5,210)
Los Angeles, CA
February 12, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at No. 10 USC L 64–81  12–12
(4–8) 		 13 – Tied   7 – Martinez   3 – Tied  Galen Center (4,569)
Los Angeles, CA
February 16, 2024
6:00 p.m., P12N 		Washington State W 64–45  13–12
(5–8) 		 18 – Pueyo   8 – Jones   4 – Blakely  McKale Center (7,383)
Tucson, AZ
February 18, 2024
12:00 p.m., P12N 		Washington W 90–82 3OT 14–12
(6–8) 		 22 – Pueyo   8 – Pueyo   5 – Williams  McKale Center (7,354)
Tucson, AZ
February 23, 2024
8:00 p.m., P12N 		at No. 3 Stanford W 68–61  15–12
(7–8) 		 23 – Williams   9 – Martinez   5 – Pueyo  Maples Pavilion (4,423)
Stanford, CA
February 25, 2024
1:00 p.m., P12N 		at California W 87–68  16–12
(8–8) 		 20 – Martinez   9 – Martinez   7 – Martinez  Haas Pavilion (1,909)
Berkeley, CA
February 29, 2024
6:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 7 USC L 93–95 2OT 16–13
(8–9) 		 21 – Pueyo   9 – Pueyo   7 – Pueyo  McKale Center (7,594)
Tucson, AZ
March 2, 2024
6:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 8 UCLA L 41–61  16–14
(8–10) 		 16 – Pueyo   3 – Tied   3 – Tied  McKale Center (7,845)
Tucson, AZ
Pac-12 Women's Tournament
March 6, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N 		(7) vs. (10) Washington
First Round 		W 58–50  17–14
  14 – Tied   7 – Cunningham   5 – Pueyo  MGM Grand Garden Arena (4,372)
Paradise, NV
March 7, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N 		(7) vs. (2) No. 5 USC
Quarterfinals 		L 62–65  17–15
  19 – Pueyo   7 – Tied   6 – Pueyo  MGM Grand Garden Arena (N/A)
Paradise, NV
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 21, 2024*
4:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(11 P3) vs. (11 P3) Auburn
First Four 		W 69–59  18–15
  17 – Williams   7 – Martinez   4 – Pueyo  Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (533)
Storrs, CT
March 23, 2024*
12:30 p.m., ESPN2 		(11 P3) vs. (6 P3) No. 22 Syracuse
First round 		L 69–74  18–16
  24 – Jones   7 – Tied   5 – Jones  Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,299)
Storrs, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Source:[4]

Awards and honors[edit]

Postseason[edit]

Rankings[edit]

See also: 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
APRVRVRVNot released
Coaches——RV

Media coverage[edit]

Radio[edit]

TV[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "University of Arizona will join the Big 12 Conference in 2024-25". University of Arizona. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  2. ^ "Utah selected as 2023-24 Pac-12 Women's Basketball favorites in preseason polls". October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  3. ^ "Media selects preseason 2023-24 Pac-12 Women's Basketball All-Conference Team". October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". arizonawildcats.com. University of Arizona. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2023–24_Arizona_Wildcats_women%27s_basketball_team&oldid=1219507475"