Arizona Wildcats women's basketball

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 Pac-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]

Arizona Wildcats women's basketball
2022–23 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Arizona
Head coachAdia Barnes (7th season)
ConferencePac-12
LocationTucson, Arizona
ArenaMcKale Center
(Capacity: 14,545)
NicknameWildcats
ColorsCardinal and navy[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
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

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
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Lois Sheldahl (Intermountain Athletic Conference) (1972–1974)
1972–73 Lois Sheldahl 8–4
1973–74 Lois Sheldahl 11–4
Lois Sheldahl: 19–8 (.704)
Nancy Trego (Intermountain Athletic Conference) (1974–1978)
1974–75 Nancy Trego 12–49–2T-2nd
1975–76 Nancy Trego 6–86–7
1976–77 Nancy Trego 3–133–11
1977–78 Nancy Trego 4–133–10
Nancy Trego: 25–38 (.397)21–30 (.412)
Lori Woodman (Intermountain Athletic Conference) (1978–1979)
1978–79 Lori Woodman 6–185–8T-8th
Lori Woodman: 6–18 (.250)5–8 (.385)
Lori Woodman (WCAA) (1979–1980)
1979–80 Lori Woodman 9–171–117th
Lori Woodman: 9–17 (.346)1–11 (.083)
Judy LeWinter (WCAA) (1980–1985)
1980–81 Judy LeWinter 2–211–117th
1981-82 Judy LeWinter 10–210–127th
1982-83 Judy LeWinter 10–172–12T-7th
1983-84 Judy LeWinter 8–201–13T-7th
1984-85 Judy LeWinter 7–211–138th
Judy LeWinter: 37–100 (.270)5–61 (.076)
Wendy Larry (PacWest) (1985–1986)
1985–86 Wendy Larry 19–94–4T-2nd
Wendy Larry: 19–9 (.679)4–4 (.500)
Wendy Larry (Pac-10) (1986–1987)
1986–87 Wendy Larry 11–184–14T-8th
Wendy Larry: 11–18 (.379)4–14 (.222)
June Olkowski (Pac-10) (1987–1991)
1987–88 June Olkowski 5–232–1610th
1988–89 June Olkowski 11–176–12T-8th
1989–90 June Olkowski 12–175–13T-8th
1990–91 June Olkowski 6–251–1710th
June Olkowski: 34–82 (.293)14–58 (.194)
Joan Bonvicini (Pac-10) (1991–2008)
1991–92 Joan Bonvicini 9–193–1510th
1992–93 Joan Bonvicini 13–147–118th
1993–94 Joan Bonvicini 15–128–107th
1994–95 Joan Bonvicini 11–196–127th
1995–96 Joan Bonvicini 22–810–8T-3rd
1996–97 Joan Bonvicini 23–812–6T-4thNCAA Division I Round of 32
1997–98 Joan Bonvicini 23–714–4T-2ndNCAA Division I Sweet 16
1998–99 Joan Bonvicini 18–1112–64thNCAA Division I Round of 32
1999-00 Joan Bonvicini 25–713–5T-2ndNCAA Division I Round of 32
2000–01 Joan Bonvicini 20–129–95th
2001–02 Joan Bonvicini 14–1410–8T-6th
2002–03 Joan Bonvicini 21–812–4T-2ndNCAA Division I First Round
2003–04 Joan Bonvicini 24–914–4T-1stNCAA Division I First Round
2004–05 Joan Bonvicini 20–1211–75thNCAA Division I Round of 32
2005–06 Joan Bonvicini 8–223–159th
2006–07 Joan Bonvicini 11–214–1410th
2007–08 Joan Bonvicini 10–204–14T-8th
Joan Bonvicini: 287–223 (.563)152–152 (.500)
Niya Butts (Pac-10/Pac-12) (2008–2016)
2008–09 Niya Butts 12–194–14T-8th
2009–10 Niya Butts 14–176–128th
2010–11 Niya Butts 21–1210–84thWNIT First Round
2011–12 Niya Butts 15–173–1512th
2012–13 Niya Butts 12–184–14T-10th
2013–14 Niya Butts 5–251–1212th
2014–15 Niya Butts 10–203–15T-11th
2015–16 Niya Butts 13–193–1511th
Niya Butts: 102–147 (.410)34–105 (.245)
Adia Barnes (Pac-12) (2016–2022)
2016–17 Adia Barnes 14–165–13T-9th
2017–18 Adia Barnes 6–242–1611th
2018–19 Adia Barnes 24–137–118thWNIT champions
2019–20 Adia Barnes 24–712–64thPostseason not held
2020–21 Adia Barnes 21–613–43rdNCAA Runner-Up
2021–22 Adia Barnes 21–810–64thNCAA Division I Round of 32
2022–23 Adia Barnes 22–1011–74thNCAA Division I Round of 32
Adia Barnes: 132–84 (.611)60–63 (.488)
Total:681–744 (.478)

      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 nine times. Their combined record is 12–9.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
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

WNIT

Source[9]

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

Year Round Opponent Result
2001 First Pepperdine W 85–65
Second New Mexico L 75–62
2011 First Utah State L 103–95
2019 Round 1 Idaho State W 66–56
Round 2 Pacific W 64–48
Round 3 Idaho W 68–60
Quarterfinals Wyoming W 67–45
Semifinals TCU W 59–53
Championship Northwestern W 56–42

See also

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. "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". pac-12.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  9. "Archived Fields (PDF) - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
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