For the Arizona women's hoops team, it's a nine-game race for the Pacific 10 Conference title.
After Southern California upended Stanford 59-56 Saturday, the Wildcats (16-4, 8-1 Pac-10) moved into a first-place conference tie with the Cardinal.
"I think the big thing for us is we control our destiny," head coach Joan Bonvicini said.
Arizona is off to its best Pac-10 start in history and has matched its second-best start through its first 20 games.
Bonvicini said the success of this year's group goes beyond talent.
"We've got a good complement of big players and guards, but the biggest thing is we have great chemistry," she said. "Talent alone won't win the big games. Chemistry, hanging together through the tough times, is big. This team is tough-minded and strong-willed."
Stanford's loss has created a mess atop the Pac-10, as the Cardinal and Wildcats, along with USC and Arizona State, are separated by just two games.
"There are certain teams that have better records than others and some that will play the spoilers," Bonvicini said.
Arizona will face ASU Saturday night at 6:30 in Wells Fargo Arena.
"The first half of the conference obviously has been tough," Bonvicini said. "Now, as we go into the second half of the Pac-10, the important thing is going a game at a time. It's going to be a matter of winning games on the road, and it starts for us going up to Tempe."
ÎFun Bus' set for ASU trip
The UA is putting on a promotion to encourage Wildcat fans to make the trip to Tempe with the team.
The UA "Fun Bus" hopes to pack Wells Fargo Arena with red in order to level out the hostile ASU crowd, just as UA fans did for the men against the Sun Devils last month. The bus will transport fans from Tucson to Tempe and back.
"I expect a good (UA fan) turnout," Bonvicini said. "Hopefully, we'll get a good turnout and break a few (attendance) records for our Stanford game."
The Wildcats will put their 23-game home winning streak on the line against the Cardinal on Thursday, Feb. 5. Arizona routed Stanford, 79-64, in McKale Center last season.
Polk poised to score 1,000
In just her sophomore season, UA center Shawntinice Polk is on pace to score 1,000 points in her Wildcat career by season's end.
Averaging 16 points per game, Polk is on schedule to reach the milestone in Arizona's final game of the regular season at Washington. She is 16 points away from cracking the UA's top-20 all-time scoring list.
Meanwhile, junior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler and senior guard Aimee Grzyb continue to climb the ranks of Arizona's top point-scorers.
Wheeler passed former UA guard Lisa Griffith with her 23-point performance Thursday at Oregon to move into seventh place on Arizona's all-time scoring list. With 1,222 career points, Wheeler is 39 points away from passing former guard Reshea Bristol for sixth and 43 away from moving past former guard Kirsten Smith for fifth.
Against the Ducks, Grzyb leapfrogged former Wildcat center Kim Conway for 10th place on the all-time list. Grzyb now has 1,080 points at Arizona.
The Wildcat Regrets the error.