A chance at first place, a 23-game home court winning streak and an opportunity for revenge are all on the line tonight in McKale Center as the women's basketball team faces Stanford.
The Cardinal (17-3, 10-1 Pacific 10 Conference) beat the UA (16-5, 8-2) 84-62 Jan. 10 at Maples Pavilion. Center Shawntinice Polk hurt her knee in the opening minutes of the game, and the Wildcats trailed by as many as 47 points.
"This game means a lot to us because basically, when we went to their house, to me it was an embarrassment," said sophomore guard Natalie Jones. "We went in there, not nonchalant, but we went in there with no intensity, and right off the bat, Stanford just went off on us."
A victory tonight would tie the two teams for first place in the Pac-10. After Stanford lost to Southern California Jan. 25, the Wildcats enjoyed a brief time at the top with the Cardinal. A week later, a loss to rival ASU dropped Arizona back to second.
But the Wildcats still control their destiny, ensuring themselves at least a share of the Pac-10 title if they win out.
Stanford comes to Tucson with a very experienced team that returns all five starters from last season, including senior Nicole Powell. Powell leads Stanford with 21.1 points a game and has a Pac-10-leading 12 double-doubles on the season.
Powell is not the Cardinal's only scoring threat, however. Last week against Washington State, Stanford converted a Pac-10 season-high 15 3-pointers. Arizona was the victim the last time the Cardinal made 15 treys in a game this season.
In contrast, the Wildcats' best 3-point shooting games this year saw them convert eight treys against Texas State and six against Pac-10 opponents UCLA and Oregon.
"It's one thing that us guards have been working on in practice this week because our 3-point percentages are really low," Jones said. "We're kind of in a slump, so that's what the guards have been focusing on - shooting 3s, penetrating and getting open to shoot a 3. We should be smart, but if it's open, let's take it."
The Wildcats' only victory against the Cardinal in their last four attempts was Feb. 27 in McKale, where they notched an impressive 79-64 win against the eventual Pac-10 champions.
"We just need to stay poised," said junior forward CoCoa Sanford, a key reserve for the Wildcats. "Thursday's game is going to be just as aggressive, just as much contact and just as much enthusiasm as there was at ASU.
"Stanford is going to make runs. We just need to be consistent and keep on pushing."