By Seth Doria
Arizona Daily Wildcat
March 4, 1998

Women making run to host tournament

After Saturday's 108-90 loss at Stanford, Arizona still stands just one game away from its third straight 20-win season going into tomorrow night's home contest against Southern Cal.

By contrast, UA did not have a single 20-win season in its previous 23 years. But it did rack up six 20-loss seasons during that span.While the historical significance of the 20-win plateau is a testament to head coach Joan Bonvicini's ability to build a basketball program, more important is the record the NCAA selection committee will see in determining if Arizona is worthy of hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

And hosting is something Bonvicini sees as paramount for the Wildcats' chances at making a serious run for the Final Four.

"That would be huge," Bonvicini said. "If you look at the teams that advance through the tournament, they have hosted. That doesn't guarantee a win, but it gives you an advantage."

The sites and pairings will be announced Sunday.

Barnes Snubbed

When the final nominations for the Naismith player of the year for women's basketball came Feb. 24, there was one glaring omission.

Arizona senior forward Adia Barnes, who ranks 12th nationally in scoring with 22.4 points a game while hitting 52 percent from the field and is on the list of candidates for the Associated Press player of the year, did not make the cut.

She also ranks seventh in the Pacific 10 Conference in rebounding (7.0 a game) and is second in the conference in steals (2.63).

Barnes, an honorable mention All-American in the preseason, is the only three-time Pac-10 player of the week selection this season.

"I was disappointed," she said. "She's had a great year in a lot of different categories."

Since coaches are eligible to vote for the award, Bonvicini said she wrote in Barnes as a candidate.

"She deserves to be on the list," Bonvicini said.

If you can't beat 'em, foul 'em

So how did Stanford crush the Wildcats by 18, just six weeks after Arizona beat the Cardinal 91-90?

"The difference was our free throws," Vanderveer said.

Stanford only hit 52 percent from the charity stripe in Tucson, including a 7 for 22 performance in the second half. They hit 38 of 48 free throws on Saturday.

"Arizona is an excellent team," Vanderveer said. "In my mind they are a top threat in the NCAA Tournament."

"Both teams shot a lot of free throws," Bonvicini added. "That was just a little bit of frustration."

Bonvicini said that, although she hated to admit it, there was a silver lining to the blowout loss.

"Our ego was definitely put in check," she said. "And this is a good time for that."