CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior forward Krista Warren and the Wildcats look to avenge a last-second loss to Washington earlier this season tonight at home.

If tonight's matchup between Arizona and No. 20 ranked Washington is anything like the two teams' last meeting, you'll want to be there.

The Wildcats take on the Huskies tonight at 7 p.m. at McKale Center in the team's first home game in almost three weeks.

UA (14-6, 7-4) dropped a 60-59 decision on Jan. 11 to Washington in Seattle. The Wildcats struggled from the free throw line in the game's final minute and opened the door for a Huskies game-winning shot at the buzzer.

With 18 seconds left and the Wildcats leading by one, sophomore guard Dee-Dee Wheeler missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw attempt, and junior guard Aimee Grzyb did the same with 13 seconds remaining. Washington was able to grab the rebound, go the length of the court for a shot attempt and score the game-winning put-back to edge then-No. 18 Arizona.

"(At Washington), we struggled offensively, and in the second half, we let them back in the game," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "We had two opportunities to put the game away, and they took advantage of those opportunities."

Game Info Who: UW at UA When: Tonight at 7:00 p.m. MST Where: McKale Center Who to Watch: UA- Dee-Dee Wheeler; UW- Giulana Mendiolina

If the Wildcats have revenge on their minds, they caught the Huskies at a bad time.

Washington (17-3, 9-2) is on a current four-game winning streak and has won eight out of its last nine, including a sweep of the Los Angeles schools last weekend.

The Huskies had a record-breaking night Saturday when they beat UCLA 111-77. The 111 points were the most points scored by a Washington team in Pacific-10 Conference play. The team's game two nights earlier against USC was almost as lopsided when the Huskies beat the Women of Troy 94-76.

A big reason for Washington's success has been the play of junior guard Giuliana Mendiola. Mendiola was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for her play against the two LA schools.

Against the Bruins, she scored a school-record 43 points and tied a career high with 12 rebounds. During the two-game stretch, Mendiola averaged a near triple-double with 32.5 points, 11 rebounds, 7.5 assists, while shooting an outstanding 72.7 percent from the field (24-33).

"She is playing the best basketball of her college career," said Bonvicini. "She is obviously a good scorer, but she does a nice job of rebounding and with assists."

Mendiola's highlights are not the only part of the scout tape that has been worn out. Washington has three other players that average double digits in scoring and is also a very senior-laden team.

"You can't just focus on (Mendiola)," said Bonvicini. "They play nine people, and all of them can shoot the ball."

A little good news for the Wildcats is that they get to play at home for the first time in four games. Arizona is 8-1 this season in the McKale Center, and it seems that everyone is glad to be back.

"We have been gone so long," said Bonvicini. "We are so glad to be back home."

Freshman center Shawntinice Polk said coming home to play these important games is vital.

"We have to win these games at home," said freshman center Shawntinice Polk. "It's been hard (being on the road)."

Polk comes into the Washington contest as the Pac-10 Conference leader in rebounds and is number two in scoring. In the last game between the two teams, Polk scored 20 points and had six rebounds before fouling out in the last minute of the Wildcats' loss.

UA needs to beat Washington tonight to keep within striking distance of the Pac-10 regular season title. The Wildcats are currently two games behind the Huskies and 2.5 games behind conference leader Stanford.

"From here on out, every game is a big game," said Bonvicini. "These games are huge for the Pac-10 title and the NCAA (tournament)."

"She is playing the best basketball of her college career," said Bonvicini. "She is obviously a good scorer, but she does a nice job of rebounding and with assists."

Mendiola's highlights are not the only part of the scout tape that has been worn out. Washington has three other players that average double digits in scoring and is also a very senior-laden team.

"You can't just focus on (Mendiola)," said Bonvicini. "They play nine people, and all of them can shoot the ball."

A little good news for the Wildcats is that they get to play at home for the first time in four games. Arizona is 8-1 this season in the McKale Center, and it seems that everyone is glad to be back.

"We have been gone so long," said Bonvicini. "We are so glad to be back home."

Freshman center Shawntinice Polk said coming home to play these important games is vital.

"We have to win these games at home," said freshman center Shawntinice Polk. "It's been hard (being on the road)."

Polk comes into the Washington contest as the Pac-10 Conference leader in rebounds and is number two in scoring. In the last game between the two teams, Polk scored 20 points and had six rebounds before fouling out in the last minute of the Wildcats' loss.

UA needs to beat Washington tonight to keep within striking distance of the Pac-10 regular season title. The Wildcats are currently two games behind the Huskies and 2.5 games behind conference leader Stanford.

"From here on out, every game is a big game," said Bonvicini. "These games are huge for the Pac-10 title and the NCAA (tournament)."