Freshman guards Lisa Griffith and Kate Crane stepped up to head coach Joan Bonvicini's plea Friday night.

Bonvicini had asked that more players get involved in the scoring and the Wildcats (2-1) responded with four players scoring in double digits, beating Evansville 78-50 Friday night at McKale Center.

Griffith, who redshirted last season, and Crane, a true freshman, helped propel the Wildcats past the Aces. Griffith was 4-of-4 on three-point field goals in the first half.

"Lisa is a very good shooter, but she's hard on herself," Bonvicini said. "As she gets more confidence and gets more playing time she's a great perimeter threat. I really think each game she'll get a little better."

Prior to Friday night's contest, Griffith was averaging four points a game. She finished with 14 against Evansville (0-1).

Crane, who played 15 minutes Friday night, finished with eight points and five rebounds.

"Kate is a brute on the board," Bonvicini said. "She's going to be a good player. We have good freshmen and they just need more playing time."

Junior forward Adia Barnes led the team with 12 rebounds and added 12 points while junior Mikko Giordano led all scorers, coming off the bench for 19 points. Junior forward Jill Sajevic led Evansville with 13 points.

Giordano was quick to point out that despite her career-high 19 points - her average last season was 4.2 - she did not have a complete game.

"I shot OK tonight, but I feel in order to have a good game you need to have an overall good game," Giordano said. "I had too many turnovers and I didn't rebound as well as I wish I had."

Arizona will travel to play Texas A&M tonight. The Lady Aggies (1-0) are returning seven letter winners, including four seniors.

"We're on their home court, so I think it's a real key we play intelligent basketball and pull together," Bonvicini said.

Before tipoff, the championship banner from winning the National Women's Invitation Tournament in March was unveiled and the team received rings. Barnes was honored for scoring her 1,000th career point and former UA guard Brenda Pantoja received an award for leading the nation in assists last season.

"Our big thing here is not just having a good team but building a tradition and it's really nice to look up and see that (the banner)," Bonvicini said.

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