Bristol becoming familiar name

Chris Richards Arizona Daily Wildcat UA guard Reshea Bristol (10) puts up a shot in Tuesday night's game against Stanford. Teamwork paid off for the Wildcats with a down-to-the-wire, 91-90 win over the strong Cardinal squad.

You probably had not heard or seen her name much before holiday break, but after setting career-highs in scoring in three of the Wildcats' last four outings, Bristol is quickly becoming a household name among those at McKale Center.

The redshirt freshman calmly scored two of her career-high 23 points on a 19-foot buzzer beater to give Arizona a 91-90 win over Stanford Monday.

The shot and dog pile that followed was featured on ESPN's "Sports Center" Monday night and appeared Tuesday afternoon in the show's "Nightlights" segment.

The last time the Wildcats defeated the Cardinal - March 8, 1986, - Bristol was just eight years old.

"It feels awesome, great," said Bristol, describing her first ever game-winning basket.

"Anybody could have made that shot on any given night."

The guard, who was the game's leading scorer, dropped to her knees after the ball went through the hoop. Before she knew it, the entire team was huddled on the ground around her celebrating.

"I've got a couple bruises and my arm hurts...but hey, that's what it's all about," Bristol said.

She scored 44 points over a span of eight games before the New Year. Since 1998 began, Bristol has recorded 67 in five contests.

Her New Year's resolution?

"To be myself," she said. "When people give you criticism, take it. It may be rough on you (but) toward the end it will help you out to be a better person."

Bristol burst into the starting lineup Jan. 4 against Southern Cal, replacing senior DeAngela Minter, who was suffering from an upper respiratory infection.

She scored 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the game.

"Ever since then, she's just been playing like we know how she can play. She plays with confidence and she's definitely playing like our freshman have been playing in the past," said senior Marte Alexander, eluding to strong performances by then-redshirt freshman Lisa Griffith and true freshman Felecity Willis. "It must be a character thing that the coaches look for when they recruit players - somebody who has confidence in their game and are going to go out and play."

Bristol responded to a one point performance in Arizona's loss to Washington State by pouring in a team-high 20 points that helped the team defeat then-No. 7 Washington last weekend.

"When the coaches put me (in) as a starter against USC that really gave me a confidence boost...to go out every game and every practice and play my best," Bristol said.

And two days later against Stanford, she increased her career-high by three points.

"Reshea's development was, honestly, because we redshirted her last year. I always knew she was going to be a great player. It was her mental toughness that had to get better," said UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said, who added that Bristol earned herself a permanent starting position. "I didn't want to put a lot of pressure on her early. I wanted to bring her along slowly. Then some people got injured and had some sickness (so we) put her in the starting spot and she responded."

Bristol was the last player to leave the interview room Monday evening. As she approached the door, she was met by something the redshirt freshman may have to get used to - a group of autograph-seekers waiting patiently for her to sign team posters.

New Year Scoring Machine

Before 1998 began, guard Reshea Bristol scored 44 points in eight games, a 5.5 average. Since the New Year, Bristol has set and beaten her career scoring mark three times and is averaging 8.5 points per game. Here's a look at her performances in Arizona's last four games.

• Jan. 4 against Southern Cal: Scored a season-high 19 points in her first collegiate start to help Arizona sweep the Southern California schools.

• Jan. 8 against Washington State: Scored one point in the Wildcats' last second loss.

• Jan. 10 against Washington: Set a new career-high, collecting 20 points in Arizona's 31-point blow out.

• Jan. 12 against Stanford: Had best performance to date, recording 23 points (two of which came on a buzzer beater to give Arizona its first win over the Cardinal since 1986).