Arizona guard Sumayah Sugapong and head coach Becky Burke enjoy the run of play in the early going against Bellarmine, Dec. 18, 2025, at McKale Center.
“We’ve got almost a brand new group,” Burke said. “We’ve got players that are returning. We’ve got players that transferred in. We’ve got true freshmen. We’ve got a mix of it all. More than anything, it’s really a group that we brought together for a purpose, that we had time to recruit, that we really, really were selective and picky about, and I think it’s shown through our seven weeks of practice. I’m very grateful for this group.
“We have chemistry, we have positivity, we have players that are connected; they care about one another, but most importantly, they care about wearing the Block ‘A’ across their chest and they prove that every single time they come out and they practice and they show it. This is one of the most coachable groups I’ve had. This is one of the most enjoyable groups that I’ve had, and we’ve got really good basketball players. I will say that we have great human beings, great students, and young women with great character. We have not had to deal with anything this summer that most coaches have to deal with. We’ve been able to coach basketball. We’ve been able to keep it business because they take care of their business.”
With a revamped roster, Sugapong and Ladwig have stepped up as leaders for the new Wildcats this summer.
“These two have led for seven weeks and had a voice and understood what the assignment was, what our culture needed to be, and they’ve not shied away from that,” Burke said of Sugapong and Ladwig.
Both Sugapong and Ladwig opted to return this season due to being comfortable — with Burke, her playing style and being a Wildcat. Sugapong also wants to continue building off of what they did last year, she said.
“I thought there are too many positives here,” Ladwig said. “So why would I leave?”