Arizona women’s basketball will open the season this weekend in the Iona Tip-off Tournament.

The Wildcats will face Iona this Friday at 4:30 p.m. Arizona time in front of the Gaels’ home fans in New Rochelle, N.Y. It will stream on Pac-12.com.

The Gaels will be Arizona’s second opponent of the year, as the Wildcats beat Fort Lewis College 80-65 on Nov. 2 in Tucson in an exhibition. Junior guard Candice Warthen and freshman forward LaBrittney Jones led Arizona to victory over Fort Lewis with a combined 47 points, 13 rebounds and 8 steals.

Iona is led by junior guard Damika Martinez, who averaged 18.1 points per game last season, and sophomore forward Joy Adams, who averaged 10.7 rebounds per game last season. Arizona will be Iona’s first opponent of the 2013-14 season.

Arizona head coach Niya Butts said she is looking for a better defensive showing from her team as the season starts.

“We’ve got to get better defensively,” Butts said. “As a coach, you always want more, and I want more for our team. … Good enough is not good enough in our book; we don’t get complacent.”

The Iona Tip-off Tournament consists of four teams playing a total of four games. Michigan faces off with Bowling Green in the first game of a double-header on Friday. Arizona and Iona make up the second half of that double-header.

The tournament concludes on Saturday, as Arizona will face either Bowling Green or Michigan in the first game of a double-header at 11 a.m. Arizona time. The game will stream on Pac-12.com. In the second game of the double-header, Iona will square off against whichever team doesn’t play Arizona in the first game.

— Follow Roberto Payne @RPsportreporter