UA women travel to Wash. St.

Arizona (20-5, 10-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference) has never won 11 conference games in a regular season and has yet to sweep the Washington schools on their courts.

"We have always struggled in Washington," Bonvicini said. "It's going to be tough, we understand that."

If UA junior Adia Barnes scores 24 points she will become the first player in Arizona history to join the Pac-10's "1,500-point-club."

Barnes, who leads the team in scoring (19.6 per game) and rebounding (8.8 per game) has been recovering from a sinus infection.

The Cougars (9-14, 3-11) ended a five-game losing skid on Saturday with an 83-70 win at California. They have lost six of their last eight games.

"The last time we played (Arizona won 76-46), they controlled the tempo all game," WSU head coach Harold Rhodes said. "At home we can usually control the game better. We should at least do a better job of matching their press."

In the first game, Arizona used its full-court press to go on a 31-17 run to end the first half, and then forced the Cougars to shoot only 19 percent from the floor in the second. Arizona had four players score in double figures.

"We have to do a better job with their team speed," Rhodes said. "They have the quickest three perimeter players in the conference and they cause a lot of problems."

UA star freshmen Lisa Griffith and Felecity Willis, along with junior DeAngela Minter and sophomore Monika Crank, provide the Wildcats with play-making abilities. Arizona leads the conference in assists and steals per game.

"We take a lot of pride in our defense," Willis said. "And being able to run the floor and get things going."

While the Cougars are out of any postseason contention, this is the second-to-last home game for their seniors. Sophomore Jade Hyett, who leads the conference in assists (7.9 per game) and steals average (4.6), plans on returning to her native Australia and turn pro next season. In the first game against Arizona, Hyett struggled with only five assists and seven turnovers.

"She's the type of player that looks to redeem herself," Rhodes said. "We are at home, it's our last hurrah. Our players want to send out those players (the seniors) on a positive note."

"This is the time for us to get better," Bonvicini said. "We have set a lot of first this season, we need to continue to roll."

The game starts at 8 p.m. Tucson time in Pullman, Wash. and will be televised on FoxSports Northwest on tape-delay on Friday at 8 p.m.