JACOB KONST/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior point guard Dee-Dee Wheeler drives past Stanford defenders during the Wildcats' loss to the Cardinal Saturday in McKale Center.

After a bitter 78-66 loss to No. 8 Stanford on Sunday at McKale Center and the consequent end to the nation's longest home wining streak at 34 games, the Arizona women's basketball team (11-4, 3-2 Pac-10) look to bounce back this weekend with a pair of games in Southern California.

Besides facing two quality teams in UCLA and USC, the Wildcats have to travel outside the friendly confines of McKale, where they hold a 4-3 record.

The Wildcats take on Southern California today at 8 p.m. at the Lyon's Center and play No. 19 UCLA (11-3, 4-0) Sunday at 3 p.m.

"Stanford was even-keeled when they were down or when they were up," said UA head coach Joan Bonvicini, who is one win shy of her 250th victory at Arizona. "We had a six-point lead. I wouldn't say we panicked, but we didn't have a real vocal, fiery leader and emotional leader out there. So we talked about that.

"We also talked about that we're at the halfway point at the season and it's critical right now which way we want to go," she said. "We really need the entire team to step up and it's not just about a couple of players, it's about everyone."

On Sunday, USC (10-4, 4-1) held on to narrowly defeat Washington State in overtime, 77-75, to complete its first conference road sweep since 2001. Last Friday, the Trojans brought down Washington, 62-52, marking Southern California's first victory in Seattle in five years.

Four Trojans scored in double digits against the Cougars with freshman Camille LeNoir leading the charge with 14 points. Kim Gipson and Eshaya Murphy both notched their first career double-doubles. Gipson finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Murphy had 10 points and 11 boards. Jamie Hagiya rounded out the group with 11 points.

History sides with USC, as the Trojans lead the all-time series 37-15 with a 20-6 mark on their home court.

"Last year, we played UCLA first and we didn't play well at all," Bonvicini said of Arizona's 87-68 loss to UCLA on Feb. 12 last season and 68-66 loss to USC three days later. "(In) the USC game, we played better and they were hot and we lost a one-or-two-point loss. Both teams are playing very, very well and very confident. We'll be ready to play but this is a big road trip."

"(Those losses) hurt, they hurt bad," said sophomore forward Shannon Hobson. "That's putting a win on our shoulders and making us go out there, and get a sweep right now because we are a better team. We're a good team and we should be winning these games."

The Trojans have made some changes since their last matchup with the Wildcats, hiring new head coach Mark Trakh.

"USC is a lot different," Bonvicini said. "They have a new coaching staff who I think has done a great job in bringing along the returning players and intermingling the new players. They are playing with a lot of confidence right now and a great deal of poise. I really think they feel like they have something to prove."

As for UCLA, Bonvicini said that the Bruins have also strengthened at both their backcourt and guard positions.

"UCLA has three wonderful guards, I mean three of the best guards in the country," said senior point guard Dee-Dee Wheeler, who averages 19 points, five rebounds and three steals per game. "They are three of the guards who are in the Pac-10 top 10 in steals so they are going to be really aggressive and really scrappy on defense.

"They're a really confident team, they beat a lot of great teams in the preseason so they're basically try to jump on us from the jump so we're just going to have to keep our poise."