Arizona women's hoops at Cal: Scouting report, Sisters, Next woman up, Martinez hits milestone

She said it

Adia Barnes on the importance of the Wildcats' Sunday matchup at Cal: “That Cal game is huge. It’s big for them. It’s big for us. We're fighting for that seventh spot (in the NCAA Tournament). I think in the end, our conference will get seven teams because I've looked across the board. I looked at our strength the schedule; I look at other teams around the country; it's not comparable in those conferences (who have) nine in (the early bracketology), which I think is just bogus.

"But I think that we put ourselves in a good situation if we can win this game and some other games. If not, I think it's very difficult. Cal is good and they play really good at home and we played really good when we played them there.”

On the sidelines

Sisters: After Friday’s 68-61 win over No. 3 Stanford, Arizona freshman Jada Williams was interviewed by Pac-12 Network’s Ashley Adamson. Williams said it was team over self, and she talked about playing for “her sisters.”

That's been a theme for the Wildcats since they’ve been with only seven players for four of the last six games, primarily due to the absence of Kailyn Gilbert; Gilbert was originally out for undisclosed reasons, but Barnes said she missed the Bay Area trip because of the concussion protocol.

There is something about this seven — a group that's come together despite the odds stacked against them.

“Being short-handed is something we’ve dealt with,” Barnes said. “I think we've been through a lot this year — just, like, different roster size, injuries and things. This is a group of seven that has really rallied that plays for each other, that cares about each other, believes and just plays their hearts out. Whether it’s 27 minutes or 38. I think Jada played 37 minutes, Helena (Pueyo) played 39; they just play their hardest. Isis (Beh), Courtney (Blakely), everybody — Breya (Cunningham), Sky (Jones), the whole team. They're just giving it their all.

"There are mistakes that are made, but they're not hanging their heads. (They are) playing with each other win or lose. I’m proud of them. Love them. I love coaching this seven and I will play anybody with them.”

Next woman up: As Arizona seems to be peaking at the right time, it’s not just one person who is doing it all.

“We've had different people step up at different times,” Barnes said. "Esmery wasn't playing her best game (early). Jada wasn't playing her best game (early), but then they hit shots when we needed it. (Martinez) had that big and-one. She had some big defensive plays, some big rebounds. Everybody kind of chips away and did their part and then Jada’s shots finally started the ball. I don't care if they're off the backboard or not. She still hit them. Those were two big 3s. Helena had some big plays early in the game and attacked.

“I think everyone found a way to contribute," she said, adding that "hanging around" gives "yourself the chance to win. We gave ourselves a chance to win and had some good plays go our way and won. They're a really good team; (one) that is coached really well and they're hard to defend.”

Defense: In the first half of Friday’s game, Stanford’s Hannah Jump hit a pair of 3-pointers. When Jump gets into a rhythm, it portends a long day for the opposition. Instead, she only made one more the rest of the way to finish with 13 points.

Barnes said that she made a few adjustments at the half, and Pueyo shut Jump down. In that second half, UA held Stanford to 31 points. Meanwhile, the Wildcats scored 31 in the fourth quarter on its own.

“For the most part, when we didn’t over help, we guarded their shooters better, and then gave ourselves chances,” Barnes said.

Alumni watch: Former UA standout Aari McDonald returned to the court after suffering a minor ligament tear in her knee and hasn’t missed a beat. She’s played two games for the Perth Lynx in Australia and is averaging 25 points per game to go with totals of seven rebounds and seven assists.

One of McDonald's former teammates, Shaina Pellington, has also played two games with a new team — Homentmen Antelias in Lebanon. She is averaging nearly 26 points and has grabbed 15 rebounds, nine assists and has three steals.

By the numbers

1,500: Esmery Martinez scored her 1,500th career point against Stanford with 3:45 left in the first half Friday night. She now has 1,513 points heading into Sunday's matchup at Cal.

7: After Friday’s win and five steals later, Helena Pueyo now has seven games this season with five or more steals. Over her first four years, she did that only six times total. She has 83 steals this season.

1: Cal has the edge on the series with UA, 38-37. This dates back to the 1978-79 season. The last time the Golden Bears won at home was in 2019 (82-76, OT).