Women look to stay sharp against lowly Cal

The Bears (5-12 overall, 1-6 in the Pacific 10 Conference) are one-half game ahead of cellar-dweller Oregon State.

Cal's only conference win was a 77-64 home triumph over the Beavers, the same team the Wildcats beat, 84-58 on Saturday.

That is pretty much where the similarities between the two teams end.

UA is the third-highest scoring team in the conference at 79.8 points a game. Cal is dead last at 61.9.

UA leads the Pac-10 in three-point shooting, the Golden Bears are last.

And, while UA leads in steals, Cal has committed the second-most turnovers in the league.

You get the point.

But, as most coaches are, UA head coach Joan Bonvicini is being cautious about the game, which tips off at 7 p.m. at McKale Center.

"Cal is a lot better than their record indicates," she said. "They give us different challenges."

Two players who might have a chance at providing trouble are 6-foot-3 junior center Jennie Leander and 6-1 freshman point guard Masa Radovich.

Leander has started 69 of 71 games in her college career and averages 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. She grabbed a season-high 18 boards in a home loss to Southern Cal Jan. 18.

But that kind of performance will not come easy against UA center Marte Alexander, who leads the Pac-10 in blocked shots and field goal percentage.

Alexander's numbers had dipped since a hot start, but she recovered against Oregon State with 18 points and seven rebounds.

UA assistant coach Bill Broderick said teams have begun doubling Alexander on the block to keep her from getting rebounds and tipping in missed shots, but that she can still get the job done.

"It's not a issue of skills," he said. "It's a matter of Marte getting herself ready."

Radovich, from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is one of six first-year players in Cal's eight-woman rotation. She is playing point guard for the first time this season.

Radovich leads the Bears in scoring at 11.8 points a game and is dishing out 3.6 assists each contest.

Though the game shouldn't prove to be too tough a contest for the Wildcats, Bonvicini pointed out that, after UA's last-second loss at Oregon last Thursday, the Wildcats can't afford another loss in conference play.

"We have to win here (tonight)," she said. "We're in control of our own destiny. Our goal is still to win the Pac-10."