TUCSON, Ariz. – Coming off a pair of dominating wins in Hawaii, the Arizona Wildcats (3-1) will now host the South Carolina State Bulldogs on Friday, Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. MST in McKale Center. The game will be live streamed on ArizonaWildcats.com and can be heard on 1400 AM with Derrick Palmer on the call. Former Wildcat Ify Ibekwe will be inducted into the Arizona Ring of Honor during Friday's game.
 
Friday, Nov. 23 vs. South Carolina State at 6:30 p.m. MST
Live Stream: Arizona Wildcats.com
Radio: 1400 AM (Derrick Palmer)
Twitter: @ArizonaWBB
#MadeForIt
 
FROM THE TIP

• After winning a pair of games in Honolulu last weekend, the Wildcats are back in Tucson to face South Carolina State the day after Turkey Day. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. MST.
   
• Aari McDonald, who is the NCAA's leading scorer in the nation at 29.5 ppg, tied the single-game school record on Nov. 13 scoring a career-high 39 points in just her second game at Arizona. She tied Davellyn Whyte, who scored 39 against Oregon on Jan. 16, 2010.
   
• Cate Reese has scored the most points as a freshman in her first four games since Shawntinice Polk averaged 18.3 ppg in her first four contests back in 2002. Her 16.3 points per game lead all Pac-12 freshmen.
   
• McDonald is off to the best scoring start in school history with 118 total points through four games and was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday. She is Arizona's first Pac-12 Player of the Week since Mar. 3, 2015 when Candice Warthen won the award.

Series vs. South Carolina State
First Meeting
 
Scouting the Bulldogs
South Carolina State is coming off a 57-48 win agaisnt Presbyterian College on Tuesday and are now 2-3 on the season. First-year head coach Audra Smith and the Lady Bulldogs were selected 11th in the MEAC Preseason Poll.  Smith returns seven veterans and welcomes six newcomers to her squad this season.
 
Aar it Out
After all the anticipation, redshirt sophomore guard Aari McDonald is finally eligible to put on the block A and represent the Wildcats on the court after transferring from Washington back in 2017. She has stormed onto the scene just four games into her Arizona career, tying the single-game record with 39 points against Loyola Marymount (11/13) and is currently the NCAA's leading scorer in the nation at 29.5 points per game. She also broke both free throw records against LMU, going 20-23 from the charity stripe. Her 118 total points is the most any Arizona player has scored in the first four games of the season. During her freshman season in 2016-17, McDonald was named Pac-12 All-Freshman after averaging just under 10 points per game while shooting 47% from the field in 24.1 minutes per game. She started in 21 games for the Huskies, who would advance to the Sweet 16.
 
McDonald Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
Aari McDonald was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 32 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 assists and 2.7 three-pointers per game on 56% shooting from the field over three games last week. In two games in Honolulu, she averaged 28.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 3.5 three-pointers per game on 64% shooting from the field and was named the Bank of Hawaii Classic MVP. She had her second 30-point game of the season on Sunday vs. Portland after scoring 32 points with a career-high five made three-pointers and a career-high seven assists.
 
Reese's Buckets
Cate Reese entered the season with lofty expectations, and she surely lived up to those expectations in the first few games. The freshman became the first Wildcat since Shawntinice Polk in 2002 to record a double-double in her collegiate debut and became the first freshman to score at least 20 in her first career game since Davellyn Whyte in 2008 after scoring 21 points and bringing down 10 rebounds in the opener on Nov. 9 against Idaho State. Through four games, Reese averages 16.3 points per game, which is the most an Arizona freshman has averaged through the first four games of their career since Polk averaged 18.3 points per game in her first four contests in 2002. Reese was named to the Bank of Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 18 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two wins. As a senior at Cypress Woods High School, Reese averaged 30.6 points and 15.3 rebounds per game and was also named an honorable mention All-American by the Naismith Trophy.
 
Sam I Am
Sam Thomas had a typical Sam Thomas game in the opener, scoring 15 points, bringing down nine rebounds and swiping four steals. She also showed improvement from three as well, knocking down three of her four attempts. Last year, Thomas was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team after leading all Pac-12 freshmen in rebounding (7 rpg), steals (1.5 spg), blocks (1.3 bpg) and minutes (36.3 mpg), making her the first Wildcat to be named First Team All-Freshman since Davellyn Whyte in the 2009-10 season. She also finished third in scoring (10.2 ppg) and third in three-point percentage (37%). Thomas led the Wildcats in field goal percentage, rebounds, blocks and steals. The sophomore scored in double-figures in 17 games last season, including a career-high 22 points to go along with a career-high five three-pointers against USC on Feb. 11. Her 209 total rebounds was the fourth-most among Arizona freshman and finished scoring the 10th-most points any freshman has scored in Arizona history.
 
It's Her Destiny
Destiny Graham is the lone four-year senior on the team who started her career at Arizona. Not only that, she is the only player on the roster who played for former head coach Niya Butts. She didn't miss a shot from the field against Seattle, shooting 4-4 for 10 points off the bench. Graham is poised for a big senior year after having a career year in 2017-18, averaging career highs in both points (8.1 ppg) and rebounds (6.4 rpg). Graham was the first off the bench in the opener and played 24 minutes while grabbing six boards.
 
Buenos Dias, Lucia
Junior guard Lucia Alonso returns to the court for year three with a ton of experience, playing 1,088 minutes last season to go along with 887 minutes the year before. The only player in Arizona history that played more minutes in their first two years was Arizona Ring of Honor inductee Davellyn Whyte, who played 2,095 in her first two seasons. The junior Spaniard tied her career-high with nine assists against Seattle with just one turnover. Last year, Alonso finished the season third in minutes per game (36.3), 10th in three-point percentage (39.1%) and 14th in the Pac-12 in assists per game (3.1). Known as a knockdown three-point shooter, Alonso has the second-highest career three-point percentage in school history (39.2%).
 
Old Man Dominique
Ask anyone to characterize redshirt junior Dominique McBryde's game and they will all say "old man game." McBryde, who transferred from Purdue after the 2016-17 season is poised to have a big year for the Wildcats after sitting out the 2017-18 season. While at Purdue, McBryde was named honorable mention All-Big-Ten in 2017, averaging 6.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while making 25 starts.
 
Ify Ibekwe to be Inducted into the Arizona Ring of Honor
Ify Ibekwe will go down as one of the best players in school history, and on Friday, November 23rd, she will forever be enshrined in McKale Center as her name will be hung from a banner in the Arizona Ring of Honor during the game against South Carolina State. She will find her name next to the likes of Davellyn Whyte, Dee Dee Wheeler, Shawntinice Polk and current head basketball coach Adia Barnes. After four seasons in Tucson, Ibekwe is now the all-time leader in rebounds (1,194) and double-doubles (55), and is also second in blocks (166), fourth in points (1,653 points) and fifth in steals (228). She has three of the top five rebounding totals in a single season, including the top spot, and has the second and third spot in double-doubles. She left as a two-time All-American, a three-time All-Pac-10 honoree, a Pac-10 All-Freshman honoree and was the 2011 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Cats Dominate the Bank of Hawaii Classic
Arizona took the long flight to Honolulu for the Bank of Hawaii Classic on Nov. 16 and 18 against Seattle U and Portland, and came home with two convincing wins. In the two games, Arizona won by a combined 52 points and shot a combined 51.2% from the field while averaging 88 points per game. Aari McDonald and Cate Reese were named to the Bank of Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team, with McDonald being named the MVP.
 
It's Been a While
In just the first game of the season, Arizona reached a few marks that have not been seen with regularity. The Wildcats grabbed 45 rebounds against Idaho State, something Arizona had not done since Dec. 7, 2016. They also had two players with double-doubles (McDonald & Reese), which hasn't happened since Feb. 26, 2017 when Dejza James and Breanna Workman each posted a double-double against USC. Against Seattle, Arizona scored 84 points for the first time since Feb. 10, 2013 at California. Additionally, in the two games in Hawaii, the Wildcats shot over 50% in both games, making it the first time Arizona has shot over 50% in back-to-back games since December 2016 when the Wildcats shot exactly 50% against San Diego and Grambling State.
 
Bringing Energy off the Bench
Destiny Graham and Tee Tee Starks were the first two Wildcats off the bench in the opener against Idaho State and they made sure that Arizona's level of play did not drop. In fact, when Graham and Starks played with Aari McDonald, Lucia Alonso and Cate Reese, Arizona outscored Idaho State 17-1, the largest score differential of any lineup Arizona.
 
An Upward Trend
Destiny Graham and Lucia Alonso are Arizona's two longest tenured players. Graham is Arizona's lone four-year senior and Alonso is entering her third season as a Wildcat. During their time here, both have upped their scoring numbers from the prior year, with Graham more than doubling her points per game average.
 
Graham
2015-16: 3.3 ppg
2016-17: 3.8 ppg
2017-18: 8.1 ppg
 
Alonso
2016-17: 5.3 ppg
2017-18: 7.9 ppg
 
Top Class in Arizona History
Adia Barnes and her coaching staff finally get to coach the four freshmen that make up the No. 5 recruiting class in the country by ProspectsNation.com. The top class in the Pac-12 consists of McDonald's All-American Cate Reese, Bryce Nixon, Shalyse Smith and Semaj Smith. All four are expected to see the floor this season and make an impact on the 2018-19 Wildcats.
 
An Exceptional Trio of Transfers
It had been over a year since either Dominique McBryde, Aarion McDonald or Tee Tee Starks played in a game after transferring from their respective schools, but now they are eligible to play and are ready to make an immediate impact. Before they came to Arizona, the trio played in a combined 135 games, made 66 starts, scored 868 points and played in seven NCAA Tournament games.
 
An Additional Hurdle for Reese
Freshman Cate Reese is getting a ton of attention for being Arizona's first McDonald's All-American in school history. But her journey to becoming a McDonald's All-American and a Naismith Trophy honorable mention All-American hasn't been the easiest of tasks as she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, the same disease that her sister Ali has dealt with, on April 4, 2016.
 
No Longer a Walk-On
After two years of trying out to make the team, Lindsey Malecha finally earned a walk-on spot on the team before the 2017-18 season and found herself on the court a decent amount last season. She scored a total of 31 points in 118 minutes and played in 23 of Arizona's 30 games. On July 20, 2018, Malecha was awarded a scholarship and the video of Adia Barnes presenting her with the scholarship went viral. Barnes consistently sings the praises for Malecha's perennial hard work and good leadership. Not only does she work her tail off on the court, she is also a 4.0 Pre-Med student studying Biology with the goal of becoming a surgeon one day.
 
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