TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats (2-5) will venture to Flagstaff, Ariz. tomorrow evening for a matchup versus Northern Arizona (2-4) on Thursday night at the Joseph C. Rolle Center at 6:30 p.m. MST. The game will be aired live on Fox Sports Arizona Plus and Fox College Sports Pacific
 
Thursday, Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Arizona Plus/Fox College Sports Pacific
DirecTV: CH 696-2
Dish: CH 443 (SD) or CH 9581 (HD)
Dish Hopper: CH 412-31
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt
 
QUICK NOTES

• Arizona is looking to get off the schneid on Thursday after five-straight losses, with the last coming to San Diego State on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats and the Lumberjacks are facing off against each other for the 37th time in history and the first since 2010.
   
• Jalea Bennett is on a roll in the last two weeks as she has averaged 18.8 points per game in her last five contests and 21.7 points over her last three after scoring over 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. On the season, Bennett averages a team-high 15.9 points, which would be a huge career high for the senior. She scored a career-high 24 points on Nov. 28 against Long Beach State and followed that up with 23 against San Diego State on Dec. 3.
   
• Marlee Kyles has been a scoring fiend off the bench this year as she scores 11.9 points per game (second on the team) in 24.3 minutes per game. The freshman has games of 17, 18 and 19 points this season with her career-high coming against San Diego State on Dec. 3.
   
• Sam Thomas and Kyles are the first pair freshmen to have both scored at least 19 points in one game in the first six games of the season since 2001 when Dee-Dee Wheeler and Robin Roberson did it.

Last Five vs. NAU
11/15/10: at UA 71, NAU 49
12/6/07: at UA 75, NAU 54
11/22/03: at UA 89, NAU 67
12/1/97: UA 89, at NAU 66
12/13/96: at UA 86, NAU 54
 
Scouting the Lumberjacks
Arizona has won eight straight and 11 of the last 12 matchups versus Northern Arizona, with the last loss coming on Dec. 9, 1988. In their eight-game winning streak, the Wildcats have an average margin of victory of 21.6 points. NAU is led by the trio of Olivia Lucero, Kenna McDavis and Kaleigh Paplow. Lucero leads the team with 18.5 points per game, McDavis averages a double-double with an impressive 17.2 points and 11.2 rebounds with three made three-pointers per game and Paplow chips in 14.2 points per game. The Lumberjacks won two-straight after dropping the first three games of the season, but lost at Denver on Sunday by a score of 80-73.
 
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 in the past two as she averages 18.8 points per game in her last five contests and 21.7 over her last three. Bennett did something last week she has never done before, and that is score at least 20 points in back-to-back games. Against Long Beach State, she poured in a career-high 24 points and followed that up with 23 against San Diego State. She has scored in double-figures in six of Arizona's seven games, which leads the team. After leading the Wildcats in scoring in four of the last five games, Bennett is now tied for sixth in scoring in the Pac-12.
 
Thomas Does It All
Freshman forward Sam Thomas has been Arizona's version of Draymond Green through the first three games of her collegiate career as she has averaged 10 points, eight rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while being off the floor for just 18 minutes this season. While being fifth in the nation among freshman in blocks per game, Thomas is third in the Pac-12 and first among freshmen in blocks, sixth in the Pac-12 and first among all freshmen in rebounding while ranking fifth in offensive rebounds per game (2.9) and is sixth in the Pac-12 and first among freshmen in steals. The freshman is also second in the Pac-12 in minutes per game (37.4) just behind Lucia Alonso. Thomas had a monster game against TCU (11/24) as she scored 20 points on 7-10 shooting with seven rebounds and two blocks and recorded 11 rebounds against Long Beach State (11/28). She is the first freshman since Taryn Griffey to score 20 points in a game and is the first freshman to have two double-figure rebounding games in the first six games of the season since Erica Barnes in 2010. Additionally, 11 rebounds are the most for a freshman since LaBrittney Jones had 11 in a game back in 2014.
 
It's Her Destiny
Destiny Graham has stepped up her game so far in 2017. She is third on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game to go along with 5.7 rebounds per game, which is second on the team. 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 22-26 (85%) from the charity stripe, which is third 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 after dropping 14 against San Diego State (12/3).
 
Marlee Gets Buckets
Freshman Marlee Kyles is Arizona's second leading scorer through the first seven games of the season by averaging 11.9 points per game off the bench while playing 24.3 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). Although she struggled to score against San Diego State, Kyles did pitch in a career-high six rebounds. 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 good from beyond the arc as she is shooting a team-high 45%, which is first in the Pac-12. Additionally, Alonso is fifth in steals (2.4) and first in minutes per game (37.6). Against Utah State (11/17), she tied her career highs with 15 points, four made three-pointers and four steals and followed that up with 13 points and three made threes. Against Long Beach State, she hit double-figures for the third time this season with 11 points and dished out a season-high five assists. The sophomore was held scoreless against San Diego State (12/3), but she did dish out seven assists. In her last two games, Alonso has an assist/turnover ratio of 12/3.
 
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 has made at least one three-pointer in each game this season and ranks 10th in made triples per game in the Pac-12 (1.9).
 
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 77% clip, which is second in the Pac-12. Last season, the Wildcats shot 70% from the charity stripe. Destiny Graham ranks third in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage (85%).
 
Barnes' Numbers vs. NAU as a Player
Against NAU, Barnes averaged 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds over two games in 1996 & 1997. On Dec. 13, 1996, she scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out four assists in an 86-54 victory.
 
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