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 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big 12 athletic conference. The team's home venue is the McKale Center, which seats 14,545 fans. The official team colors are cardinal red and navy blue. The Wildcats have qualified for eight NCAA Tournaments. On August 4, 2023, Arizona announced it would join the Big 12 Conference along with Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah beginning in the 2024–25 academic year.

For most of its history, the women's basketball program has been playing in the shadow of its men's counterpart, leading to many losing seasons. However, in recent years, the women's team has been improving their success in winning, mostly due to coaching regime and talent, and captured the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) championship in 2019. They made the Final Four for the first time in 2021 and defeated UConn to qualify for the National Championship game. They would lose to Stanford in the National Championship.

Program history Female students at the University of Arizona first requested a women's basketball team in 1912, but were denied. Women played "inter-class" games for the first time in 1921. The juniors won. The following year, the school organized games with players from sororities and dormitories. Intercollegiate competition began in 1923, and a "Varsity" team played Arizona State University. This system persisted until 1971, when the UA joined the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) as a charter member.

The team was a member of the Intermountain Conference. The University of Arizona Athletic Department cites the first official season of women's basketball at the University of Arizona as the 1972–73 season, following the Title IX federal legislation that requires state-supported institutions to offer equal opportunity to men's and women's programs. The team finished their first season with a winning 8–4 record. In 1979, the University of Arizona, along with Arizona State University and five schools in southern California joined to form the Western Collegiate Athletic Association.

The team became a member of the NCAA in 1981, when the NCAA absorbed the AIAW. In 1985, the school joined the Pacific-West Conference, which became the Pac-10 the following season and the Pac-12 in 2011. As of the outset of the 2015–16 season, the all-time team record was 537–642. The Wildcats were runners-up at the Pac-10 Conference championship tournament in 2003 and 2004, marking their most successful conference finishes. The team made appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2021 and in the Women's National Invitational Tournament in 1996, 2001, 2011, and 2019, while winning it all in 1996 and 2019.

In 2021, the team beat UConn in the Final Four of the NCAA Women's Basketball championship. They lost the championship game against Stanford 53–54.

Becky Burke took over as the head coach at Arizona on April 14, 2025.

Season-by-season results Sources:

Playing abroad The Wildcats have played in Australia, France, Puerto Rico, and Italy.

Head coaches

+ Name Years Seasons Won Lost Pct. Lois Sheldahl 1972–1974 2 19 8 .704 Frankie Porter 1974–1978 4 25 38 .397 Lori Woodman 1978–1989 2 15 35 .300 Judy LeWinter 1980–1985 5 37 100 .270 Wendy Larry 1985–1987 2 30 27 .526 June Olkowski 1987–1991 4 34 82 .293 Joan Bonvicini 1991–2008 17 287 223 .563 Niya Butts 2008–2016 8 102 147 .410 Adia Barnes 2016–2025 9 169 114 .597 Becky Burke 2025–present 1 12 18 .400 All-Time 54 730 792 .480

2026–27 roster

2025–26 coaching staff Becky Burke Head coach 2nd Todd Starkey Associate head coach 1st James Ewing Assistant coach 2nd Julie Brase-Hairgrove Assistant coach 2nd Jenna Knudson Assistant coach 2nd Devan Newman Assistant coach 1st Reference:

Rivalries

Arizona State

Postseason appearances

Conference Championships

Conference Tournament Championships

NCAA tournament results The Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA Tournament eleven times. Their combined record is 14–11.

1997 No. 7 First RoundSecond Round No. 10 Western KentuckyNo. 2 Georgia W 76−54L 74−80 1998 No. 3 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen No. 14 Santa Clara No. 6 VirginiaNo. 2 UConn W 75−63W 94−77L 57−74 1999 No. 6 First RoundSecond Round No. 11 Florida No. 3 Rutgers W 87−84 (OT)L 47−90 2000 No. 8 First RoundSecond Round No. 9 Kent StateNo. 1 Tennessee W 73−61L 60−75 2003 No. 6 First Round No. 11 Notre Dame L 47−59 2004 No. 9 First Round No. 8 Michigan State L 60−72 2005 No. 9 First RoundSecond Round No. 8 Oklahoma No. 1 LSU W 72−69L 43−76 2021 No. 3 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourNational Championship No. 14 Stony BrookNo. 11 BYUNo. 2 Texas A&MNo. 4 IndianaNo. 1 UConnNo. 1 Stanford W 79–44W 52–46W 74–59W 66–53W 69–59L 53–54 2022 No. 4 First RoundSecond Round No. 13 UNLV No. 5 North Carolina W 72–67L 45–63 2023 No. 7 First RoundSecond Round No. 10 West Virginia No. 2 Maryland W 75–62L 64–77 2024 No. 11 First FourFirst round No. 11 Auburn No. 6 Syracuse W 69–59 L 69-74

WNIT results Source

The Wildcats have appeared In the Women's National Invitation Tournament three times. The combined record is 7 – 2. 2001FirstPepperdineW 85–65SecondNew MexicoL 75–622011FirstUtah StateL 103–952019Round 1Idaho StateW 66–56Round 2PacificW 64–48Round 3IdahoW 68–60QuarterfinalsWyomingW 67–45SemifinalsTCUW 59–53Championship NorthwesternW 56–42

WBIT results The Wildcats have appeared In the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament first time. The combined record is 0 – 1.

2025FirstNorthern ArizonaL 71–69

All-time statistical leaders

Players and coaches Wildcats drafted to the WNBA

Active WNBA players

Wildcats in the Olympics

Wildcats in international competition The following Arizona Wildcats women's basketball players and coaches have represented their country in basketball in international competition (excluding Olympics):

Active WNBA coaches

Active WNBA executives

Active NCAA coaches

Retired jerseys

National honors and accomplishments The individual honors, awards, and accomplishments listed in the succeeding subsections are aggregated by player in the following table. Players with only all-conference honors (other than conference player of the year), lower than first-team All-America honors, or later than second-round draft positions are not included.

Attendances

See also Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

References

External links