As much as the Arizona women's hoops team has struggled on the road ÷ 6-7 overall and 3-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference ÷ Thursday night's game at Washington State (5-20, 1-15 Pac-10) could be the Wildcats' only sure thing away from McKale Center this season.

But the Wildcats' final regular season game Saturday at Washington should be a tough one, not to mention a big one in terms of the postseason.

A sweep of the Washington schools would give Arizona a 14-4 conference record, matching its all-time best, and assure it a minimum of a second-place Pac-10 finish.

But the Huskies (15-10, 8-8) aren't ready to roll over and allow that to happen. They have NCAA tournament aspirations of their own, and with victories over the UA and Arizona State, the No. 2 and 3 teams in the conference, they could be the fifth Pac-10 team to sneak into the big dance.

And Seattle isn't an easy place to play.

"We lead the Pac-10 in attendance, and we want to play hard for our fans," said UW head coach June Daugherty. "That's what it's all about."

The Wildcats routed Washington 89-74 Dec. 27 in McKale Center, the Pac-10 opener for both teams. The Huskies opened conference play 1-5, but are 7-3 since, and have won four of their last five at home.

UW's eighth-year head coach says her team doesn't need any additional inspiration for beating Arizona and Arizona State this week.

"I don't know if you need extra motivation," said Daugherty, whose team is coming off an 11-point win at Oregon and an 18-point rout at WSU.

"We're excited about playing hard and continuing to improve. We're showing that with our road wins of late."

In addition to 2003 Pac-10 Player of the Year Giuliana Mendiola, Daugherty says a trio of freshmen have stepped up in recent games: forwards Maggie O'Hara and Jill Bell, who combined for 21 rebounds in UW's win at Washington State, along with guard Cameo Hicks.

"Hicks has been on a roll," Daugherty said. "She's put together five or six really good games."

Daugherty said the Huskies will be wary of Arizona's defense, which held Oregon State and Oregon to 54 and 58 points, respectively, in a pair of wins last weekend.

"Definitely for us, we have to be more poised for a variety of defenses that Arizona plays," she said. "They really played great defense and they mix it up so well."

First-place Stanford is the only Pac-10 team with a winning road record in conference play. But Daugherty doesn't think the home-road issue is isolated to the Pac-10.

"I don't think it's just the Pac-10. I think it's the whole country," she said. "Everyone is just so doggone competitive.

"I think that a lot of teams are just drawing better at home, and the crowd certainly is a factor, too."

Arizona heads to Pullman, Wash., to take on the Cougars tomorrow night at 8 before it takes on Washington Saturday at 2 p.m.

Polk a candidate for player of year award

UA sophomore center Shawntinice Polk is among the top 21 candidates for the annual State Farm Wade Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in women's NCAA Division I basketball.

The 6-foot-5 Polk is one of two sophomores on the list; the other 19 are juniors and seniors. Polk and Stanford forward Nicole Powell are the only Pac-10 players to be nominated.

UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said Polk takes individual accolades with a grain of salt.

"I think it's well-deserved, but I think she puts things into perspective," Bonvicini said. "It's more important that the team does well."

Polk is averaging 16.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in starting every game this season for the Wildcats.

Lindner enjoying more playing time

Coming off a pair of season-ending knee injuries, redshirt sophomore guard Katrina Lindner has seen her minutes on the court increase in recent games.

Lindner is averaging nearly 11 minutes per game this season. She saw 20 minutes of action against OSU and 16 against Oregon.

Lindner is averaging only 1.8 points per game but has committed just 16 turnovers. She has the third best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) on the team, behind senior guard Aimee Grzyb and Arizona's leading scorer, junior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler.

"She's only getting better," Bonvicini said. "I think her knee is getting better, too."

Cats inching back into national polls

Though they're still reeling in the rankings following their losses at Southern California and UCLA two weeks ago, the Wildcats inched up in both polls this week following routs of Oregon State and Oregon.

Arizona received 15 votes in this week's Associated Press poll, up from six votes last week, and climbed from 11 to 16 votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.

The Wildcats are one of just two teams to receive votes in the AP poll. Stanford, which Arizona beat 88-83 Feb. 5 in Tucson, is ranked 10th in both polls.