Women look to finish season strong

Dan Hoffman Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman guard Reshea Bristol (10) shoots an open layup against ASU earlier this year. Bristol and the rest of the Wildcats face USC at McKale Center tonight.

The Arizona women's basketball team is on its first road trip of the 1998 Pacific 10 Conference season, playing Southern Cal in the Lyon Center.

The Trojans are keeping the game close through the first half. With the game tied at 20, redshirt freshman Reshea Bristol, making the first start of her career, nails a three-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead. Five minutes later, with USC down by four, Bristol takes the feed from junior guard Monika Crank and nails another bomb.

The Trojans would never again get within seven points of Arizona as the Wildcats cruised to the 81-69 win.

It was the emergence of Bristol, who scored 19 points against USC on 6 of 9 shooting, which culminated in the game-winning jumper to break Stanford's 48-game Pac-10 winning streak Jan. 12.

Now back to the present.

Bristol has fallen out of the starting lineup and has seen her scoring drop significantly.

Assistant coach Denise Dove said Bristol was letting distractions get in the way, but that things are finally turning around for the 5-foot-10 guard out of Omaha, Neb.

"She has improved so much in that area," Dove said. "She can't let distractions bother her."

Dove said Bristol's intensity and concentration have gotten better. As a result, her playing time has increased. Dove also pointed out that Bristol is still a freshman and that the ebb and flow of her season reflects that.

"I don't care if it's Michael Jordan or Chamique Holdsclaw," Dove said, "your freshman year is always difficult.

"Her attitude is 100 percent improved," she added. "I think she's going to have a great weekend. Reshea and Lisa (Griffith) were awesome in (Tuesday's) scrimmage."

But the re-emergence of Bristol is not the Wildcats' primary concern. Tonight's game is about improving the team's NCAA Tournament seeding and shoring up a showdown with UCLA for second place in the conference.

The Bruins are currently in second place with a 13-3 conference record, while the Wildcats are tied for third with Oregon at 12-4.

If UA beats both USC and UCLA, and Oregon, as expected, loses to Stanford tonight, the Wildcats would finish the season in sole possession of second place, enhancing their chances of hosting the first two rounds of the tournament next weekend.

"These are obviously big games," UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "If we are fortunate to sweep this weekend, I'm pretty sure we would get a three seed.

"We better come ready and we will," Bonvicini said. "(USC head coach Chris Gobrecht) really has them playing well."

However, no matter how much the Trojans battle, they still have to deal with Arizona's three-headed defensive monster called the Wildcat backcourt.

California coach Marianne Stanley, whose team lost to the Wildcats last Thursday, 67-57, said handling the Wildcat pressure is a formidable test.

"They can be unpredictable," Stanley said. "The fact that they can put three guards on the court creates a lot of problems. It's hard to have an attack that can deal with the variations they can throw at you. The least bit of hesitation can cause a turnover."

No. 9 Arizona vs. Southern Cal

(19-5, 12-4 Pac-10) (11-14, 6-10)

When: Tonight at 7

Where: McKale Center

Radio: The game will be broadcast of KFFN (1490 AM)

Admission: Free with UA student ID; $3 seniors, youth and UA faculty and staff; $4 general admission

What: Arizona senior center Marte Alexander will make her first start since injuring her knee against Oregon State on Jan. 24 - With a win, UA assures itself a chance of winning sole possession of second place in the conference when it plays UCLA on Saturday - USC has lost three of its last four, with the one win being a 65-63 win over Washington last Thursday