By LaMarr Fields, SuperWest Sports

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The Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball team had a magical run in the NCAA Tournament, falling just short of a National Championship in a close loss to the Stanford Cardinal.

While Arizona loses star point guard Aari McDonald and key forward Trinity Baptiste to the WNBA, the program has loaded up with three talented players from the transfer portal.

Here’s a look at what the Wildcats are getting in newcomers Ariyah Copeland, Koi Love, and Taylor Chavez.

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Ariyah Copeland, Forward

At 6-foot-3, Copeland will bring good size to the frontcourt, along with the ability to score and rebound consistently. The forward averaged 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for Alabama this past season.

Copeland played in 111 games for the Crimson Tide, starting 77 of them. She shot 60.9% from the field, third nationally, and first in the SEC, and recorded 16 double-doubles.

While at Alabama, Copeland averaged 8.6 points and 6.0 rebounds over four seasons.

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Koi Love, Forward

Koi Love, a 6-foot forward, is coming over from Vanderbilt, and she is an outstanding player, having averaged 20.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game for the Commodores this past season.

Love shot 47% from the field, giving Arizona another prolific scorer that plays in the paint and can score at the post. She was an SEC All-Freshman selection in the 2019-20 season.

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Taylor Chavez, Guard

Chavez is a 5-10 guard coming over from Oregon, where she averaged 4.1 points this past season, to go with her 2.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 35.7% from the field.

Chavez also shot 33% from three, and during the 2019-20 season, she shot 47% from beyond the arc.

The guard will bring experienced shooting to the Wildcats backcourt and figures to provide spacing for all the Wildcats’ front-court players.

 

Despite the departure of McDonald and Baptiste, the Wildcats appear to have compensated for their losses with the addition of these very talented players from the transfer portal, getting some size and scoring ability in the paint. as well as some outside shooting.

Arizona head coach Adia Barnes has assembled another talented roster and should make some noise again next year.