Wildcats makes run for NCAA's starting with Cal

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior Lisa Griffith (3) dribbles toward the hoop during a game against Oregon State University. The Wildcats take on the University of California tonight at McKale Center.

Tonight, they focus on the California Golden Bears (10-13, 4-10), who are coming off a sweep of the Washington schools last week at home, but are 0-9 this season on the road.

"They were at home last week against the Washington schools and played with a lot more confidence," UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "Their seniors are realizing this is their last trip down here and will be motivated."

Cal head coach Marianne Stanley says her team is not thinking about snapping their road winless streak, but concentrating on ending the careers of the seniors on a positive note.

Arizona vs. Cal (14-9, 9-5 Pac-10) (10-13, 4-10) Tipoff: 7 p.m. at McKale Center TV/Radio: not televised Game Notes: The women's basketball team, making its run to the NCAA Tournament, begins its final homestand this weekend. They face Cal tonight and Stanford on Saturday afternoon. The first 500 UA students will receive prizes, Domino's pizza and Pepsi.

"We don't talk about it, but the media never lets us forget about it," Stanley said. "Our seniors have a lot of pride and want to get that monkey off our back."

Cal is led by junior forward Paige Bowie, who is averaging 12.0 points per game. Senior guard Sherrise Smith is averaging 9.8 ppg.

"Everybody's feeling pretty confident, everybody's working really hard right now," Stanley said. "We're playing aggressively and forcing a lot of turnovers. This is a good opportunity for the team to prove themselves on the road."

Cal defeated No. 4-ranked Colorado State at home in December, a week before the Rams defeated Arizona 80-70. As the regular season hits the home stretch, Arizona (14-9, 9-5) is close to the postseason and does not want to fall off track because anyone is looking ahead to Saturday's game with Stanford.

"We'll take the Cal game just like any other conference game, because anybody can win on any night in the Pac-10," junior guard Lisa Griffith said. "If we do the things Coach B expects us to, we should win, but they are a good team."

Bonvicini said only Arizona controls where they go.

"The two games are huge," Bonvicini said. "The first game is against Cal, and then we'll worry about Stanford. We control our own destiny. We just go one game at a time, not worry about next week. Our RPI rating is good, we just need to win more games."

Playing Oregon, Stanford and UCLA, who are currently in first, second and third place in the Pac-10, in consecutive weeks will give Arizona valuable points in the RPI rankings, which the NCAA uses in the tournament selection. It may be a difficult schedule, but the Wildcats are better prepared to play it now than they were a month or two ago because they have found their rhythm.

"The disadvantage is if you have to win those games, there's a lot of pressure on you," Griffith said. "The advantage is they're all good teams and they can make your RPI rating higher. Plus, we've improved a lot since the beginning of the season."