The Arizona women's basketball team may want to adopt a new motto for this season € revenge is sweet.

The Wildcats (17-6 overall and 8-6 in the Pacific 10 Conference) have been driven by the "revenge factor" all season, and tonight will be no different when the Washington State Cougars come to town. The last time the Wildcats played WSU (15-10, 6-8), they were in the midst of a three-game losing streak that almost knocked them from the Pac-10 race.

Now, as Arizona returns to McKale Center for its final homestand, it is once again near the top of the conference. A sweep of the Washington schools will not only satisfy UA's need for vengeance, but will put it one step closer to its goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever.

"The big thing for me is for people to realize that this is the first team that made the tournament," senior point guard Brenda Pantoja said. "I want to be recognized as part of that team, not as Brenda Pantoja, but as part of the team."

Pantoja and fellow senior forward Andrea Constand will be playing their last home games at McKale, and for the first time have a real shot at making the tournament. The success of that bid will likely depend on how they fare against the Washington schools € schools on the same bubble as the Wildcats.

"When we're not afraid to take risks, we win games," Constand said. "We are an emotional team and we play best when we play with emotions."

The Wildcats are coming off of a 76-66 road loss to No. 14 Oregon State, while the Cougars were upset by California 91-83. The loss hurt Washington State's chances for a tournament bid as it knocked it below .500 in the conference (6-8). The Cougars will be hungry for a win, but the Wildcats should be even hungrier to avenge a 71-65 loss in Pullman and send their seniors out with a home sweep.

"Both of these games are revenge games for us," Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "It's also our last homestand, and we want to end that on a good note. We didn't do a good job on defense or rebounding against them (WSU) the first time, and we hope to improve on that this time around."

The Wildcats' defensive effort will likely center around Cougar senior forward Jenni Ruff. Ruff lit up Arizona for 25 points in the two teams' last meeting, and is averaging 22.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Junior forward Kristin Erickson contributes 14.1 points per game, while senior center Yvonne Kunze is putting up 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.