Arizona Women's Basketball

Aari McDonald Earns Highest Associated Press All-American Honor in Arizona History


Aari McDonald’s Associated Press second-team All-American honor today gives her the highest honor on an AP team in Arizona history.

The highest previous AP honor was her coach Adia Barnes earning third-team honors as a senior in 1997-98.

McDonald earned an honorable mention selection by the AP last season, matching the honors by Barnes in 1996-97, Shawntinice Polk in 2002-03, Dee-Dee Wheeler in 2004-05, Ify Ibekwe in 2008-09 and 2010-11, and Davellyn White in 2011-12.

Arizona Women's Basketball All-Americans

SeasonPlayerAgencyAward
1991-92Margo ClarkBasketball TimesHonorable mention
1996-97Adia BarnesAssociated PressHonorable mention
1996-97Adia BarnesKodak/WBCAHonorable mention
1997-98Adia BarnesAssociated PressThird team
1997-98Adia BarnesWBCA/KodakHonorable mention
1997-98Adia BarnesUSBWAFirst team
1997-98Adia BarnesWomen’s Basketball JournalSecond team
1997-98Adia Barnes The Sporting NewsHonorable mention
2002-03Shawntinice PolkAssociated PressHonorable mention
2002-03Shawntinice PolkWBCA/KodakHonorable mention
2003-04Shawntinice PolkWBCA/KodakHonorable mention
2004-05Dee-Dee WheelerAssociated PressHonorable mention
2004-05Dee-Dee WheelerWBCA/KodakHonorable mention
2004-05Shawntinice PolkWBCA/KodakHonorable mention
2008-09Ify IbekweAssociated PressHonorable mention
2010-11Ify IbekweAssociated PressHonorable mention
2011-12Davellyn WhyteAssociated PressHonorable mention
2018-19Aari McDonaldAssociated PressHonorable mention
2018-19Aari McDonaldWBCAHonorable mention
2019-20Aari McDonaldAssociated PressSecond team
2019-20Aari McDonaldUSBWA Second team
2019-20Aari McDonaldWBCAFirst team

Barnes has the only first-team All-American selection in program history, by the USBWA in 1997-98. She was also a second-team choice that season by the Women’s Basketball Journal.

McDonald, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, is a Wooden Award Finalist and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Finalist. She led the Pac-12 in both scoring (20.6) and steals (2.3) per game this season.

McDonald finished the season 10th in the country in scoring and has scored in double-figures in 66 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation which is also her entire Arizona career. She helped lead Arizona to 24 wins this season, which is tied for the second-most wins in school history while also leading the Wildcats to a fourth-place finish in the Pac-12, Arizona’s best finish since 2011.

She finished the season with a 34-point performance against Oregon in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals, which is the most points any player scored at this year’s tournament. It is also the second time in her career she scored 34 against the Ducks in the Pac-12 tournament and is the school record for most points in a conference tournament game.

She set the single-game school record with 44 points at Texas in November, which is the fifth-most any player in the country scored in one game this season.

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McDonald is sixth in Arizona history with 1,486 points in just two seasons after transferring from Washington after her freshman season.

Her 596 points is the fourth-most points any player has scored in one season in Arizona history. She holds the record of 890 points last year, the most by any Arizona player, men’s or women’s.

In her two years at Arizona, she has averaged 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game and shot 45 percent from the field.


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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.

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