# 2022–23 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team

The 2022–23 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by seventh-year head coach Adia Barnes. This was the Wildcats' 49th season at the on-campus McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona and 44th season as a member of the Pac-12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2021–22 season with a record of 21–8, 10–6 in Pac-12 play. The Wildcats were invited to the 2022 NCAA tournament where they defeated UNLV in the first round before losing to North Carolina in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

Arizona Wildcats Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Sam Thomas | 14 | F | 6'0 | Graduate Student | Bloomfield Hills, MI | Completed college eligibility |
| Ariyah Copeland | 22 | F | 6'3 | Graduate Student | Columbus, GA | Completed college eligibility |
| Reference: |||||||

#### Outgoing Transfers

Arizona Outcoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | New School |
| Anna Gret Asi | 0 | G | 5'8 | Freshman | Tartu, Estonia | Transferred to Oklahoma State |
| Koi Love | 5 | F | 6'0 | Junior | Orlando, FL | Transferred to USC |
| Derin Erdogan | 10 | G | 5'6 | Sophomore | Istanbul, Turkey | Transferred to Northeastern |
| Aaronette Vonleh | 21 | C | 6'3 | Freshman | West Linn, OR | Transferred to Colorado |
| Gisela Sanchez | 30 | F | 6'3 | Freshman | Barcelona, Spain | Transferred to Kansas State |
| Semaj Smith | 34 | C | 6'6 | Senior | Long Beach, CA | Transferred to San Jose State |
| Bendu Yeaney | 23 | G | 5'10 | Senior | Portland, OR | Transferred to Oregon State |
| Taylor Chavez | 3 | G | 5'10 | Senior | Surprise, AZ | TBD |
| Reference: |||||||||

### Acquisitions
#### Incoming Transfers

Arizona Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School | Years Remaining |
| Lauren Fields | 23 | G | 5'9 | Junior | Shawnee, OK | Oklahoma State | 1 |
| Esmery Martínez | 12 | F | 6'2 | Junior | Hato Mayor del Ray, DR | West Virginia | 1 |
| Jade Loville | 30 | F/G | 5'11 | Graduate Student | Scottsdale, AZ | Arizona State | 1 |
| Reference: |||||||||||

#### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Maya Nnaji F | Lakeville, MN | Hopkins High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | N/A | May 10, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Paris Clark G | Mount Vernon, NY | Long Island Lutheran High School | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A | Dec 13, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Kailyn Gilbert G | Tampa, FL | Seffner Christian Academy | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A | Jan 6, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 95 ||||||
| Lemyah Hylton G | London, ON | Southwest Academy Girls Prep | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A | Oct 16, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 13, 2021. ||||||

#### 2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Breya Cunningham POST | Chula Vista, CA | La Jolla Country Day School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | N/A | Jun 26, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 |||||||
| Montaya Dew F | Las Vegas, NV | Centennial High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A | Dec 23, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 |||||||
| Jada Williams PG | Kansas City, MO | La Jolla Country Day School (CA) | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | N/A | Aug 1, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 1, 2022. |||||||

## Preseason
### Preseason rankings

Pac-12 media poll (Coaches) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Stanford | 121 (11) |
| 2 | Oregon | 101 |
| 3 | Arizona | 100 |
| 4 | UCLA | 91 |
| 5 | Utah | 84 (1) |
| 6 | Oregon State | 62 |
| 7 | Washington State | 61 |
| 8 | Colorado | 55 |
| 9 | USC | 50 |
| 10 | Washington | 28 |
| 11 | California | 21 |
| 12 | Arizona State | 18 |
Source:

### Preseason All-conference teams

Source:

### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Ann Meyers Drysdale Award | Jade Loville | SG | GS |
| Katrina McClain Award | Cate Reese | PF | GS |
| Katrina McClain Award | Esmery Martínez | PF | Sr. |
| Naismith Trophy | Jade Loville | SG | GS |
| Naismith Trophy | Cate Reese | PF | GS |
| Wooden Award | Cate Reese | PF | GS |

## Roster

Source:
* Notes
** Junior Lauren Ware to miss 22–23 season with a knee injury.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | No. 19 | West Texas A&M | W 86–63 | —- | 20 – Loville | 12 – Martinez | 6 – Pellington | McKale Center (2,763) Tucson, AZ |
| November 2, 2022* 6:00 p.m. | No. 19 | Cal State Los Angeles | W 104–46 | | 26 – Lovelle | 12 – Martinez | 7 – Pueyo | McKale Center (6,430) Tucson, AZ |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2022* 6:30 pm | No. 19 | Northern Arizona | W 113–56 | 1–0 | 20 – Martinez | 15 – Martinez | 7 – Pellington | McKale Center (6,809) Tucson, AZ |
| November 13, 2022* 5:00 pm | No. 19 | Cal State Northridge | W 87–47 | 2–0 | 16 – Gilbert | 5 – Martinez | 3 – Pueyo | McKale Center (6,653) Tucson, AZ |
| November 18, 2022* 6:30 pm | No. 18 | Loyola Marymount | W 87–51 | 3–0 | 19 – Pellington | 11 – Martinez | 4 – Tied | McKale Center (7,206) Tucson, AZ |
| November 20, 2022* 2:00 pm | No. 18 | Long Beach State | W 86–64 | 4–0 | 19 – Martinez | 9 – Tied | 4 – Tied | McKale Center (6,898) Tucson, AZ |
| November 25, 2022* 5:00 pm | No. 15 | vs. Cal Baptist USD Thanksgiving Classic | W 81–63 | 5–0 | 25 – Gilbert | 10 – Martinez | 3 – Tied | Jenny Craig Pavilion (149) San Diego, CA |
| November 26, 2022* 5:00 pm | No. 15 | at San Diego USD Thanksgiving Classic | W 86–60 | 6–0 | 22 – Pueyo | 9 – Martinez | 4 – Pueyo | Jenny Craig Pavilion San Diego, CA |
| December 4, 2022* 1:00 p.m. | No. 14 | at New Mexico | W 77–60 | 7–0 | 27 – Loville | 8 – Martinez | 9 – Pueyo | The Pit (6,087) Albuquerque, NM |
| December 8, 2022* 6:30 p.m., P12N | No. 12 | Kansas | L 50–77 | 7–1 | 14 – Reese | 8 – Reese | 2 – Tied | McKale Center (7,381) Tucson, AZ |
| December 14, 2022* 6:30 p.m., P12N | No. 20 | Texas Southern Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series | W 89–55 | 8–1 | 20 – Reese | 12 – Martinez | 4 – Pueyo | McKale Center (6,577) Tucson, AZ |
| December 18, 2022* 5:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 20 | vs. No. 18 Baylor Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge | W 75–54 | 9–1 | 18 – Pellington | 15 – Martinez | 8 – Pellington | American Airlines Center Dallas, TX |
| December 21, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 18 | at UT Arlington | W 78–59 | 10–1 | 13 – Martinez | 9 – Tied | 4 – Gilbert | College Park Center (1,109) Arlington, TX |
| Pac-12 regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2022 6:00 p.m., P12N | No. 18 | Arizona State | W 84–66 | 11–1 (1–0) | 21 – Martinez | 10 – Martinez | 4 – Tied | McKale Center (9,495) Tucson, AZ |
| December 31, 2022 8:00 p.m., P12N | No. 18 | at California | W 63–56 | 12–1 (2-0) | 14 – Reese | 7 – Reese | 4 – Pellington | Haas Pavilion (605) Berkeley, CA |
| January 2, 2023 12:30 p.m., P12N | No. 15 | at No. 2 Stanford | L 57–73 | 12–2 (2–1) | 12 – Loville | 7 – Pueyo | 3 – Pellington | Maples Pavilion (3,824) Stanford, CA |
| January 6, 2023 8:00 p.m., P12N | No. 15 | Oregon State | W 72–69 | 13–2 (3–1) | 16 – Reese | 8 – Martinez | 6 – Tied | McKale Center (7,182) Tucson, AZ |
| January 8, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 15 | No. 18 Oregon | W 79–71 | 14–2 (4–1) | 16 – Conner | 6 – Tied | 6 – Pellington | McKale Center (7,963) Tucson, AZ |
| January 13, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | No. 14 | at Colorado | L 65–72 | 14–3 (4–2) | 14 – Reese | 9 – Reese | 3 – Tied | CU Events Center (1,974) Boulder, CO |
| January 15, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | No. 14 | at No. 10 Utah | L 79–80 | 14–4 (4–3) | 25 – Reese | 10 – Reese | 4 – Fields | Jon M. Huntsman Center (2,915) Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 22, 2023 3:00 p.m., P12N | No. 19 | at Arizona State | W 80–67 | 15–4 (5–3) | 16 – Conner | 15 – Martinez | 4 – Pueyo | Desert Financial Arena (3,508) Tempe, AZ |
| January 27, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | No. 19 | Washington | W 61–54 | 16–4 (6–3) | 15 – Reese | 12 – Martinez | 5 – Pellington | McKale Center (7,884) Tucson, AZ |
| January 29, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | No. 19 | Washington State | L 59–70 | 16–5 (6–4) | 14 – Martinez | 7 – Reese | 4 – Pueyo | McKale Center (7,494) Tucson, AZ |
| February 3, 2023 9:00 p.m., P12N | No. 22 | at No. 14 UCLA | W 71–66 $^{OT}$ | 17–5 (7–4) | 21 – Pellington | 13 – Martinez | 3 – Tied | Pauley Pavilion (3,482) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 5, 2023 1:00 p.m., P12N | No. 22 | at USC | W 81–75 $^{2OT}$ | 18–5 (8–4) | 33 – Reese | 8 – Tied | 7 – Pellington | Galen Center (1,356) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 9, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 17 | No. 6 Stanford | L 60–84 | 18–6 (8–5) | 10 – Tied | 6 – Martinez | 4 – Clark | McKale Center (9,868) Tucson, AZ |
| February 12, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | No. 17 | California | W 80–57 | 19–6 (9–5) | 24 – Pellington | 15 – Martinez | 7 – Martinez | McKale Center (7,268) Tucson, AZ |
| February 17, 2023 7:00 p.m., P12N | No. 18 | No. 4 Utah | W 82–72 | 20–6 (10–5) | 35 – Pellington | 8 – Pellington | 2 – Tied | McKale Center (8,238) Tucson, AZ |
| February 19, 2023 12:00 p.m., P12N | No. 18 | No. 21 Colorado | W 61–42 | 21–6 (11–5) | 19 – Pellington | 7 – Martinez | 5 – Pellington | McKale Center (8,267) Tucson, AZ |
| February 23, 2023 8:00 p.m., P12N | No. 14 | at Oregon | L 59–73 | 21–7 (11–6) | 19 – Reese | 10 – Clark | 2 – Tied | Matthew Knight Arena (6,173) Eugene, OR |
| February 25, 2023 1:00 p.m., P12N | No. 14 | at Oregon State | L 70–78 | 21–8 (11–7) | 16 – Martinez | 8 – Martinez | 7 – Pellington | Gill Coliseum (4,357) Corvallis, OR |
| Pac-12 Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 2, 2023 1:00 p.m., P12N | (4) No. 21 | vs. (5) No. 19 UCLA Quarterfinals | L 59–73 | 21–9 | 10 – Tied | 9 – Reese | 3 – Tied | Michelob Ultra Arena (4,245) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 2023 9:00 a.m., ESPN | (7 G1) No. 25 | vs. (10 G1) West Virginia First round | W 75–62 | 22–9 | 25 – Reese | 12 – Martinez | 4 – Pellington | Xfinity Center College Park, MD |
| March 19, 2023* 2:30 p.m., ESPN | (7 G1) No. 25 | at (2 G1) No. 7 Maryland Second round | L 64–77 | 22–10 | 19 – Reese | 13 – Martinez | 3 – Martinez | Xfinity Center (6,622) College Park, MD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. G1=Greenville 1. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||
Source:

## Awards and honors

Weekly honors :
| Recipient (Position) | Award (Pac-12 Conference) | Stats (PPG/RPG/APG) | Week | Date Awarded | Ref. |
| Kaitlyn Gilbert (G) | Freshman Player of the Week | 17.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG | Week 4 | November 28, 2022 | |

### Postseason

Conference honors :
| Recipient (Position) | Award (Pac-12 Conference) | Stats (PPG/RPG/APG) |
| Shaina Pellington (G) | Co-Most Improved Player Of The Year | 13.4 PPG/3.1 RPG/3.7 APG/1.9 SPG |
| Shaina Pellington (G) | All Pac-12 First Team | 13.4 PPG/3.1 RPG/3.7 APG/1.9 SPG |
| Shaina Pellington (G) | All Pac-12 Defensive Team | 13.4 PPG/3.1 RPG/3.7 APG/1.9 SPG |
| Cate Reese (F) | All Pac-12 First Team | 23.8 PPG/5.8 RPG/1.0 APG |
| Helena Pueyo (G) | All Pac-12 Defensive Team | 5.6 PPG/3.0 RPG/2.3 SPG |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 19 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 21 | 24 | 25 | Not released |
| Coaches | 19 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 14 | 20 | 22 | 23 | RV |

## Media coverage
### Radio

* ESPN Tucson - 1490 AM & 104.09 FM (ESPN Radio) and Nationwide - Dish Network, Sirius XM, Varsity Network and iHeartRadio)
* KCUB 1290 AM – Football Radio Show – (Tucson, AZ)
* KHYT – 107.5 FM (Tucson, AZ)
* KTKT 990 AM – La Hora de Los Gatos (Spanish) – (Tucson, AZ)
* KGME 910 AM – (IMG Sports Network) – (Phoenix, AZ)
* KTAN 1420 AM – (Sierra Vista, AZ)
* KDAP 96.5 FM (Douglas, Arizona)
* KWRQ 102.3 FM – (Safford, AZ/Thatcher, AZ)
* KIKO 1340 AM – (Globe, AZ)
* KVWM 970 AM – (Show Low, AZ/Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ)
* XENY 760 – (Nogales, Sonora) (Spanish)
* KTZR (1450 AM) - (FoxSports 1450) - (Tucson, AZ)

### TV

* CBS Family – KOLD (CBS), CBSN
* ABC/ESPN Family – KGUN (ABC), ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+,
* FOX Family – KMSB (FOX), FOX/FS1, FSN
* Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Arizona)
* NBC Family – KVOA, NBC Sports, NBCSN
* PBS - KUAT
* Univision - KUVE (Spanish)
* Telemundo - KHRR (Spanish)