Women fixed on Nebraska tourney

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior guard Lisa Griffith (3) goes up for a layup against Solvan Bratislava Nov. 6 at McKale Center. The Wildcats travel to Nebraska to play in the Nebraska CableVision Classic, starting tonight at 6:05, against Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The Wildcats face the Phoenix of Wisconsin-Green Bay tonight at 5. South Alabama faces host Nebraska afterward, with the two winners playing Sunday at 2:05 p.m. The losers play in the consolation game at 12:05 p.m.

Arizona is the only ranked team among the four, but with only four returning letter winners, the Wildcats are a bit of an unknown quantity.

UWGB, a perennial power in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, is coming off a 21-9 season that included a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Phoenix return nine letter winners, including three starters.

Senior forward Chari Nordgaard leads the Phoenix, averaging 17.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last year. Junior guard Stacy Krueger had 6.2 ppg and 2.7 rpg a year ago.

"A lot of our players might be looking past Wisconsin-Green Bay and towards Nebraska, but will find that Wisconsin-Green Bay is a very good team," UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said.

In last week's exhibition win against Slovan Bratislava, junior guards Felecity Willis and Lisa Griffith combined their leadership skills and had 21 and 18 points, respectively. Freshman forward Elizabeth Pickney, who has impressed the coaching staff with her inside play, had 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

The projected starting lineup features Willis and Griffith at guard, Pickney and junior transfers Tatum Brown and Angela Lackey as the forwards.

"It's a big test, bigger than the exhibition game," Willis said. "It will tell us where we're at. If we meet Nebraska, it will be just like last year."

Arizona, then No. 11, defeated Nebraska, then No. 12, 68-59 in the championship game of the Insight Women's Classic in Tucson last December.

"First, we have to just focus on the Wisconsin-Green Bay game and play our basketball," Willis said.

Nebraska finished 23-10 last year, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They return eight players, including four starters. In their first two exhibition games, the Cornhuskers have crushed European opponents.

South Alabama has six players returning, four of them starters, from last season's 7-20 team. The Jaguars are 1-1 in exhibition play.

Bryan Rosenbaum can be reached via e-mail at Bryan.Rosenbaum@wildcat.arizona.edu.