Georgia gal starting to shine at UofA...

I had the pleasure of dancing to a rhythm and blues song with a tall, out-going gal at a tailgate party prior to a University of Arizona football game on a September Saturday in 2008. After the song ended, I shook her hand and thanked her for the three minutes of fun.

She smiled and said, "You're old school." She was referring, I assume, to my age and my old jitter-bugging techniques. She was 30 at the time and I was an old coot at 63. As she walked away, I wished her good luck on her upcoming basketball season.

Her name: Niya Butts.

Niya was mingling with a crowd of Arizona fans and how we ended up "cutting a rug" or in this case "dancin' on the grassy knoll"...I don't know. But I do remember everyone around her was also shaking her hand and wishing her the best. I thought to myself, this gal has a lot of spunk. I also figured Butts, a star player on her high school team in Americus, Georgia, and a shooting-guard/forward in her collegiate days at Tennessee, would have her hands full taking over a Wildcats' program that needed a complete revamping.

Arizona's 2008-2009 season was a tough one for Butts and her young team as the Wildcats won just 12 games and lost 19. But this season, the Wildcats are starting to make some noise. They carry a 9-7 overall record and 3-3 Pac-10 record into Sunday's game at McKale against the ASU Sun Devils.

And the Wildcats are coming off a wild 119-112 win over Oregon at McKale last Saturday. The Wildcats set a record that day for the most points scored by a single team at McKale Center and to top it off their hot-shooting freshman guard Davellyn Whyte scored 39 points to set a new individual record. It looks like the Georgia gal has turned the corner and has the Wildcats clicking on all cylinders. Let's see if they can do it again at McKale on Sunday.

Arizona women's basketball update: The Arizona women's basketball team didn't come close to the century mark Sunday afternoon at McKale Center. Davellyn Whyte scored 22 points, but it wasn't enough to ignite the Wildcats as ASU prevailed, 73-67. The Wildcats dropped to 3-4 in the Pac-10 and 9-8 overall.