Arizona Marvelous Ideas: 5-star recruit Lauren Ware commits to Arizona women’s basketball

Adia Barnes does it again

Five-star recruit Lauren Ware committed to the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday.

The 6-foot-5 post player is the No. 30 player in the 2020 class, according to ESPN. Ware’s other finalists were UCLA, Tennessee, Texas and Minnesota.

She is the second-highest ranked recruit the school has ever reeled in, only behind sophomore forward Cate Reese, who was the No. 12 player in 2018 and averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds as a freshman in 2018-19.

As a junior, Ware averaged 17.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.6 blocks and 2.1 assists per game at Century High School in Bismarck, North Dakota, leading them to a state championship and a perfect 27-0 record.

She is UA’s second 2020 commit, joining Turkish point guard Derin Erdogan. Landing Ware is huge (both literally and figuratively) because she is UA’s first American commit since the 2018 class, further proof the Wildcats can be major players in the domestic market.

Their 2019 class consisted solely of international players.