Meet the 2017-18 Arizona women's basketball team

Arizona head coach Adia Barnes already has the Wildcats moving in a positive direction by taking baby steps towards winning games as well on the recruiting trail. 

Still, ways to go though. 

The Wildcats return from a 14-16 (5-13, Pac-12) season in Barnes' first season and look to establish a presence as an elite program moving forward. 

The official season opener against Iona is set for Friday, Nov 10 for a noon tipoff, but the Wildcats have two home exhibition games this week beginning Monday against Eastern New Mexico at 7 p.m. The other matchup is against Western New Mexico on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.

Let's take a look at the Arizona women's basketball team:

Class: Sophomore

Position: Guard

Height: 5-7

Hometown (high school): Leon, Spain (Aron Leon Cuña del Parlamentarismo)

Last season: Broke into the starting lineup as a freshman and averaged 5.3 points, 2.4 assists per game. Alonso hit 43 percent of her 3-point attempts, the second-highest mark in program history.

Fun fact: Alonso’s favorite basketball player is Seattle Storm star Sue Bird, coach Adia Barnes’ former teammate.

Class: Freshman

Position: Forward

Height: 6-3

Hometown (high school): Kitzingen, Germany (Palm Harbor University)

Last season: Barkhoff, then Kiana Chew, averaged 10.6 points per game. She finished in the top 20 nationally in blocks and set Palm Harbor records for most blocks in a game (15), most blocks in a season (198), most career blocks (374), rebounding average (10.2) and double-doubles in a season (15). ESPN ranked Barkhoff as a three-star player and the No. 59 forward in her class.

Fun fact: Barkhoff’s favorite food is Oreo cereal (yes, it exists).

Class: Senior

Position: Guard

Height: 6-0

Hometown (high school): Grand Prairie, Texas (Mansfield Timberview High School)

Last season: Bennett averaged 6.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. She used a trick play on an inbounds play against Colorado to score on a layup and draw a foul.

Fun fact: Bennett’s favorite basketball player is LeBron James.

Class: Freshman

Position: Guard

Height: 6-0

Hometown (high school): Snohomish, Washington (Glacier Peak)

Last season: Fatkin averaged 14.3 points and 7 assists per game as a high school senior, and was named the Everett Herald’s player of the year. ESPN ranked Fatkin as a three-star player and the 30th-best guard in her class.

Fun fact: Fatkin loves sunsets.

Class: Junior

Position: Forward

Height: 6-3

Hometown (high school): San Francisco (Eastside College Prep)

Last season: Graham averaged 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Graham grabbed a key rebound to close out Washington State in the Wildcats’ first Pac-12 win of the season.

Fun fact: Graham appeared in a commercial in high school, comparing Bing to Google.

Class: Freshman

Position: Guard

Height: 5-7

Hometown (high school): Elgin, Illinois (Larkin)

Last season: Kyles averaged 28.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game, and was a runner-up for Ms. Basketball Illinois. Kyles scored more than 2,000 points in her high school career. ESPN ranked her a three-star recruit and the No. 23 guard in her class.

Fun fact: Kyles’ favorite movie is “Wreck it Ralph.”

Class: Junior

Position: Guard

Height: 5-9

Hometown (high school): Mahtomedi, Minnesota (Hill-Murray)

Last season: Was a walk-on. Malecha averaged 22 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game during her final season in high school. She was named a Minnesota Ms. Basketball candidate.

Fun fact: Malecha’s favorite movies are “The Princess Bride” and “Shrek.”

Class: Junior

Position: Forward

Height: 6-2

Hometown (high school): Bedford, Indiana (Bedford North Lawrence)

Last season: McBryde averaged 6.7 points, 6.3 rebounds per game at Purdue before transferring to the UA, earning honorable-mention All Big Ten honors. McBryde must sit out the season because of transfer rules, leaving her with two years of eligibility starting next year.

Fun fact: McBryde’s favorite animal is the chipmunk.

Class: Sophomore

Position: Guard

Height: 5-7

Hometown (high school): Fresno, California (Brookside Christian)

Last season: McDonald averaged 9.8 points per game and shot 47 percent from the field at Washington, where she was the Huskies’ third-leading scorer behind Kelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor. McDonald was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week twice. She must sit out this year and has three years of eligibility left starting next year.

Fun fact: Favorite cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Class: Freshman

Position: Guard

Height: 5-9

Hometown (high school): Cypress, Texas (Cypress Woods)

Last season: Reese averaged 5.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a high school senior. She was a team captain and earned all-district honors. She graduated cum laude.

Fun fact: Favorite Netflix show is “Shameless.”

Class: Sophomore

Position: Guard

Height: 5-9

Hometown (high school): Brooklyn Park, Minnesota (Hopkins)

Last season: Starks averaged 3.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game at Iowa State, where she started 14 games.

Fun fact: Starks likes to draw during her downtime.



Class: Freshman

Position: Forward

Height: 6-0

Hometown (high school): Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (Centennial)

Last season: Thomas averaged 6.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists as a high school senior, leading her team to its third consecutive state championship. Thomas was named Gatorade Nevada Player of the Year and USA Today Nevada Player of the Year in 2016. ESPN ranked her a four-star recruit and the No. 95 player — and 18th-best wing — in her recruiting class.

Fun fact: Favorite movie is “The Last Song.”

Class: Senior

Position: Forward

Height: 6-0

Hometown (high school): Woodland Hills, California (Notre Dame)

Last season: Wright is a transfer from Florida Atlantic who missed all of last season because of an injury. As a junior, Wright averaged 11.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, shot 40 percent from 3-point range and hit 11 three-pointers in a single game.

Fun fact: Wright’s favorite TV show is “Game of Thrones.”