Adia Barnes And Arizona Ready For First Elite Eight Appearance

TUCSON, AZ — The Arizona Wildcats will make history on Monday night, whether they win or lose against the Indiana Hoosiers.

That's because the Wildcats are making their first-ever appearance in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, after beating Stony Brook, Brigham Young and Texas A&M to open the 64-team event.

Fifth-year head coach Adia Barnes, who led the Wildcats to their only other appearance in the Sweet 16 as the team's point guard in 1998, addressed what it means to guide her alma mater to such great heights on Saturday.

"It means a lot. It means a lot because it’s where everything started for me as a player. Their dream is to go back to their alma mater and do something special. We always talk about completing our legacy, and we’ve done that," Barnes said.

"I’m just proud of this team. We’ve been resilient. This has been a tough year with COVID. It’s been different. It’s been hard. There’s been a lot of adversity. We’ve stayed mentally tough. We’ve stayed together as a family.

"We don’t just say family, we are family. There’s ups and downs in family, but we found a way to get better throughout the year. We’re peaking at the right time. That’s what winning a championship is all about. You get hot at the right time."

The Wildcats reached Monday night's Elite Eight round by outlasting No. 2 seed, Texas A&M, 74-59 on Saturday night.

Barnes said the Wildcats' win in the Sweet 16 over the Aggies on Saturday had as much to do with the squads' motivation as it did with the X's and O's that she drew up.

"We came out prepared. Our team executed the game plan, did every single thing I asked every time," Barnes said. "Played with their hearts. Did all the things that we said we would do.
So when they’re able to execute that, it feels good.

"When I see them correcting each other on little things that I’ve been correcting them on the whole year, it feels good as a coach."

Now, Barnes and the Wildcats meet a No. 4 seeded Hoosiers squad that's fresh off an upset win over No. 1 seed, North Carolina State, on Saturday night.

Indiana stunned the Wolfpack, 73-70, on Saturday night en route to the Hoosiers' first appearance in the Elite Eight round as well.

One way or another, someone is going to wind up in the Final Four for the first time, as neither Arizona nor Indiana have ever made it this far in the single-elimination tournament.

Here's what you need to know before Monday night's clash in San Antonio:

How to watch: The Elite Eight clash will be carried at 6 p.m. Arizona time (9 p.m. Eastern) on ESPN.

Who to watch on Arizona: For Arizona, keep an eye on senior guard Aari McDonald, who is coming off a program NCAA Tournament record 31 point performance in Saturday's Sweet 16. McDonald leads the Wildcats in scoring (19.6 points per game), while averaging 4.1 assists per game. Also, keep an eye on junior forward Cate Reese, who had 8 points and 9 rebounds on Saturday night.

Who to watch on Indiana: The Hoosiers are led offensively by Mackenzie Holmes, who averages 17.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this season. Holmes is joined in the double-digit scoring crew by Grace Berger and Ali Patberg, who average 15.4 and 14.1 points per game, respectively.