Arizona Wildcats women's basketball

Last updated
Arizona Wildcats women's basketball
Basketball current event.svg 2024–25 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team
Arizona Wildcats logo.svg
University University of Arizona
First season1972;52 years ago (1972)
Head coach Adia Barnes (9th season)
Conference Big 12
Location Tucson, Arizona
Arena McKale Center
(capacity: 14,545)
Nickname Wildcats
ColorsCardinal and navy [1]
   
Uniforms
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Home
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Away


NCAA tournament runner-up
2021
NCAA tournament Final Four
2021
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
2021
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1998, 2021
NCAA tournament round of 32
1997, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2021, 2022, 2023
NCAA tournament appearances
1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

The Arizona Wildcats women's basketball program is the official women's basketball program at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. Basketball is one of eleven women's sports at the University of Arizona. The team is a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big 12 athletic conference. The team's home venue is the McKale Center, which seats 14,545 fans. The official team colors are cardinal red and navy blue. The Wildcats have qualified for eight NCAA Tournaments. On August 4, 2023, Arizona announced it would join the Big 12 Conference along with Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah beginning in the 2024-25 academic year. [2]

Contents

For most of its history, the women’s basketball program has been playing in the shadow of its men’s counterpart, leading to many losing seasons. However, in recent years, the women’s team has been improving their success in winning, mostly due to coaching regime and talent, and captured the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) championship in 2019. They made the Final Four for the first time in 2021 and defeated UConn to qualify for the National Championship game. They would lose to Stanford in the National Championship.

Program history

Female students at the University of Arizona first requested a women's basketball team in 1912, but were denied. Women played "inter-class" games for the first time in 1921. The juniors won. The following year, the school organized games with players from sororities and dormitories. Intercollegiate competition began in 1923, and a "Varsity" team played Arizona State University. This system persisted until 1971, when the UA joined the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) as a charter member.

The team was a member of the Intermountain Conference. [3] The University of Arizona Athletic Department cites the first official season of women's basketball at the University of Arizona as the 1972–73 season, following the Title IX federal legislation that requires state-supported institutions to offer equal opportunity to men's and women's programs. The team finished their first season with a winning 8–4 record. In 1979, the University of Arizona, along with Arizona State University and five schools in southern California joined to form the Western Collegiate Athletic Association.

The team became a member of the NCAA in 1981, when the NCAA absorbed the AIAW. In 1985, the school joined the Pacific-West Conference, which became the Pac-10 the following season and the Pac-12 in 2011. [4] As of the outset of the 2015–16 season, the all-time team record was 537–642. The Wildcats were runners-up at the Pac-10 Conference championship tournament in 2003 and 2004, marking their most successful conference finishes. The team made appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2021 and in the Women's National Invitational Tournament in 1996, 2001, 2011, and 2019, while winning it all in 1996 and 2019. [5]

In 2021, the team beat UConn in the Final Four of the NCAA Women’s Basketball championship. They lost the championship game against Stanford 53–54. [6]

Season-by-season results

Sources: [7] [8]

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Lois Sheldahl (Intermountain Athletic Conference)(1972–1974)
1972–73Lois Sheldahl 8–4
1973–74Lois Sheldahl 11–4
Lois Sheldahl:19–8 (.704)
Nancy Trego (Intermountain Athletic Conference)(1974–1978)
1974–75Nancy Trego 12–49–2T-2nd
1975–76Nancy Trego 6–86–7
1976–77Nancy Trego 3–133–11
1977–78Nancy Trego 4–133–10
Nancy Trego:25–38 (.397)21–30 (.412)
Lori Woodman (Intermountain Athletic Conference)(1978–1979)
1978–79Lori Woodman 6–185–8T-8th
Lori Woodman:6–18 (.250)5–8 (.385)
Lori Woodman (WCAA)(1979–1980)
1979–80Lori Woodman 9–171–117th
Lori Woodman:9–17 (.346)1–11 (.083)
Judy LeWinter (WCAA)(1980–1985)
1980–81Judy LeWinter 2–211–117th
1981-82Judy LeWinter 10–210–127th
1982-83Judy LeWinter 10–172–12T-7th
1983-84Judy LeWinter 8–201–13T-7th
1984-85Judy LeWinter 7–211–138th
Judy LeWinter:37–100 (.270)5–61 (.076)
Wendy Larry (PacWest)(1985–1986)
1985–86Wendy Larry 19–94–4T-2nd
Wendy Larry:19–9 (.679)4–4 (.500)
Wendy Larry (Pac-10)(1986–1987)
1986–87Wendy Larry 11–184–14T-8th
Wendy Larry:11–18 (.379)4–14 (.222)
June Olkowski (Pac-10)(1987–1991)
1987–88June Olkowski 5–232–1610th
1988–89June Olkowski 11–176–12T-8th
1989–90June Olkowski 12–175–13T-8th
1990–91June Olkowski 6–251–1710th
June Olkowski:34–82 (.293)14–58 (.194)
Joan Bonvicini (Pac-10)(1991–2008)
1991–92Joan Bonvicini 9–193–1510th
1992–93Joan Bonvicini 13–147–118th
1993–94Joan Bonvicini 15–128–107th
1994–95Joan Bonvicini 11–196–127th
1995–96Joan Bonvicini 22–810–8T-3rd
1996–97Joan Bonvicini 23–812–6T-4th NCAA Division I Round of 32
1997–98Joan Bonvicini 23–714–4T-2nd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1998–99Joan Bonvicini 18–1112–64th NCAA Division I Round of 32
1999-00Joan Bonvicini 25–713–5T-2nd NCAA Division I Round of 32
2000–01Joan Bonvicini 20–129–95th
2001–02Joan Bonvicini 14–1410–8T-6th
2002–03Joan Bonvicini 21–812–4T-2nd NCAA Division I First Round
2003–04Joan Bonvicini 24–914–4T-1st NCAA Division I First Round
2004–05Joan Bonvicini 20–1211–75th NCAA Division I Round of 32
2005–06Joan Bonvicini 8–223–159th
2006–07Joan Bonvicini 11–214–1410th
2007–08Joan Bonvicini 10–204–14T-8th
Joan Bonvicini:287–223 (.563)152–152 (.500)
Niya Butts (Pac-10/Pac-12)(2008–2016)
2008–09Niya Butts 12–194–14T-8th
2009–10Niya Butts 14–176–128th
2010–11Niya Butts 21–1210–84th WNIT First Round
2011–12Niya Butts 15–173–1512th
2012–13Niya Butts 12–184–14T-10th
2013–14Niya Butts 5–251–1212th
2014–15Niya Butts 10–203–15T-11th
2015–16Niya Butts 13–193–1511th
Niya Butts:102–147 (.410)34–105 (.245)
Adia Barnes (Pac-12)(2016–2024)
2016–17 Adia Barnes 14–165–13T-9th
2017–18 Adia Barnes 6–242–1611th
2018–19 Adia Barnes 24–137–118th WNIT champions
2019–20 Adia Barnes 24–712–64thPostseason not held
2020–21 Adia Barnes 21–613–43rd NCAA Runner-Up
2021–22 Adia Barnes 21–810–64th NCAA Division I Round of 32
2022–23 Adia Barnes 22–1011–74th NCAA Division I Round of 32
2023–24 Adia Barnes 18–158–107th NCAA First Round
Adia Barnes (Big 12)(2024–present)
2024–25 Adia Barnes
Arizona:150–99 (.602)68–73 (.482)
Total:699–759 (.479)368–579 (.389)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Playing abroad

The Wildcats have played in Australia, France, Puerto Rico, and Italy. [3]

NCAA tournament results

The Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA Tournament eleven times. Their combined record is 13–10.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
1997 No. 7First Round
Second Round		No. 10 Western Kentucky
No. 2 Georgia		W 76−54
L 74−80
1998 No. 3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen		No. 14 Santa Clara
No. 6 Virginia
No. 2 UConn		W 75−63
W 94−77
L 57−74
1999 No. 6First Round
Second Round		No. 11 Florida
No. 3 Rutgers		W 87−84 (OT)
L 47−90
2000 No. 8First Round
Second Round		No. 9 Kent State
No. 1 Tennessee		W 73−61
L 60−75
2003 No. 6First RoundNo. 11 Notre DameL 47−59
2004 No. 9First RoundNo. 8 Michigan StateL 60−72
2005 No. 9First Round
Second Round		No. 8 Oklahoma
No. 1 LSU		W 72−69
L 43−76
2021 No. 3First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship		No. 14 Stony Brook
No. 11 BYU
No. 2 Texas A&M
No. 4 Indiana
No. 1 UConn
No. 1 Stanford		W 79–44
W 52–46
W 74–59
W 66–53
W 69–59
L 53–54
2022 No. 4First Round
Second Round		No. 13 UNLV
No. 5 North Carolina		W 72–67
L 45–63
2023 No. 7First Round
Second Round		No. 10 West Virginia
No. 2 Maryland		W 75–62
L 64–77
2024 No. 11First Four
First round		No. 11 Auburn
No. 6 Syracuse		W 69–59
L 69-74

WNIT

Source [9]

The Wildcats have appeared In the Women's National Invitation Tournament three times. The combined record is 7 – 2.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2001 First Pepperdine W 85–65
Second New Mexico L 75–62
2011 FirstUtah StateL 103–95
2019 Round 1Idaho StateW 66–56
Round 2PacificW 64–48
Round 3IdahoW 68–60
QuarterfinalsWyomingW 67–45
SemifinalsTCUW 59–53
ChampionshipNorthwesternW 56–42

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Colors | University of Arizona Brand Resources" . Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  2. ↑ Robbins, Robert C. (August 4, 2023). "University of Arizona Will Join the Big 12 Conference in 2024-25". University of Arizona Athletics.
  3. 1 2 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-12. Retrieved March 11, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ "Pac-10 changing name to Pac-12 with new adds". ESPN.com. 27 July 2010.
  5. ↑ "2015–16 Quick Facts/General Information" (PDF). University of Arizona Wildcats, Women’s Basketball. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ McCarriston, Shanna (April 3, 2021). "2021 NCAA Women's Final Four: No. 3 Arizona shocks No. 1 UConn as huge underdog, advances to title game". CBS. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  7. ↑ "2022-23 Arizona Wildcats Women's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona. Retrieved 24 Nov 2022.
  8. ↑ "Women's Basketball Standings". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  9. ↑ "Archived Fields (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
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