Arizona Wildcats (6-2) vs. UCSD Tritons (3-5): Defense will do it, La Jolla Connection and more

UCSD (3-5) at Arizona (6-2)

McKale Center • 6:30 p.m. • Arizona Live Stream • 1290-AM

She said it

Arizona coach Adia Barnes on everything coming back to defense as Wildcats host UC San Diego: “This week’s been a lot of teaching. We didn’t lose last game (to UNLV) because offense, we lost last game because of defense. UNLV scored 40 points in the first half.

“I think as a player, you automatically think, ‘Oh, it’s our offense.’ No, because of our personnel, if our defense is going well, it’s going to create offense. You can’t just get beat back door four times in a row

“We watched half of the game and counted in the first half alone possessions that we could have not given up. That’s off of someone taking the ball from you or not following the game plan with scout that we actually drilled and worked on. It was like 32 points. There was a lot of things that didn’t come down to the scout, it came down to just getting beat and then rotation or lack of rotation, and then toughness things. I challenged the team as we those are things that can’t be in question.”

On the sidelines

A La Jolla connection: As Breya Cunningham and Jada Williams look across the court on Thursday night, they will see a familiar face — just in a different uniform. Cunningham, Williams and UCSD’s Sumayah Sugapong all played together for the San Diego area’s La Jolla Country Day School.

Sugapong, a 5-7 guard, was one of UCSD’s most recent players of the week for collecting 35 total points, five assists, four rebounds, and one block while shooting 46 percent from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc in two games last week.

She is averaging 14.4 points, 2.3 assists in 27 minutes per game. She also has 10 steals in eight games.

“We competed in a practice every day for two years, so it’s not going to be nothing different,” Williams said. “I hope she doesn’t go off against us. That’s one of my best friends. But yeah, I love to see what she’s doing. I’m super proud of her. We’ve worked so hard for the last two years just to see her flourish and see her grow. But when (we’re) in (those) four lines (there are) no friends.”

More records

Arizona set a new high mark for season tickets sold … again. Last season, the Wildcats sold 5,898 while this season the UA has cracked 5,900 — so far. Arizona is averaging 6,806 fans per game in the first three home games this season. Arizona has finished in the Top 10 across all women’s college basketball that last two seasons averaging, 7,679 in 2023 and 7,822 in 2022.

Radio, radio

Adia Barnes will have her first one-hour live radio show on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sands Club, located on the fifth floor of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility in Arizona Stadium. Fans are welcome to attend, and do not need to be a Sands Club member to join in person, the UA said in a release. The show can be heard to on 1290-AM with UA play-by-play voice Derrick Palmer as the host. Then, there will be a break for a few weeks, with the radio show starting back up Jan. 2.

Injury watch

Skylar Jones sat out the UNLV game on Saturday as she was in concussion protocol. It was the rookie’s second concussion within the first six weeks of the season. She is expected to play against UCSD.

Erin Tack, the newest addition to the roster, who throws javelin on UA’s track and field team, injured her knee and won’t be available for Thursday night’s game. She had an MRI and was all clear, but is sore. Tack was also given a full basketball scholarship this week.

Overseas paradise

Aari McDonald is thriving with the Perth Lynx in Australia’s WNBL in the WNBA’s offseason.

In six games, she’s averaging 20 points (shooting 46% from the field), 7.3 assists and two steals in 35 minutes per game.

McDonald, who is a homebody, wasn’t initially sure that overseas basketball was for her.

Her first go around in Hungary (in 2021) only lasted four games before coming home to the United States.

Last offseason, she was part of Adia Barnes’ staff as the director of recruiting. McDonald said that she is interested in becoming a coach one day, after her playing career is over.

Barnes pushed her former star to keep playing in the offseason, even though that meant stepping away from being on Barnes’ staff.

“(I told her) ‘I’m not going anywhere; you can come back here. We’d love for you to come back,’” Barnes said. “I anticipate her coming back, one day. But you can only play for a small amount of time. You can always go coach. I started when I was 30-something. You need to play you need to make your money, save your money. You can have great experiences. I don’t regret any of that. It made me who I am today and it makes you a better player; you are getting paid to work out.

“I think it was a brilliant move on her end and she’s just in the prime of her career.”

So far, things are looking up. So much so that McDonald’s husband, Devon, is ready to move to Australia full time.

Not so fast, Barnes said.

“I said, ‘Hold on. I don’t know about that. You need to come back here,’” Barnes said with a laugh. “She’s on a mission. She’s really focused on getting better.”

By the numbers

15.3: UCSD averages 15.3 assists per game and have 122 total in eight games.

69: Both UCSD and Arizona are averaging around 69 points per game.

5.6: The Wildcats are averaging 5.6 blocks per game, second-best in the Pac-12.

3: Kailyn Gilbert (13.3), Esmery Martinez (12.4) and Maya Nnaji (10.6) are the three Wildcats averaging in double figures.

— PJ Brown