Playing close at times, dominating at most others, the Arizona women's basketball team knocked off Oregon State last night in Corvallis, Ore., 78-59, to move into a second place tie in the Pacific 10 Conference.

The Wildcats (18-8, 10-5 Pac-10) are now tied with Southern California and Oregon in the conference standings.

The Beavers (6-19, 1-14) came within four points of the Wildcats with over five minutes to play in the second half.

Senior point guard Dee-Dee Wheeler responded, draining back-to-back 3-pointers and notching a pair of layups to put the Wildcats up 14.

Wheeler finished the night with a team-high 22 points in addition to four rebounds and four assists.

"It was a good game," Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "We started it off the first half and played pretty strong and got a good lead, and with four minutes left, (we) got them back into the game."

Arizona recorded the first four points of the first half before OSU went on a 7-0 run.

The Wildcats responded with their own 18-3 scoring drive to take a 22-10 lead.

Arizona led by as many as 18 points, 32-14, but Oregon finished the half with an 11-0 run. The Wildcats went into the locker room with a seven-point cushion, 32-25.

Junior guard and reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week Natalie Jones contributed 12 points, six steals, four boards and three assists in the win.

Freshman guard Ashley Whisonant rounded out the group of double-digit scorers with 15 points, six boards and six assists.

"Dee-Dee played a very good second half," Bonvicini said. "Ashley was tremendous."

Junior center Shawntinice Polk, who has been plagued by a nagging left knee injury, recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.

"I thought defensively and rebounding-wise, (Polk) was outstanding," Bonvicini said. "But she missed some shots she normally makes."

With only 362 fans in attendance at Gil Coliseum, the Wildcats were forced to generate their own spark.

"I knew here in Corvallis, Oregon State has struggled this season," Bonvicini said. "We knew it wasn't going to be a lot of people."

Arizona now heads to Eugene, Ore., to take on the Oregon Ducks Saturday at 3 p.m. in a nationally televised matchup on Fox Sports Net.

The Ducks (17-7, 10-5) defeated ASU last night, 66-59.

"This is going to be a big game," Bonvicini said. "They feel like they need these games to get into the tournament and so do we. Sizewise, they are bigger than we are, particularly on the perimeter."

"Oregon plays so much better when they're at home," Jones said. "They're really a powerhouse team."

"Playing Oregon, it's always a close game at the end. We've been in that situation before. I think for the upperclassman we just need to be more mentally prepared because we've been in that atmosphere for the last two, three years."

"They always draw a great crowd," Wheeler said. "It's a great atmosphere. One of the toughest places to play is Mac(Arthur) Court."