KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman guard Jessica Arnold drives to the basket during UA's 86-65 win over Oregon State in McKale Center Saturday afternoon.

At the midway point in the Pacific 10 Conference season, the UA women's basketball team (14-5, 6-3 Pac-10) has already weathered its share of injuries.

Junior center Shawntinice Polk is almost 100 percent healthy after sustaining a left knee injury Dec. 27 at Washington. After missing two consecutive games against Washington State and ASU, Polk has slowly seen more playing time. In UA's 86-65 win over Oregon State Saturday, she added 25 minutes, 15 points, five rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal.

"(My knee) is a lot better," Polk said. "I got some practice in; I got some games in. Each day I'm going up and there's no back falls. I felt really good this weekend. I'm getting back conditioning-wise too."

Freshman guard Jessica Arnold will undergo surgery on her left shoulder in the offseason. The Tucson native tore her labrum Dec. 27; this is the same injury she suffered twice in high school. Arnold's shoulder brace has not diminished her offensive contributions, though, as she logged a career-high 21 points and three steals against the Beavers.

"I'll get more comfortable but it's coming back with more games and more practices," Arnold said. "Before I got hurt, I would be more aggressive and try to get to the basket more and get to the free throw line. So that's what I try to do, be more aggressive and not just be a shooter."

Sophomore forward-center Shannon Hobson injured her left knee in UA's 67-54 loss to Southern California on Jan. 14 and is listed as questionable for this week's games against ASU Wednesday and Maryland Saturday.

"(Hobson) had a similar injury to Polk," said UA head coach Joan Bonvicini. "It was a sprain (of the) medial collateral ligament. It happened at the SC game when Jessica Arnold was taking a charge and just fell into Shannon. She couldn't expect it, so she got hit on the side. Her (injury) was a little bit more severe than Polk's and that's why it's taking a little longer."

Senior forward Danielle Adefeso served her second start of the season Saturday and is scheduled to start Wednesday. After recovering from an early-season shoulder injury, Adefeso recorded 10 points and a team-high six boards against Oregon State.

Junior guard Natalie Jones has been experiencing pain in her right arm but plans to play through it for the remainder of the season.

"They really don't know what it is. It's just helping with my shot somehow," said Jones, who netted 15 points and five boards against the Beavers.

"That's the thing at this level, I hate to say it sometimes, you play through some injuries but I think she'll be OK," Bonvicini said.

Despite the recent injuries to the UA roster, the coaching staff remains confident that this team has improved over the last couple of weeks.

"We've had some weird injuries this year," Bonvicini said. "So now I just think we're playing better. I feel like we're an improved team since then. We're playing much better and we're a lot healthier."

The Wildcats will have a chance to prove their health Wednesday as the Wildcats take on in-state rival ASU at 7 p.m. in McKale Center.