It is do or die for the Arizona women's basketball team.
The Wildcats (19-10, 11-7 Pacific 10 Conference) face off tomorrow against Southern California at 8:15 p.m. in HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., in the first round of the Pacific-10 Women's Basketball Tournament.
"I think we've been given a second chance here, and so our game and our season is a one-game season," said Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini.
Arizona is a No. 5 seed while the Trojans (18-9, 12-6) are seeded fourth.
Several Wildcats said they need to either win the tournament or finish second in order to receive a bid for the NCAA Tournament.
"There's a question of (the NCAA committee) taking three or four (teams) from the Pac-10," said senior guard Katrina Lindner. "With us being fifth, we definitely need to make it to the championship game. I would think. If we get to the Stanford game, (we need) to give Stanford a good run."
Arizona has dropped two of its last three games, with its most recent loss coming to Washington Saturday in McKale Center, 64-60.
In her last game in McKale, senior point guard and team captain Dee-Dee Wheeler notched 19 points, seven steals, five assists and five rebounds.
Junior center Shawntinice Polk had her ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to four steals and two blocked shots.
Both Wildcats were named to the All Pac-10 team yesterday.
"Our players know that we're disappointed with Saturday," Bonvicini said. "It's over. We've learned from it, and now we need to move on."
The Trojans defeated UCLA 80-77 Saturday, with every USC starter scoring in double digits.
Freshman guard Brynn Cameron paced her team with her first career double-double, 17 points and 10 rebounds, and seniors Rachel Woodward and Kim Gipson tallied 10 points each.
"I think they play very hard and they play smart," Bonvicini said. "They post up their guards. They're a little bit different than us because they're big in the guards spot. They don't rely on one particular player. They have a lot of different players really contribute."
Lindner said the Trojans are potent from both the perimeter and inside the lane.
"I think they have a good mix," she said. "They have a couple (of players) that can shoot the three, and then they have one or two that can still penetrate. They have a good distribution. They have a couple of players that are versatile, can go both inside or out. We just need to counteract that."
Arizona split with USC this season, as it won at home 87-74 on Feb. 12 but fell at Lyon Center Jan. 14, 67-54.
"I thought we played a very good game except for one aspect, even though we won here, and that was we allowed them 26 offensive rebounds," Bonvicini said. "We just can't do that this weekend."
Sophomore forward-center Shannon Hobson said there are several similarities between the Trojans' and Wildcats' styles of play.
"They like to run like we do," said Hobson, who is scheduled to make her first start Saturday since injuring her left knee on Jan. 14. "They're very athletic like we are, so it's very similar to us. They have some good shooters on their team."
Should Arizona defeat the Trojans, the Wildcats will face the winner of the Stanford-Washington State/California game at 4 p.m. Sunday.
"I think the biggest thing we have to do right now is play hard and play with a great deal of fire and purpose," Bonvicini said. "With everyone playing, there's so much on the line. It comes down to character and pride and how much you want it and which team wants it the most."
Along with Wheeler and Polk, freshmen guards Jessica Arnold and Ashley Whisonant were named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman honorable mention team.