NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament: PAC 12 flavor, #3-seed Arizona will face #1-seed Stanford in the National Championship on Sunday at 6 p.m. EST on ESPN; Wildcats game notes

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GAME NOTESSunday, April 4 at 3 p.m. MST
TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo & Holly Rowe
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)/Westwood One SiriusXM 84 (Ryan Radtke & Debbie Antonelli)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt

FROM THE TIP

  • Arizona will face 1-seed Stanford in the National Championship on Sunday at 3 p.m. MST.
  • The Wildcats are playing in their first National Championship in school history.
  • Stanford won the two regular-season games vs. Arizona this year.
  • Arizona won by 10 over UConn in the Final Four on Friday.
  • Arizona is the first Division I team to make the Final Four after missing the previous 10+ NCAA Tournaments.
  • The Wildcats won their Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games by double-figures.
  • Arizona is allowing 52.2 points per game and shooting 42% from three in the NCAA Tournament.
  • The Wildcats beat the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time in school history on Friday.
  • Adia Barnes is the first coach to reach the Final Four in their first five years as a head coach since Mike Neighbors.
  • Barnes is the fourth head coach to lead her alma mater to the National Championship game.
  • She is the youngest coach (44 years old) to reach the Final Four since Brenda Freese (2014).
  • For the first time, two teams from the Pac-12 will face each other in the National Championship.
  • Arizona’s second-place finish in the Pac-12 is their best finish since the 2003-04 season.
  • Aari McDonald is averaging 30 points on 53% shooting in the last three games.
  • She has two of Arizona’s three 30-point games in NCAA Tournament history.
  • McDonald was named a WBCA All-American on Saturday.
  • She was named an AP Second Team All-American and is the Pac-12 Player and Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
  • She has scored in double-figures in 92-straight games, the longest active streak in the nation.
  • McDonald became the third player to score 2,000 points in an Arizona uniform on Friday.

Postgame Notes from Friday

  • Arizona advanced to the National Championship for the first time in school history with a 10-point win over UConn.
  • The Wildcats won their Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games by double-figures.
  • Arizona never trailed and led for 39:18.
  • Arizona forced UConn to shoot a season-low 36% and scored a season-low 59 points.
  • The Wildcats outrebounded UConn.
  • This was UConn’s first double-digit loss in the NCAA Tournament since 2007.
  • Adia Barnes is the third coach in the last 25 years to win their first matchup vs. Geno Auriemma.

Last Time Out
Arizona never trailed and ended up winning by 10 points in the Final Four vs. UConn on Friday. The Wildcats forced the Huskies to shoot a season-low 36% while Aari McDonald scored 26 points. Sam Thomas and Cate Reese also scored in double-figures for the Wildcats.  

If Arizona Wins…

  • the Wildcats will win their first National Championship in school history.
  • they will be the first Pac-12 team to win the National Championship since Stanford in 1992.
  • Adia Barnes will be the only coach in school history to win their first six NCAA Tournament games.

Last Five at the NCAA Tournament
W, 69-59 vs. UConn | Final Four, 2021
W, 66-53 vs. Indiana | Elite Eight, 2021
W, 74-59 vs. Texas A&M | Sweet 16, 2021
W, 52-46 vs. BYU | Second Round, 2021
W, 79-44 vs. Stony Brook | First Round, 2021

Made Four It
For the first time in program history, Arizona will play in the National Championship on Sunday after beating UConn by 10 points in the Final Four on Friday.

Started From the Bottom Now We’re Here
Prior to this season, Arizona hadn’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 2005 and won a total of six games just three years ago. Here we are, and Arizona is now playing in the National, becoming the first team in Division I history to reach the title game after missing the previous 10+ NCAA Tournaments.

Tick, Tick, BOOM
Coming into the NCAA Tournament, Arizona was not considered a three-point shooting team. During the regular season and Pac-12 Tournament, the Wildcats shot 32% from three and made an average of 5.8 threes per game. In the five NCAA Tournament games, Arizona is shooting 42% from three and have made an average of 8.4 per game. Aari McDonald alone is shooting 49% from three and is making 3.6 per game in the tournament.

Early Success
Adia Barnes became the first coach since Mike Neighbors (2016) to reach the Final Four in their first five seasons as a college head coach. She is also the youngest coach (44 years old) since Brenda Freese to reach the Final Four.

Do it for the A
Barnes is the fourth coach to lead her alma mater to the national title game. She was also the seventh coach to lead her alma mater to the Final Four.

Adia Barnes Arizona head coach

COURTESY ARIZONA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

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