First 20-win season for women

Adam F. Jarrold Arizona Daily Wildcat UA forward Marte Alexander drives against an Oregon State defender on Saturday at McKale Center. The Wildcats defeated the Beavers, 72-56.

The Wildcats reached 20 wins for the first time in school history.

The 6-foot, 4 inch junior tied her career-high with 17 points, but more importantly, she took the Beavers' best player, 6-5 center Tina Lelas out of her game.

"It was nice to see Marte get back on track," UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "You could tell she was mentally prepared before the game and that makes a huge difference."

Alexander only played 21 minutes, but that was all Bonvicini needed. The Wildcats were up 26-19 at halftime, and 10 minutes into the second half, Arizona led 43-24 after they went on a 17-5 run.

"I feel like a redeemed myself a little bit," said Alexander, who had made only 2 of 6 shots against Oregon. "Just the fact that I knew I had to comeback, I need to contribute like I know I can."

While the stats don't show any blocks, Alexander had at least five or six swats on entry passes to Lelas. Her fronting pressure didn't allow Lelas - who's averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds - to make her first shot until nine minutes had expired.

"Marte played tough against us last time," OSU head coach Judy Spoelstra said. "Tina's (Lelas) problem is that she makes the mistake of fighting back instead of playing her own game."

Although Arizona (20-5, 10-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference) never trailed in the first half, there were moments where both teams played sloppy basketball. There were 35 turnovers between the two teams with Oregon State (11-13, 5-10) committing 21 of them.

"The first half was pretty ugly basketball. Really, it seemed like it was anybody's game," Spoelstra said.

But the start of the second half belonged to the Wildcats, Lisa Griffith in particular. The freshman point guard connected on three straight three-point shots and the Wildcats never looked back.

"It was just a matter of reversing the ball until someone was open," Griffith said. "They were crashing on our post players and they were able to kick it out."

Alexander has her own theory.

"Luckily, Lisa was en fuego from the three-point line," she said, laughing.

"I was relieved to see the game end and see us respond like we did from Thursday (UA lost, 85-81)," Bonvicini said. "I didn't think that we played great, but we played well defensively."

With her team up 16 points with five minutes left, Bonvicini kept the full-court press she used throughout the game. She also got the bench quality minutes by resting Adia Barnes, whom Bonvicini said is recovering from a sinus infection.

"Cha-Ron Walker, Jacque Barrington and DeAngela Minter all played well," Bonvicini said. "Their effort doesn't show in the statistics, but they changed the outcome of the game."

In her second career start, true freshman Felecity Willis showed why she got a chance to play, finishing with four assists. Her vocal presence is obvious as well, which Bonvicini said was impressive as she is only 19-years-old.

"I think I was a little scared to go inside before," Willis said.

Her flair to make the no-look pass or cross-court lob stands out as well.

"It just comes natural," said Willis about difficult passing. "I get yelled at for it, but it's a habit that is hard to break."

"Her passes come from anywhere, you have to be ready at all times. I think it comes from her softball background, throwing all those curve balls and such," said Alexander, jokingly.

Bonvicini inserted Willis into the starting line-up when Minter went out with a bad ankle. She said she plans to continue with Willis, even though Minter is back.

"Felecity is going to stay where she is at," she said. "We are down the stretch now and we have to do whatever is best for the team. 20 wins is a good season, but we still have a way to go."