Jacob Konst/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona senior guard Natalie Jones drives on an Oregon defense in the Wildcats 81-72 overtime win against the Ducks Saturday in McKale Center. Prior to the win, the Cats had lost nine of their last 10 games, including the last five in a row.

There was something in McKale Center Saturday afternoon that hadn't been seen following an Arizona women's basketball game in quite some time: smiles.

"It feels like we just won the Pac-10 Championship," said senior guard Natalie Jones. "For us to be working so hard, giving all of our effort and having those downfalls and actually come out and just win this, it gives us so much confidence."

Four players scored in double figures as the Wildcats (6-11, 2-5 Pac-10) snapped a five-game winless streak, taking down Oregon (10-6, 1-5) 81-72 in overtime.

"It's funny, because going into overtime ... everyone was in double figures," said Jones, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. "That just shows that when we do that, when more people contribute, especially people coming off the bench, that helps our starters out because it doesn't put so much pressure on us (the starters)."

Joy Hollingsworth led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and also added seven rebounds and two assists. The junior guard hit a crucial 3-point shot 1:49 into overtime to knot the score at 67 after Oregon had jumped out to a three-point lead early in the period.

"I think when Joy hit that 3, that really started it for us," said Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini.

After two free throws by sophomore forward Ché Oh put the Cats up 69-67 with 2:45 to play, Ducks senior guard Brandi Davis, who had 14 points in the game, hit her fourth and final 3-pointer to give Oregon its final lead at 70-69.

Hollingsworth responded with her biggest trey of the game, a deep shot that gave her team a 72-70 advantage with 1:56 to play - a lead they never relinquished.

"The kids worked hard, they never quit, never would quit," Bonvicini said. "I thought in the second half and overtime, we were like a different team - much more confident."

Arizona was, in fact, a different team after a first half that saw them struggle from the field for the sixth straight game, hitting 7-of-27 shots (26 percent). After the break, however, the Wildcats came out more composed and collected, draining 14 of the 32 shots they attempted, including 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc.

Arizona also hit 3-of-5 shots in overtime, including 2-of-2 on 3-point shots.

A few days after being suspended for the Oregon State game for missing a morning workout earlier in the week, freshman forward Whitney Fields responded by having arguably the best game of her young career, totaling career highs in points (12) and assists (two).

"For her to come give us big minutes and big points, that was (very) helpful," Jones said. "A major turnaround for us to win that game was Whitney coming in (Saturday night), ready to play, putting some points up, grabbing the boards.

"She's a monster on the boards, and that's what we need. We need more production from our bench."

The Wildcats built their biggest lead of the game at nine points with 4:45 left in the second half, 57-48, but Oregon came storming back with a 16-7 run to tie the game at 64 with 16.9 seconds left.

On the final possession of the game, Arizona wasn't able to get a shot off before the buzzer. Sophomore guard Ashley Whisonant tried to drive towards the basket and after a questionable non-call, turned the ball over as time expired.

Though it would have been easy for the team to simply roll over and absorb another loss, defeat was simply not an option in their minds.

"This game, nobody put their heads down, everybody kept saying 'We want to have fun tonight, let's get a win,'" said Oh, who finished the game with a career-high 20 points.

"We knew that we were going to get it done in overtime," Jones said. "We played this hard. We were not going to go into overtime and lose."

Arizona held the lead for almost the entire first half thanks in large part to superb shooting from the charity stripe (11-of-12), but Oregon held a slim 30-26 advantage at the break.

For Arizona, the victory is one that not only helps in the standings, as they jumped from ninth in the Pac-10 to seventh, but also in the form of confidence, much needed before embarking on a tough two-game road trip to the Bay Area to face Stanford and California.

"We needed something badly because ... we're heading out on the road to face two really good schools," Jones said. "We were kind of shot. We kept working hard, working hard, never giving up, but it's kind of like you come to a point like, 'When are we going to win?'"

Throughout the game, the enthusiasm of the Wildcats was evident with the vocal play of the senior leader Jones, the young Whisonant, and the constant positive chatter from the bench.

"Our bench was right in our ear after every single play, and I think that's what helped a lot," Jones said. "During our timeouts, everyone's just around us, telling us what we needed to do, what we needed to continue to do, and it was positive, and that's the biggest thing."

Bonvicini was pleased with how much her team rallied around each other.

"When you know that no matter what, they're going to be with you, it just helps you so much," she said. "Your confidence - you always look over, and you know that they're with you. We just had to get over this hump. We really, really did."

For a team that just a few days before was in the midst of the worst losing streak in 10 years, it was a win that brought smiles to the faces of every Wildcat on the bench.

"We probably went from the lowest depths I think I could probably feel to just (being) so proud of the team," Bonvicini said. "It's a big win for us, (a) big win for our confidence. For everything, it's just - it's one we're gonna savor."

Notes

Before the game, Bonvicini set five realistic goals for her team to meet by halftime. They met four of them: Be up by one rebound (which they were, 18-17), shoot 70 percent or better at the free-throw line (they shot 92 percent), make eight or more free throws (they made 11), have less than five turnovers (they gave up three), and shoot 42 percent from the field (they shot only 26 percent). ... Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was in attendance to watch his niece, Oregon freshman guard Tamika Nurse. She finished with five points in 34 minutes of action.