By
Kamy Shaygan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Pickney, James try to give team 3rd win of season
The Arizona women's basketball team will seek its third win of the young season tonight when they host Rice at McKale Center.
While Rice is not ranked, the Owls were responsible for upsetting UC Santa Barbara in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament.
"Rice is a very good team," UA associate head coach Denise Dove Ianello said. "They really move up and down the floor well. We are going to have to come and play our best basketball in order to compete."
UA sophomore guard Krista Warren agreed.
"They are quick and fast," she said. "I have always known that they are a pretty good team."
The Owls (4-1 overall) are lead by junior guard Jennifer Rigg and junior forward Aarika Florus.
Rigg leads the team with an 11.2 scoring average, followed by Florus' 8.6 points per game average.
The Wildcats' (2-1) charge will be lead by junior forward Elizabeth Pickney, who is averaging 15 points and seven rebounds per game so far this season.
As expected, freshman forward Veranda James has made an impact so far this season.
James leads Arizona in rebounding, averaging 9.3 per game, and has posed a problem for opposing teams' defenses, averaging 12 points per game, courtesy of her 50 percent field goal shooting.
"We knew that Veranda would have this type of impact on our team and program," Dove Ianello said. "As far as a basketball player, she hasn't reached her potential yet.
"She is only going to get better and better. She's going to be a special one. By the time her senior year comes, she going to be definitely noted."
Controlling Arizona's offense will be guard Reshea Bristol, the team's lone senior.
Bristol, who is averaging a team-high six assists per game, has been netting 10 points per game so far this season.
Ianello said that while Bristol would be the natural choice as the team's captain, the Wildcats are too deep to name a leader so early in the season.
"I'm not sure if a leader has really come out of our team yet," Dove Ianello said. "We are still learning about one another. I think each one of them - in their own way - leads and helps with each other's focus."
Warren, who averaged 3.3 points per game last season, has played a large role in the Wildcats' offense, averaging 9.7 points per game this season.
"I'm impressed with the way I'm playing a lot more this year, because I feel the coaches have given me the chance to be a better player," Warren said.
Tonight's game is scheduled to tip-off at seven in McKale Center.
