UA faces Ohio State, Notre Dame over break

ERIC M. JUKELEVICS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA senior forward Elizabeth Pickney takes a shot against Pepperdine defenders during Sunday's game in McKale Center.

In preseason exhibition play, the post players on the Arizona women's basketball team dominated the team's two wins.

In Sunday's regular-season opener against Pepperdine, the guards carried the Wildcats to victory.

For tomorrow's matchup against Women's National Invitational Champion Ohio State, the Wildcats search to find a balance.

"The posts have scored the majority of our points (in preseason)," junior guard Julie Brase said. "But the guards did a great job hitting some outside shots and just kept shooting the ball."

Head coach Joan Bonvicini acknowledged the caliber of difficulty that awaits her team tomorrow night.

"Ohio State is very quick, and is coming off a great postseason where they won the WNIT," Bonvicini said.

Ohio State began its 2001-02 season with a victory over in-state rival Ohio 85-60 Sunday.

Junior forward Courtney Coleman carried Ohio State, shooting 10-for-12 for 21 points.

In her first collegiate game, Ohio State junior forward DiDi Reynolds registered a double-double, scoring 18 points and nabbing 11 rebounds.

Despite the intensity UA expects Ohio State to bring to tomorrow's game, the Wildcats are building off their own success.

After an 81-77 win against Pepperdine, the Wildcats head into tomorrow's matchup hoping to build on the confidence of a season-opening victory.

"I knew that whatever happened in (Pepperdine's) game, it was going to build on the Ohio State game," head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "This game is going to make (the game against Ohio State) a lot better. But, it's really important that we only go a game at a time."

Brase, who struggled throughout the preseason converting open shots, came up strong in crutch time for UA and recorded a career-high 18 points.

The UA junior was excited to snap her scoring slump.

"I've been open in all the games, and my shots just weren't falling," Brase said. "But on (Sunday), they were falling, and it feels really good to get my confidence back."

Bonvicini said she was pleased with the poise the team showed down the stretch to hold onto the Arizona victory.

"It's a good learning experience that you have to play a full 40 minutes," Brase said. "We went out and played a great 20 minutes and built a great lead, but with any lead, you cant just relax. We need to play hard the full time."

After struggling with perimeter shooting during preseason, the guards - primarily freshman Dee-Dee Wheeler and Brase - led the Wildcats to victory.

"Other teams aren't going to look at our team as just being post dominated, but they have guards that can shoot and work the outside game," senior forward Elizabeth Pickney said.

The Wildcats also showed poise at the free-throw line down the home stretch.

UA went 6-for-6 in the last seconds of play and hit 82.6 percent - 19-for-23 overall - from the free-throw line.

"A lot of people say you can learn from a loss," Bonvicini said. "Well, you don't need to lose to learn. You can learn the same lessons by winning."

The Wildcats tip off at 8 p.m. tomorrow and then face defending NCAA Champion Notre Dame Saturday at 5 p.m.