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University Of Arizona Hires All-Time Leading Scorer As Next Women's Basketball Coach

The University of Arizona has hired its all-time leading scorer as head coach of the Wildcats women’s basketball team.

Adia Barnes will take over when the next season starts. She’ll replace Niya Butts, who was not retained after eight years in charge of the program.

Barnes was the Pac-12 player of the year in 1997-1998. She went on to play 12 seasons in the WNBA, winning a WNBA championship with Seattle in 2004. She also played for Cleveland, Minnesota and Sacramento, with offseason stints in the Ukraine, Israel, Turkey, Russia and Italy.

Now 39-years-old, Barnes spent the past five seasons as an assistant at Washington. She previously worked as a TV and radio analyst for Seattle Storm games.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.