TUCSON, Ariz. –The University of Arizona is set to host North Texas on Tuesday at 11 a.m. MST at McKale Center. The Wildcats are coming off an 81-70 victory over George Mason.
 
On the Mean Green
George Mason comes into the game with a record of 2-1. The Patriots are coming off a 64-48 win over LIU Brooklyn on Tuesday. Kara Wright leads the team in both scoring and rebounding as she averages 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Wright has made six three pointers in the first three games as well. Tiffany Padgett is second on the team with 9.7 points per game and Chinyere Bell is third with nine points per game. The Wildcats and the Patriots have faced each other just one time, and that was last year when Arizona won by a score of 68-60.
 
School Day
Arizona Women's Basketball will host their eighth annual School Day at McKale when they welcome North Texas to Tucson on Tuesday, November 22 at 11 a.m. Doors will open at 9:30 and the first 6,000 fans will receive a red or blue rally towel courtesy of OrthoPros. Following the game, the team will sign autographs on the concourse.
 
LB in the Record Books
Senior LaBrittney Jones is back for her senior season in Tucson. Jones will go down as one of the great Wildcats as she is sure to climb the record books should all go well. She is currently fifth all time in blocked shots with 106 and needs 16 to pass Marte Alexander for fourth. Jones is also 98 rebounds away from cracking the top 10, which shouldn't be an issue as she has averaged a little over 161 boards a year. Her average of 5.9 rebounds per game for a career is tied for seventh all time. Finally, Jones needs just 142 points to crack the top 20 in Arizona history. Jones led the team with 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks against George Mason.
 
Washington's World
Malena Washington led the Wildcats in total points scored last year as she scored 346 for an average of 10.8 per game. She also led the team with 146 three-pointers made, which was the most in one season since Davellyn Whyte knocked down 218 in the 2012-13 season. Although she is a senior, Washington is entering just her third season as a Wildcat as she started her career at Tyler Junior College, where she was named a JC All-American. Washington averages 15.5 points per game through the first two contests of the season. She scored 18 against George Mason on 7-11 shooting and made two three-pointers.
 
Go DJ, That's my DJ
Senior forward Dejza James has played more than 13 games in a season just once in her career due to injuries, but she is healthy now and ready to return to action. Last year in 13 games, she grabbed 6.2 rebounds per game and scored 5.3 points per game. She had two double-digit rebounding performances as well, which included 10 against San Diego on Nov. 21 and 13 against New Mexico State on Dec. 2. James finished the game with at least six rebounds in seven of her 13 games played.
 
TG For Three
Redshirt Sophomore Taryn Griffey has been through her fair share of adversity as she has undergone multiple knee surgeries, but she is back this year after having a solid start to her college career in the 2015-16 season. Last year, she shot 42.4% from downtown, which was the third-highest three-point percentage for one season in school history. Griffey scored 14 points off the bench against George Mason and was 4-6 from downtown. She leads the team with five made three-pointers through two games.
 
It's Your Destiny
Sophomore forward Destiny Graham was a monster on the boards in the season-opener against Alcorn State. She grabbed 11 rebounds, which is a career high and also had five offensive rebounds, another career high. Graham also blocked two shots, which tied her career high.
 
Buenos Dias, Lucia
Freshman guard Lucia Alonso has started the first two games of her college career at the point guard position. So far, she averages 11.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. Alonso was 3-4 from behind the arc against George Mason and scored 13 points. Alonso leads the team with 69 total minutes played and has led the team in minutes played in each game so far.
 
Hey There Holloway
After not playing during her sophomore season last year, Charise Holloway is set to return for her junior season this year. Holloway was someone the Wildcats could lean on during her freshman year back in 2014-15 as she averaged 6.6 points per game and made 103 three-pointers, which led the team. She scored in double digits six times and made at least two three-pointers in eight of the 28 contests she played in. Here career high was on Jan. 3, 2015 when she went 4-4 from downtown against Washington State. She scored 20 points that night, which is her career high.
 
Loving the Long Ball
Arizona made 10 three-pointers against George Mason on Friday, which is the most since the Wildcats made 12 in a win against Oregon back on Jan. 13, 2013. In that game, Layana White made four, Davellyn Whyte made three, Nyre Harris and Keyhandra Cannon made two and Carissa Crutchfield made one. Overall, Arizona was 12-27 (44%) from downtown in the Oregon game while the Wildcats were 10-18 (56%) against George Mason on Friday. In the second half alone, Arizona shot 7-10 from distance against George Mason.  
 
Finishing Strong
Arizona shot 10-11 (91%) in the fourth quarter against George Mason. That is the highest percentage Arizona has ever shot in a single quarter and it is tied for the second most-made shots in a quarter. Arizona made 10 against New Mexico State (12/5/15) and USC (2/28/16) last year. 28 points is also the second-most points scored in a quarter. The Wildcats scored 30 points and made 11 shots against Gardner-Webb on Dec. 21, 2015.
 
Cats Have the Clutch Gene
Through two games this season, Arizona has shot a combined 68% in the fourth quarter. Against Alcorn State, the Wildcats were 9-17 from the field and against George Mason, they shot 10-11. The Wildcats are also 9-11 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
 
Cleaning the Glass
The Wildcats will lean on seniors LaBrittney Jones, Dejza James and Breanna Workman to dominate the boards this year, which isn't a bad things. Last year, James averaged 6.2 per game, Jones averaged 5.9 per game and Workman averaged 4.8 per game. Jones grabbed double-digit rebounds four times last season while James did it twice last season. James' season was cut short last year though due to injury as she only played in 13 games. So far this year, Arizona has outrebounded their opponents 87-70. Jones is averaging 10 boards a game while Graham is averaging 6.5.
 
Double-digit rebounding games
11/13/16: LaBrittney Jones (12 vs. Alcorn State)
11/13/16: Destiny Graham (11 vs. Alcorn State)
 
It's a Block Party and LB is Hosting
Senior LaBrittney Jones has 106 career blocks through 86 games, which is good for an average of 1.2 swats per game. Last year, she blocked 23 shots in 21 games. Throughout her career, she has posted 26 games where she has blocked multiple shots and as blocked 3+ shots in 15 games. Her career high was set back on Feb. 1, 2015 when she sent six shots into the seats. Jones has now blocked 3+ shots in consecutive games, which is the third time that she has done that in her career.
 
Not Up in Here!
The Wildcats blocked 12 shots against The last time Arizona blocked double-digit shots in a single game was back on Nov. 9, 2012 when they sent back 10 of CSU Bakerfield's shots. Cheshi Poston led the way for Arizona that night as she swatted away six shots. The Wildcats followed that up with four against George Mason to give them 16, which is good for third in the Pac-12 so far.
 
Arizona Career Blocked Shots Leaders
1. Shawntinice Polk, 222
2. Ify Ibekwe, 166
3. Elizabeth Pickney, 147
4. Marte Alexander, 121
5. LaBrittney Jones, 106
6. Dana Patterson, 91
7. Anne McFadden, 87
 
Lock it Up
Arizona was solid on the defensive end last season as they generally didn't allow the opposing team easy buckets and forced them into bad three-point shooting percentages. In the 2015-16 season, opposing teams scored just 62.4 points per game and shot 32.6% from downtown. Both of those were in the top half of the Pac-12 last year. Against Alcorn State, the Wildcats allowed just 59 points and forced the Braves to shoot 29.5%. The Wildcats had a tough time on the defensive end in the first quarter against George Mason as the Patriots shot 73%, but then Arizona buckled down and forced them to shoot 33% for the rest of the game.
 
Depth Isn't Overrated
Last season, nine Wildcats averaged at least 15 minutes on the floor per game. What is the significance of that? Eight of those players are back for the 2016-17 season, so they know what to expect when it comes to college basketball. Against Alcorn State, six Wildcats played at least 16 minutes and four played at least 23 minutes.
 
2015-16 Minutes (min. 15.0 mpg)
1. LaBrittney Jones, 27.9
2. Malena Washington, 25.4
3. Breanna Workman, 24.5
4. JaLea Bennett, 20.9
5. Lauren Evans, 20.4
6. Taryn Griffey, 18.8
7. Dejza James, 18.1
8. Destiny Graham, 15.8
 
One Last Go Around
Of the 13 players on the roster, six of them are seniors, which is the most in the Pac-12 as no other team has more than four seniors on their roster. Those six seniors include LaBrittney Jones, Malena Washington, Breanna Workman, Lauren Evans, Dejza James and Farrin Bell. They have combined to play in 362 games.
 
Experience Pays Off
Although there is a brand new coaching staff in place, this team is generally made up of players who were a part of the 2015-16 campaign. 11 of the 13 current players on the roster are returning this year and have played in a combined 544 games. Only one other school has more than nine returners (Colorado returns 11).
 
Barnes is Back
Adia Barnes is back in Wildcat Country, and this time it's as the head coach of the University of Arizona. Barnes is known as one of, if not the best women's basketball player to come through Tucson. As a player, she is the program's leading scorer as she finished with 2,237 career points (18.5 ppg). She is also second all-time in career rebounds (921). During Barnes' freshman year in the 1994-95 season, the Cats finished with a record of 11-19. The next three years were a complete turnaround as the Wildcats won at least 22 games in each season and made a three-straight postseason appearances. Over those three years, Arizona was 68-23, which is still the best three-year stretch in Arizona history.