While the game won’t count in any record books or box scores, the day is finally here. After arriving in April, the first game of the Becky Burke era tips off on Thursday at McKale. We’re previewing what to watch for when the Arizona Wildcats host the West Texas A&M Buffs on Thursday night in an exhibition match.
Lace ’em up:
For Becky Burke and the new coaching staff, Thursday’s exhibition match is an opportunity to see what the Wildcats have in their roster. It’s also a chance for Arizona to play an opponent that doesn’t have the same team name on the front of its jersey.
“We are thrilled to finally be able to put some uniforms on and get out there together and get some game reps and some game minutes that we so desperately need together,” said Burke on Wednesday following a action-packed day at Big 12 Women’s Basketball Media Days on Tuesday.
And while Burke may be more focused on how her team gels in its first game on the court together, the West Texas A&M Buffs will present a challenge on Thursday night in McKale.
“This is going to be a great test for us as we saw based on last night’s exhibition game that [West Texas A&M] played.”
The Buffs faced off against the SMU and former Arizona head coach Adia Barnes on Tuesday, showing some grit to rally from a 22-point deficit, before ultimately falling 81-69 against the Mustangs. The Buffs connected on 29-of-56 field goals (51.8%), while also knocking down 7-of-15 (46.7%) shots from deep. Guard Claire Graham and center Henley West scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, while guard Karley Motschenbacher snagged eight rebounds to lead the Buffs.
While Arizona has advantages from a scoring, size, and overall-talent level, they are still very green as a team, with a lot of chemistry and gelling that still needs to happen, making Thursday a great test for Becky Burke and the new crew.
Wildcats we’re watching:
One of the biggest questions for Arizona, and Burke herself, is which five players will take the floor on Thursday, and down the stretch of the season. Players in the back court have already started to separate themselves, based on their playing ability and their leadership.
“Yeah, [Noelani Cornfield, Mickayla Perdue, and Sumayah Sugapong] will definitely be playing significant minutes for us and they all lead in different ways. I think Sumayah leads by example. She’s one of those types of kids. I think Lani does it vocally and by example. Micky’s a little bit of a mixture of both as well. But from a standpoint of those three guards being relied on heavily in terms of minutes and statistically, not just scoring, but impacting the game statistically, all three of those guys are going to be relied on heavily.”
The front court, though, is going to be a different story. While the Wildcats have a breadth of size and experience amongst their post players, Becky Burke is going to use Thursday’s game to start to hone in exactly what the starting front court and front court rotation look like go forward.
One player poised to see some early minutes is former 6-foot-7 Texas Tech center Achol Magot, a Tucson native who is back playing from her hometown team after an injury plagued career with the Red Raiders.
“I think Achol, obviously from a size standpoint at 6-foot-7. She brings just tremendous presence, size, power ability to score with two feet in the paint. You can feed her a little bit differently than you have to feed some of the other guys in the post. And she’s healthy now. We’ve got coach AC [Ashley Odom] with us here from Texas Tech – the last couple years with Achol and it’s a completely different player, especially from her perspective, which is nice to hear.”
The Wildcats have an interesting blend with the remainder of the players in front court, including Kansas transfer Freddie Wallace, former New Orleans center Nora Francois, and Blessing “Adde” Adebanjo, who arrived at Arizona in September after beginning her collegiate career in Japan.
“You’ve got Freddie, who I think is probably one our most skilled bigs and one of our most talented naturally and just raw, but again, it’s consistency with her,” said Burke on Wednesday. “It’s consistency and reliability with Freddie, and I just had that conversation with her a couple days ago.”
For Francois, her size and strength make her an intriguing piece for the staff, but Burke says that ramping up to play at the power 4 level is front and center right now.
“I think Nora’s great. She hasn’t played at this level before. She hasn’t played on a winning program or a winning team before. We’re teaching her how to win.”
And for Adebanjo, time heals all wounds. After arriving in Tucson less than two months ago, Burke says she’s still putting it all together.
“Adde, who just got here about a month ago, from an athleticism, body, ability to run the floor, defend multiple positions, she’s absolutely incredible. What we’re working on with her right now is IQ and just getting up to speed with the rest of the crew, because she missed two months of summer.”
Start your engines, er, lineup:
Wildcat fans won’t have to speculate much longer on Arizona’s starting five, but that’s not stopping us for making a prediction at the first five out on the floor for Becky Burke and Co. against West Texas A&M. Given the comments, as well as Burke’s heavy-guard play style at Buffalo, don’t be surprised if all three guards, Lani Cornfield, Mickayla Perdue, and Sumayay Sugapong take the court together. Cornfield and Sugapong are more true point guards, while Perdue is the most dynamic scorer of the bunch.
Memphis transfer Tanyuel “Tanny” Welch could also work her way into the starting five as more of a true wing, but given Burke’s history, a three-guard lineup would not come as a shock.
Between the size and experience, look for Achol Magot and Freddie Wallace to start for the Wildcats in the front court. Francois will be a sound relief option off the bench, and even with her physical gifts, it’s still too early for Adebanjo to take the reins right out of the gate.
Our starting five prediction:
- Lani Cornfield
- Sumayah Sugapong
- Mickayla Perdue
- Freddie Wallace
- Achol Magot
The Arizona Wildcats’ exhibition game against West Texas A&M tips off on Thursday, October, 23, at 6:00 PM MST. The game will not be televised or broadcast via radio, meaning fans that want to catch the action will need to head to McKale.