In the Pac-12, the Arizona Wildcats would have played Utah and Colorado on the road in back-to-back games. That’s the case in the Big 12 this year, too. They just got to come home in between games against the mountain schools.

The Wildcats are using lessons learned at Utah to try to prepare for the Buffaloes. On Monday afternoon, the coaches introduced the same scenario that cost Arizona down the stretch against the Utes.

Six minutes went on the clock and fouls were assigned to various players. Breya Cunningham and Isis Beh had four. Mailien Rolf had three. The team had to try to defend a four-point lead. Touch fouls were called and players had to try to avoid fouling out.

Officiating is one of the biggest things Rolf has had to adjust to in her freshman season with Arizona. The German guard is not used to the tight calls in NCAA women’s basketball.

“I still have some problems with fouling,” Rolf said. “I have a couple of games where I was good with my fouls, but the last game, for example, was not that good. So the fouling, it’s a little bit different than in Europe, and I’m still adjusting to that.”

Rolf has also cut down on her turnovers as the season has progressed, although she’s still trying to get her assist-to-turnover ratio on positive ground. Head coach Adia Barnes noted that the fouls and turnovers were two reasons that kept Rolf off the floor early on. The improvement not only allowed the freshman to stay on the floor more, it eventually helped her stake out a position in the starting lineup. That required work both on and off the court.

“I’d say in every kind of aspect of the game, like getting stronger in the weight room with Chris (Allen) or on the floor,” Rolf said. “Communicate a little bit more. Know what I have to do on the floor to help my team. To work on my shot, on my dribbling.”

One of the things Rolf is working on is something that the Wildcats’ next opponent struggles with, as well. Turnovers have been a struggle for Colorado this season. Arizona now has four players with positive assist-to-turnover ratios. CU has three.

Kendyll Wetta is doing an admirable job of setting up her teammates now that longtime point guard Jaylyn Sherrod has moved onto the world of the pros. Wetta is dishing out 5.6 assists against 3.0 turnovers per game. Former Washington State Cougar Johanna Teder, who transferred to Boulder for her final season, is even with 1.8 assists to 1.8 turnovers. Freshman Kennedy Sanders is also even at 1.9 assists to 1.9 turnovers.

The Buffaloes also lack the ability to turn other teams over that they had when Sherrod was on the team. The 10.1 steals per game they averaged last season have dropped to 8.0 this year.

Wetta leads the group with 1.8 steals per game. Frida Formann gets 1.1. Those are the only two Buffs with one or more takeaways per game compared to six for the Wildcats. Arizona will hope to use this to its advantage in Boulder.

The big advantage CU will have over Arizona is one the Wildcats have faced repeatedly this year. The Buffs have far more experience on their team. Formann, Wetta, and Teder are all fifth-year players. Rolf is just one of six underclassmen who start or get significant minutes off the bench for the Wildcats. The starting lineup for Arizona typically consists of a freshman, two sophomores, a junior, and a fifth-year player.

The Buffs come into the game on a three-game winning streak that includes a win over Kansas State the week after the Wildcats lost Ayoka Lee. Arizona just had its three-game winning streak snapped last week at Utah. Can these Wildcats find a way to close the deal in Boulder?



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