TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona women's basketball team (3-7) has one final non-conference game of the season against Southern Utah, which is set to tip-off on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. MST in McKale Center. Both teams are coming off a loss and will look to get back on track heading into the holidays.
 
Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. MST
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt
 
QUICK NOTES

• Arizona is coming off a tough loss on Sunday at the hands of Hawaii by a score of 65-60. The Rainbow Wahine went on a big 19-2 run to end the game to come away with a victory.

• Jalea Bennett has been a scoring machine for Arizona as she averages a team-high 16.2 points per game. Over her last five games, the senior is scoring 19.6 points per game and grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game.

• Sam Thomas recorded the first double-double for any Wildcat this season with 13 points and 10 rebounds against NAU (12/7). She is the first freshman since LaBrittney Jones to record a double-double. Against Hawaii, she was one rebound away as she scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The freshman also hit a half-court buzzer beater heading into overtime against Hawaii.

• Lucia Alonso had her best scoring game of her career against Hawaii as she dropped a career-high 21 points on 8-17 shooting and 3-6 from downtown. That is her first career 20-point effort of her young career.

• Arizona's 39-point win against New Mexico State last Thursday is the largest since the 2011-12 season when they beat Washington State by 39.

History vs. Southern Utah
11/26/16: UA 77, at SUU 65
12/13/95: at UA 83, SUU 68
 
Scouting the Thunderbirds
Southern Utah comes in with a record of 1-9 and are currently on a six-game slide, with the latest loss coming at the hands of Grand Canyon on Dec. 18. Whitney Johnson is Southern Utah's lone double-figure scorer as she averages 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. Arizona and Southern Utah have played two previous times, with the last coming last year in Cedar City. The Wildcats came out victorious as JaLea Bennett scored a then career-high 21 points off the bench. Malena Washington chipped in 14 points and LaBrittney Jones had 13.
 
We See Ya JaLea
JaLea Bennett is one of the two seniors on the team (Kat Wright) and will be looked upon as a leader for the young group of Wildcats this year. Along with Destiny Graham, they are the two remaining student-athletes that played for former head coach Niya Butts. Bennett has turned up the scoring this year as she averages 16.2 points per game, which would be a huge career-high should she maintain and is currently sixth in the Pac-12. Davellyn Whyte was the last player to average at least 16 points per game for a season when she scored 16.8 back in the 2012-13 season. The senior has scored in double-figures nine times this season and eight-straight, which are both career-highs, scoring 12 against Hawaii on Sunday. Over the last five games, Bennett averages 19.6 points and just under six rebounds.
 
Thomas Does It All
Through the first 10 games of her career, Sam Thomas has been rather impressive on the floor. All while playing a team-high 36.7 minutes per game, she averages 9.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.8 steals. After recording the first double-double of the season for any Wildcat against NAU (12/7), she became the first freshman since LaBrittney Jones (2014) to finish the game with a double-double. She is also the first freshman and player since Erica Barnes (2011) to have three double-figure rebounding games in the first eight games of the season. In the Pac-12, Thomas is fifth in rebounding, third in blocked shots, fifth in offensive rebounding and second in minutes played. Except for offensive rebounding where she is second among all freshmen, she is the top freshmen in the categories mentioned in the previous sentence. Additionally, Thomas is fifth in the country among all freshmen in blocks per game. The freshman is on track to break a few freshman records, and below is a look at where Arizona's top freshmen stood through the first 10 games of the season.
 
Blocks
Shawntinice Polk (2002-03) – 24
Sam Thomas (2017-18) – 21
LaBrittney Jones (2013-14) – 19
 
Minutes
Sam Thomas (2017-18) – 367
Reiko Thomas (2008-09) – 360
Lucia Alonso (2016-17) – 339
Davellyn Whyte (2009-10) – 310
 
It's Her Destiny
Destiny Graham has stepped up her game so far in 2017. She is scoring 9.1 points per game to go along with 5.7 rebounds per game, which is second on the team and are both career highs. Graham scored a career-high 17 points against CSUN (11/25) and tied her career-high with 11 rebounds against TCU (11/24). The junior has done a good job of getting to the line and making her free throws as she is 28-34 (82%) from the charity stripe, which is second in the Pac-12. Coming into the 2017 season, Graham had scored in double-figures just three times and has already scored in double-figures four times this season.
 
Marlee Gets Buckets
Freshman Marlee Kyles is Arizona's second leading scorer through the first 10 games of the season by averaging 10.7 points per game off the bench while playing 24.6 minutes per game, which is the sixth-fewest on the team. She scored 17 in the season opener against Iona (11/10), had 18 against Loyola Marymount (11/22) and had a career-high 19 against Long Beach State (11/28). Kyles is third amongst all freshmen in scoring in the Pac-12.
 
Buenos Dias, Lucia
It's hard to believe, but Lucia Alonso is already the third-longest tenured Wildcat on the 2017-18 roster as a sophomore. Alosno has been outstanding from beyond the arc as she is shooting a team-high 50% (17-34), which is fourth in the Pac-12. Additionally, Alonso is fifth in steals (2.1) and third in minutes per game (36.0). Against Hawaii (12/17), Alonso had a terrific game with a career-high 21 points on 8-17 shooting and 3-6 from beyond the arc. In her last five games, Alonso has an assist/turnover ratio of 22/6.
 
Sammy Gets Her Chance
Coming into the San Diego State game (12/3), Sammy Fatkin hadn't played more than eight minutes in a game and hadn't scored since the Utah State game (11/17). However, against the Aztecs, she played 18 minutes and scored 11 points with three made three-pointers.
 
Your Newest WildKAT
After visiting campus this past April, Kat Wright decided to finish out her college career at the University of Arizona. A transfer from Florida Atlantic University, Wright has 158 career made three-pointers, which would be sixth all-time in Arizona history. Wright was forced to sit out the 2016-17 season due to injury, but during her junior year in 2015-16, Wright lit it up as she made 87 trey balls on 40% shooting while scoring 11.7 points per game. To put that into perspective, only one Wildcat has made more than 82 three-pointers in one season, and that was Lisa Griffith wo made 92 in the 1996-97 season. The highlight of her career came on Jan. 30, 2016 when she drained 11 three-pointers against Charlotte, which is the second-most made three-pointers in NCAA history in a single game. Wright ranks 10th in made triples per game in the Pac-12 (1.8).
 
Barnes' Numbers vs. Southern Utah as a Player
Head coach Adia Barnes faced Southern Utah one time as a player during her freshman season and scored two points, grabbed three rebounds and had three steals.
 
They're Called Free Throws for a Reason
Arizona has done a good job of converting their free throws this season as they are shooting at an 75% clip, which is third in the Pac-12. Destiny Graham ranks second in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (82%).
 
A Scoring Barrage
Arizona scored 83 points on Dec. 14 against New Mexico State. The last time the Wildcats scored 80+ points in a game was on Jan. 8, 2017 vs. Utah when Arizona had 81. 83 points is also the most points scored in a game for Arizona since Jan. 13, 2013 when the Wildcats hit 100 vs. Oregon. The 39-point victory is Arizona's largest win since Feb. 16, 2012 when they beat Washington State by 39.
 
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