2022–23 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team

2022–23 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Ranking
APNo. 25
Record22–10 (11–7 Pac-12)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ashley Davis (2nd season)
  • Salvo Coppa (7th season)
  • Erin Grant (2nd season)
Home arenaMcKale Center
Seasons
2022–23 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Utah 15 – 3   .833 27 – 5   .844
No. 5 Stanford 15 – 3   .833 29 – 6   .829
No. 21 Colorado 13 – 5   .722 25 – 9   .735
No. 14 UCLA 11 – 7   .611 27 – 10   .730
No. 25 Arizona 11 – 7   .611 22 – 10   .688
USC 11 – 7   .611 21 – 10   .677
No. 23 Washington State † 9 – 9   .500 23 – 11   .676
Oregon 7 – 11   .389 20 – 15   .571
Washington 7 – 11   .389 19 – 15   .559
California 4 – 14   .222 13 – 17   .433
Oregon State 4 – 14   .222 13 – 18   .419
Arizona State 1 – 17   .056 8 – 20   .286
† 2023 Pac-12 Tournament winner
As of December 29, 2024
Rankings from AP poll

The 2022–23 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by seventh-year head coach Adia Barnes. This was the Wildcats' 49th season at the on-campus McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona and 44th season as a member of the Pac-12 Conference.

Previous season

Main article: 2021–22 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team

The Wildcats finished the 2021–22 season with a record of 21–8, 10–6 in Pac-12 play. The Wildcats were invited to the 2022 NCAA tournament where they defeated UNLV in the first round before losing to North Carolina in the second round.

Offseason

Departures

Arizona Wildcats Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Notes
Sam Thomas 14 F 6'0 Graduate Student Bloomfield Hills, MI Completed college eligibility
Ariyah Copeland 22 F 6'3 Graduate Student Columbus, GA Completed college eligibility
Reference:

Outgoing Transfers

Arizona Outcoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown New School Source
Anna Gret Asi 0 G 5'8 Freshman Tartu, Estonia Transferred to Oklahoma State
Koi Love 5 F 6'0 Junior Orlando, FL Transferred to USC
Derin Erdogan 10 G 5'6 Sophomore Istanbul, Turkey Transferred to Northeastern
Aaronette Vonleh 21 C 6'3 Freshman West Linn, OR Transferred to Colorado
Gisela Sanchez 30 F 6'3 Freshman Barcelona, Spain Transferred to Kansas State
Semaj Smith 34 C 6'6 Senior Long Beach, CA Transferred to San Jose State
Bendu Yeaney 23 G 5'10 Senior Portland, OR Transferred to Oregon State
Taylor Chavez 3 G 5'10 Senior Surprise, AZ TBD
Reference:

Acquisitions

Incoming Transfers

Arizona Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School Years Remaining Date Eligible Source
Lauren Fields 23 G 5'9 Junior Shawnee, OK Oklahoma State 1
Esmery Martínez 12 F 6'2 Junior Hato Mayor del Ray, DR West Virginia 1
Jade Loville 30 F/G 5'11 Graduate Student Scottsdale, AZ Arizona State 1
Reference:

2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Maya Nnaji
F 		Lakeville, MN Hopkins High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) N/A May 10, 2021 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 97
Paris Clark
G 		Mount Vernon, NY Long Island Lutheran High School 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) N/A Dec 13, 2021 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96
Kailyn Gilbert
G 		Tampa, FL Seffner Christian Academy 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) N/A Jan 6, 2021 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 95
Lemyah Hylton
G 		London, ON Southwest Academy Girls Prep 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A Oct 16, 2021 
Star ratings: 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:

  • "2022 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  • "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 13, 2021.

2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2023)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Breya Cunningham
POST 		Chula Vista, CA La Jolla Country Day School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) N/A Jun 26, 2022 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 97
Montaya Dew
F 		Las Vegas, NV Centennial High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A Dec 23, 2021 
Star ratings: 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 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96
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:

Preseason

Preseason rankings

Pac-12 media poll (Coaches)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Stanford 121 (11)
2 Oregon 101
3 Arizona 100
4 UCLA 91
5 Utah 84 (1)
6 Oregon State 62
7 Washington State 61
8 Colorado 55
9 USC 50
10 Washington 28
11 California 21
12 Arizona State 18

Source:[1]

Preseason All-conference teams

Award Player Position Year
Preseason All Pac-12 team Cate Reese F GS
Jade Loville F/G
Shaina Pellington F

Source:[2]

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year Source
Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Jade Loville SG GS [3]
Katrina McClain Award Cate Reese PF [4]
Esmery Martínez Sr.
Naismith Trophy Jade Loville SG GS [5]
Cate Reese PF
Wooden Award Cate Reese PF [6]

Roster

Source:[7]

2022–23 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Shaina Pellington 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) GS Dunabarton Pickering, ON
G 4 Madison Conner 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So AZ Compass Prep Chandler, AZ
G 10 Lemyah Hylton 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr Southwest Academy Girls Prep London, ON
F 12 Esmery Martínez 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Hato Mayor del Rey, DR
G 13 Helena Pueyo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Palma de Mallorca, Spain
G 15 Kailyn Gilbert 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Seffner Christian Academy Tampa, FL
G 22 Paris Clark 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Long Island Lutheran Mount Vernon, NY
G 23 Lauren Fields 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Shawnee Shawnee, OK
F 25 Cate Reese 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) GS Cypress Cypress, TX
G/F 30 Jade Loville 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) GS Skyline Scottsdale, AZ
F 32 Lauren Ware Injured 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Jr Century Bismarck, ND
F 34 Maya Nnaji 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Fr Hopkins St. Louis Park, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: May 1, 2022

  • Notes
    • Junior Lauren Ware to miss 22–23 season with a knee injury.[8]

Schedule

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2022*
6:00 p.m. 		No. 19 West Texas A&M W 86–63  —-
  20 – Loville   12 – Martinez   6 – Pellington  McKale Center (2,763)
Tucson, AZ
November 2, 2022*
6:00 p.m. 		No. 19 Cal State Los Angeles W 104–46 
 26 – Lovelle   12 – Martinez   7 – Pueyo  McKale Center (6,430)
Tucson, AZ
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2022*
6:30 pm 		No. 19 Northern Arizona W 113–56  1–0
  20 – Martinez   15 – Martinez   7 – Pellington  McKale Center (6,809)
Tucson, AZ
November 13, 2022*
5:00 pm 		No. 19 Cal State Northridge W 87–47  2–0
  16 – Gilbert   5 – Martinez   3 – Pueyo  McKale Center (6,653)
Tucson, AZ
November 18, 2022*
6:30 pm 		No. 18 Loyola Marymount W 87–51  3–0
  19 – Pellington   11 – Martinez   4 – Tied  McKale Center (7,206)
Tucson, AZ
November 20, 2022*
2:00 pm 		No. 18 Long Beach State W 86–64  4–0
  19 – Martinez   9 – Tied   4 – Tied  McKale Center (6,898)
Tucson, AZ
November 25, 2022*
5:00 pm 		No. 15 vs. Cal Baptist
USD Thanksgiving Classic 		W 81–63  5–0
  25 – Gilbert   10 – Martinez   3 – Tied  Jenny Craig Pavilion (149)
San Diego, CA
November 26, 2022*
5:00 pm 		No. 15 at San Diego
USD Thanksgiving Classic 		W 86–60  6–0
  22 – Pueyo   9 – Martinez   4 – Pueyo  Jenny Craig Pavilion 
San Diego, CA
December 4, 2022*
1:00 p.m. 		No. 14 at New Mexico W 77–60  7–0
  27 – Loville   8 – Martinez   9 – Pueyo  The Pit (6,087)
Albuquerque, NM
December 8, 2022*
6:30 p.m., P12N 		No. 12 Kansas L 50–77  7–1
  14 – Reese   8 – Reese   2 – Tied  McKale Center (7,381)
Tucson, AZ
December 14, 2022*
6:30 p.m., P12N 		No. 20 Texas Southern
Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series 		W 89–55  8–1
  20 – Reese   12 – Martinez   4 – Pueyo  McKale Center (6,577)
Tucson, AZ
December 18, 2022*
5:30 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 20 vs. No. 18 Baylor
Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge 		W 75–54  9–1
  18 – Pellington   15 – Martinez   8 – Pellington  American Airlines Center 
Dallas, TX
December 21, 2022*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		No. 18 at UT Arlington W 78–59  10–1
  13 – Martinez   9 – Tied   4 – Gilbert  College Park Center (1,109)
Arlington, TX
Pac-12 regular season
December 29, 2022
6:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 18 Arizona State W 84–66  11–1
(1–0) 		 21 – Martinez   10 – Martinez   4 – Tied  McKale Center (9,495)
Tucson, AZ
December 31, 2022
8:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 18 at California W 63–56  12–1
(2-0) 		 14 – Reese   7 – Reese   4 – Pellington  Haas Pavilion (605)
Berkeley, CA
January 2, 2023
12:30 p.m., P12N 		No. 15 at No. 2 Stanford L 57–73  12–2
(2–1) 		 12 – Loville   7 – Pueyo   3 – Pellington  Maples Pavilion (3,824)
Stanford, CA
January 6, 2023
8:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 15 Oregon State W 72–69  13–2
(3–1) 		 16 – Reese   8 – Martinez   6 – Tied  McKale Center (7,182)
Tucson, AZ
January 8, 2023
5:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 15 No. 18 Oregon W 79–71  14–2
(4–1) 		 16 – Conner   6 – Tied   6 – Pellington  McKale Center (7,963)
Tucson, AZ
January 13, 2023
7:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 14 at Colorado L 65–72  14–3
(4–2) 		 14 – Reese   9 – Reese   3 – Tied  CU Events Center (1,974)
Boulder, CO
January 15, 2023
12:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 14 at No. 10 Utah L 79–80  14–4
(4–3) 		 25 – Reese   10 – Reese   4 – Fields  Jon M. Huntsman Center (2,915)
Salt Lake City, UT
January 22, 2023
3:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 19 at Arizona State W 80–67  15–4
(5–3) 		 16 – Conner   15 – Martinez   4 – Pueyo  Desert Financial Arena (3,508)
Tempe, AZ
January 27, 2023
7:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 19 Washington W 61–54  16–4
(6–3) 		 15 – Reese   12 – Martinez   5 – Pellington  McKale Center (7,884)
Tucson, AZ
January 29, 2023
12:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 19 Washington State L 59–70  16–5
(6–4) 		 14 – Martinez   7 – Reese   4 – Pueyo  McKale Center (7,494)
Tucson, AZ
February 3, 2023
9:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 22 at No. 14 UCLA W 71–66 OT 17–5
(7–4) 		 21 – Pellington   13 – Martinez   3 – Tied  Pauley Pavilion (3,482)
Los Angeles, CA
February 5, 2023
1:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 22 at USC W 81–75 2OT 18–5
(8–4) 		 33 – Reese   8 – Tied   7 – Pellington  Galen Center (1,356)
Los Angeles, CA
February 9, 2023
7:30 p.m., ESPN 		No. 17 No. 6 Stanford L 60–84  18–6
(8–5) 		 10 – Tied   6 – Martinez   4 – Clark  McKale Center (9,868)
Tucson, AZ
February 12, 2023
12:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 17 California W 80–57  19–6
(9–5) 		 24 – Pellington   15 – Martinez   7 – Martinez  McKale Center (7,268)
Tucson, AZ
February 17, 2023
7:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 18 No. 4 Utah W 82–72  20–6
(10–5) 		 35 – Pellington   8 – Pellington   2 – Tied  McKale Center (8,238)
Tucson, AZ
February 19, 2023
12:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 18 No. 21 Colorado W 61–42  21–6
(11–5) 		 19 – Pellington   7 – Martinez   5 – Pellington  McKale Center (8,267)
Tucson, AZ
February 23, 2023
8:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 14 at Oregon L 59–73  21–7
(11–6) 		 19 – Reese   10 – Clark   2 – Tied  Matthew Knight Arena (6,173)
Eugene, OR
February 25, 2023
1:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 14 at Oregon State L 70–78  21–8
(11–7) 		 16 – Martinez   8 – Martinez   7 – Pellington  Gill Coliseum (4,357)
Corvallis, OR
Pac-12 Women's Tournament
March 2, 2023
1:00 p.m., P12N 		(4) No. 21 vs. (5) No. 19 UCLA
Quarterfinals 		L 59–73  21–9
  10 – Tied   9 – Reese   3 – Tied  Michelob Ultra Arena (4,245)
Paradise, NV
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 17, 2023
9:00 a.m., ESPN 		(7 G1) No. 25 vs. (10 G1) West Virginia
First round 		W 75–62  22–9
  25 – Reese   12 – Martinez   4 – Pellington  Xfinity Center 
College Park, MD
March 19, 2023*
2:30 p.m., ESPN 		(7 G1) No. 25 at (2 G1) No. 7 Maryland
Second round 		L 64–77  22–10
  19 – Reese   13 – Martinez   3 – Martinez  Xfinity Center (6,622)
College Park, MD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
G1=Greenville 1.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Source:[9]

Awards and honors

Weekly honors
Recipient (Position) Award (Pac-12 Conference) Stats (PPG/RPG/APG) Week Date Awarded Ref.
Kaitlyn Gilbert (G) Freshman Player of the Week 17.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG Week 4 November 28, 2022

Postseason

Conference honors
Recipient (Position) Award (Pac-12 Conference) Stats (PPG/RPG/APG) Ref.
Shaina Pellington (G) Co-Most Improved Player Of The Year 13.4 PPG/3.1 RPG/3.7 APG/1.9 SPG [10]
All Pac-12 First Team
All Pac-12 Defensive Team
Cate Reese (F) All Pac-12 First Team 23.8 PPG/5.8 RPG/1.0 APG
Helena Pueyo (G) All Pac-12 Defensive Team 5.6 PPG/3.0 RPG/2.3 SPG

Rankings

See also: 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP19181514122018181514191922171814212425Not released
Coaches19181413121716151310151420151814202223RV


Media coverage

Radio

TV

References

  1. ^ "Stanford picked as 2022-23 Pac-12 Women's Basketball favorite in preseason polls". October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "Media selects preseason 2022-23 Pac-12 Women's Basketball All-Conference Team". October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame, WBCA Name Twenty Shooting Guards to Watch List for 2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award". hoophall.com. National Basketball Hall of Fame. October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  4. ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame, WBCA Name Twenty Power Forwards to Watch List for 2023 Katrina McClain Award". hoophall.com. National Basketball Hall of Fame. October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  5. ^ "2023 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's Watch List Released".
  6. ^ "JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD PRESENTED BY WENDY'S ANNOUNCES 2022-23 WOMEN'S PRESEASON TOP 50 WATCH LIST".
  7. ^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Roster". arizonawildcats.com. Arizona Athletics. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  8. ^ Brown, PJ. "Arizona's Lauren Ware undergoes knee surgery, will miss 2022-23 season". Tucson.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  9. ^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Schedule". arizonawildcats.com. University of Arizona. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  10. ^ "2022-23 Pac-12 Women's Basketball All-Conference honors and Annual Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva".