University Of Arizona Women’s Basketball Roster
University Of Arizona Women’s Basketball Roster
The University of Arizona women’s basketball team is a team that competes in the NCAA Division I. The program was established in 1901, and the team has won over 20 conference championships in different conferences since then. The Wildcats are currently members of the Pac-12 Conference, where they have been competing since 1978. They play their home games at McKale Center, which they share with the men’s team. In addition to this venue, they also play some games at Tucson Arena and other venues across Arizona state line cities such as Phoenix, Glendale and Scottsdale. The Wildcats have appeared in four Final Fours (1928–29, 1981–82) while winning one national championship title during their first appearance in the 1929-30 season following a 21-0 record under coach Maude Allen who became first female coach ever to win the national title.
Starting 5
- The starting 5 is the starting 5. A basketball team’s starting five is made up of its best players, who start every game and play the most minutes. The Arizona Wildcats’ (the women’s basketball team) current starting five consists of:
- Auburn Hurst
- Kiersten Johnson
- Natalie Romeo
- Katie Hempenius
- Brooke Harris
Guard: Aari McDonald
McDonald is a freshman and comes to Arizona from Scottsdale, Arizona. She was one of two players to commit early to the program, along with guard Kaila Hunt.
McDonald played her high school basketball at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, where she averaged 22 points per game as a senior and earned honourable mention All-State honours.
She projects as both a point guard and shooting guard for Arizona coach Adia Barnes-Fleming’s roster this season.
Guard: Shaina Pellington
Shaina Pellington is a guard born in the US. She went to high school in the US and college in the US, where she played basketball at both levels. She then attended university overseas, playing basketball there as well. While at university, she was selected by the WNBA’s Indiana Fever as an early draft pick (pick #3) but opted instead to play for their sister team, the Phoenix Mercury. After two seasons with Phoenix, Shaina signed with a team in China and will likely return here when her contract expires next year.
Forward: Sam Thomas
- Sam Thomas (Forward) – A four-year member of the Arizona program, Sam Thomas played an integral role in the success of both a historic regular season and run to the NCAA Tournament. She helped lead to program to its first-ever Pac-12 regular season title and its second straight conference tournament title. As a senior, she was named First Team All-Pac-12 after averaging 12.3 points per game while shooting 51% from the field, including 37% from three-point range. In addition to her collegiate career, she also played for UCLA during her freshman year before transferring back home to Arizona where she would finish her college career as one of only three players in school history with 1,000 points (1,062). Her collegiate career culminated with a trip with Team USA where she earned MVP honours at FIBA World Cup Qualifier 2018 after averaging 16.0 ppg over eight games while shooting 44% from beyond the arc
Forward: Cate Reese
Cate Reese is a forward for the Arizona Wildcats. She is a senior from San Diego, California and stands at 5’9″. Reese was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in California during her junior year at Poway High School, helping her team win state titles in ’09-’10 and ’10-’11. She played AAU ball for Cal Sparks and was named an All-American in 2010.
Cate’s father, Bob, played basketball for Stanford University before playing professionally overseas; he then coached his daughter’s AAU team, the San Diego Stars. Cate’s mother Connie played volleyball at UC Santa Barbara before becoming a teacher at Rancho Bernardo High School where she met Bob while he was coaching football there (he taught science).
Center: Mara Mote
Mara Mote, a 6’4″ center from Riverside, California, is an impressive player on the court. She is a junior and will be playing her third year of collegiate basketball this season. She began playing in high school at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles and then went to play at the University of Arizona for her college career.
Mara has been around basketball since she was young because her father played professional basketball in Europe and Asia after finishing his career with the University of Arizona Wildcats. Her mother works for the NBA as a liaison between teams and players so Mara grew up surrounded by basketball culture from both sides of her family
The University Of Arizona Women’s Basketball Team will start the season with the above players.
You are a member of The University Of Arizona Women’s Basketball Team. It is your responsibility to make sure that the other members of your team are informed about our upcoming season and are ready to play.
The team is made up of women, as well as men who can play basketball in their spare time. Our mascot is a bear named Bear Down Bernie, who has travelled with us through many victories on the court and off it (he likes beer). We hope that you enjoy being part of this exciting organization!
The University of Arizona women’s basketball team is one of the most successful in the country, with eight national championships and 32 Final Four appearances. They’ve also made it to six Elite Eights and 12 Sweet Sixteens. The Wildcats started competing in women’s basketball in 1972, but they didn’t come close to making their first NCAA Tournament until 1986 when they lost beat Southern Methodist University by two points. That was the start of a streak that would eventually bring home four championships over seven years!