Adia Barnes and Shaina Pellington were part of a press conference Thursday discussing Friday’s exhibition game with Arizona Christian at McKale Center at 6:30 p.m.
Barnes made it clear that she does not want to include Aari McDonald to the equation when discussing Pellington’s role as the new point guard this season.
“Aari’s Aari. Aari’s amazing. I hope to recruit some more Aaris,” Barnes said. “I love Shaina. I want Shaina to be the best version of Shaina. I never will compare because they’re two totally different players with two totally different games.”
Pellington’s game has grown on both ends from the beginning of last season to now.
She sat out the 2019-20 season as a transfer from Oklahoma and developed last season to the point of having her best game of the season in the national championship game against Stanford, scoring 15 points with seven rebounds and a season-high three steals.
She continued to work on her shooting and playmaking — she is a solid defender — during the summer with the Canadian national team.
“I’m able to lead my team better as a point guard,” Pellington said. “On the floor, I think I’m more composed, I think I’m more composed and more confident with the ball and getting the ball in the hands of the right people at the right time in the right positions.”
Arizona Christian has former Marana standout Baylee Slaughter on its roster.
Slaughter, a 6-foot senior forward, was a three-year varsity player with the Tigers. She helped Marana win a 5A Sonoran championship as a senior in 2017-18. That season, she averaged 11.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.2 assists, and 0.9 blocks.
Slaughter was honored as a Scholar-Athlete by the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) in the spring.
Here are the videos of the press conferences of Barnes and Pellington:
Recommended for you
