The 2021–22 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team represented the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

during the

2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season The 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 9, 2021. The regular season ended on March 6, 2022, with the 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning on March 18, and ending with the championship ga ...

. The Wildcats were led by sixth-year head coach

Adia Barnes Adia Oshun Barnes (born February 3, 1977) is an American basketball coach and former player. She is currently the head coach of the SMU Mustangs. She played at the collegiate level for the University of Arizona, and played seven seasons in the Wom ...

. This was the Wildcats' 48th season at the on-campus

McKale Center McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena in the southwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. As the home of the university's Wildcats basketball team of the Big 12 Conference, it is primari ...

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

and 43rd season as a member of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. They finished with a record of 21–8, 10–6 in Pac-12 play. The Wildcats were invited to the 2022 NCAA tournament where they defeated

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

in the First Round before losing to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the Second Round.

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the season second behind

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

in the Pacific-12 conference with a 13–4 record. They advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 Pac-12 women's tournament where they lost to no. 9 ranked

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and As a no. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament where they defeated Stony Brook and BYU in the first and second rounds, no. 4 ranked

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in the Sweet Sixteen, they won their region with a win over no. 12 ranked

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in the first-ever Elite Eight, knocked off no. 1 ranked

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

in the first-ever Final Four. Arizona reached the first-ever National Championship game, losing to no. 2 ranked Stanford (in a rematch from earlier this season) 54–53 and finishing the season with a 21–6 record.

Offseason

Departures

Transfers

2021 recruiting class

2022 recruiting class

2023 recruiting class

Preseason

Preseason rankings

* October 12 and November 3, 2021 - The Arizona Wildcats are picked to finish 5th in the both of Media and Coaches of the PAC-12 Preseason polls. * October 19, 2021 - Arizona received No. 22 in the AP poll Top 25. * November 3, 2021 – Arizona received No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25.

Preseason awards watchlists

*October 26, 2021 – Taylor Chavez is named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award top 20 watch list (Best shooting guard) * October 27, 2021 – Sam Thomas is named to the

Cheryl Miller Award The Cheryl Miller Award is an award presented annually to the best women's basketball small forward in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller. While at Riverside ( ...

top 20 watch list (Best small forward) * November 9, 2021 - Sam Thomas is named to the

Naismith Trophy The Naismith Trophy is a trophy awarded to the men's champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and is named in honor of basketball's inventor, James Naismith. The trophy was first awarded to the winner of the 1967 FIBA World Championship. The ...

top 50 watchlist (the most outstanding female basketball player)

Preseason All Pac-12 teams

*November 3, 2021 – Preseason All-Pac-12 team: Sam Thomas and Cate Reese.

Personal

Roster

Source:

Coaching staff

Schedule

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Game summaries

This section will be filled in as the season progresses. ----

vs
Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge, Los Angeles, Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as o ...

vs No. 6
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

vs
Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...

vs Marist

vs Vanderbilt

vs DePaul

vs
Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

vs
North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural Colle ...

vs
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Player statistics

Awards & milestones

Season highs

Players

*Points: C. Reese, 21 (Louisville) *Rebounds: C. Reese, 11 (Texas Southern) *Assists: Tied, 5 (Cal State Northridge & Louisville) *Steals: K. Love, 4 (Texas Southern & Marist) *Blocks: L. Ware, 4 (Marist) *Minutes: C. Reese, 33 (Louisville)

Team

*Points: 93 (Texas Southern) *Field Goals: 36 (Texas Southern) *Field Goal Attempts: 67 (Texas Southern) *3 Point Field Goals Made: 11 (Marist) *3 Point Field Goals Attempts: 24 (Marist) *Free Throws Made:12 (Louisville) *Free Throws Attempts:14 (Louisville) *Rebounds:53 (Marist) *Assists:27 (Cal State Northridge) *Steals:15 (Texas Southern) *Blocked Shots:10 (Marist) *Turnovers:17 (Louisville) *Fouls:21 (Louisville)

Weekly awards

Cate Reese *Pac-12 Women's Basketball Player of the Week 1 (Nov. 15)

Pac-12 Conference awards and honors

National awards

Rankings

''*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same.''
^''Coaches poll was not released for Week 2.''

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team Arizona Wildcats women's basketball seasons

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

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 ...