Last week was rough for the UA women's basketball team. The Wildcats played four games - all on the road - came out 2-2 and fell from the Associated Press rankings for the first time in just over a year.
A loss to a tough UC Santa Barbara squad and a fifth-place finish in the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine classic was not exactly what Arizona (3-2) wanted. But there were some positives on the week, such as junior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler, who averaged 15.5 points during the tournament, including a 21-point performance in a win over Hawaii on Sunday.
Wheeler added 6.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.8 steals for the tournament, and was named to the all-tournament team.
"I thought at Santa Barbara we could have played better, (but) they earned that win," said UA head coach Joan Bonvicini. "Against Virginia, we should have won that (game)."
The 13th-year Wildcat coach said some positives could be taken from her team's occasional poor play.
"You learn a lot about the team," Bonvicini said. "We definitely need to keep (freshman center Shawntinice Polk) in the game, and we need to improve shot selection."
Cats cling to final spot in ESPN coaches' poll
Losses to No. 18 UCSB and Virginia - which was also in the Top 25 for a time this season - caused UA to drop from No. 18 to No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll released Monday. In the AP poll, the UA was ranked 21st last week, but dropped out of the polls completely this week.
"It matters," said Bonvicini. "It's a pride thing. We need to get back into the polls and earn it."
Fiesta Bowl Classic to tip off this weekend in McKale
With last week behind them, the Wildcats are looking forward to the comfort of their own court this weekend as they host the 13th annual Fiesta Bowl Women's Classic on Saturday and Sunday.
The Wildcats face American University (2-1) in the second game of the tournament on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The other teams participating in the tournament are Massachusetts (1-4) and Utah State (0-2), which is fielding a women's basketball team for the first time since the 1986-1987 season.
Should the UA and UMass meet in the second round of the tournament, it would put UA head coach Joan Bonvicini and UMass head coach Marnie Dacko head-to-head for the first time. The two were college teammates at Southern Connecticut State in the mid-1970s.
The head coaches are not the only ones who would look forward to that particular matchup. Wheeler and Massachusetts junior guard Monique Govan played together at Chicago's Dunbar Vocational Career Academy.
Arizona currently owns a 14-game home winning streak in the regular season - second best in UA women's basketball history. With a win against American on Saturday, the Wildcats would tie the record with 15, which was set from Jan. 4, 1999 to Jan. 6, 2000.
"I don't really think of the streak," Bonvicini said. "Our goal is to win our own tournament - beat American and go to the championship game."
Cats' stats suggest team is among best in Pac-10
The season is only five games old, yet statistics already demonstrate where the teams stand against each other in the Pacific 10 Conference. The UA is in the top five in five different categories. The Wildcats are second in rebounding defense (29.6 rpg), third in scoring (70.4 ppg), third in rebounding margin (plus-8.6 rpg), fourth in 3-point percentage defense (.280) and fourth in rebounding (38.2 rpg).
Sophomore Peterson opts to use redshirt season
Sophomore guard/forward Phakisha Peterson has decided to redshirt after finding out she has stress fractures in both of her lower legs. She came off the bench for the Wildcats in 26 games last season, averaging 5.7 minutes, 1.2 rebounds and 1.0 points per game.