Women's hoops team hosts Insight.com Classic

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman forward Elizabeth Pickney (45) goes up for a shot against San Diego State in the Wildcats' 76-69 win Nov. 23 at McKale Center. Pickney leads Arizona in scoring with 14.3 points per game and in rebounding with 7.5 per game. The women's basketball team plays Sam Houston State tonight in the second game of the Insight.com Bowl Basketball Classic.

The action starts 6 p.m. at McKale Center when No. 2-ranked Louisiana Tech (3-1) takes on No. 18 Iowa State (4-0), followed by Arizona-Sam Houston State in the nightcap.

"We're very excited about hosting the tournament," UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "This is the best field we've ever had here, and it should be a good weekend."

Arizona's last game was Nov. 23 when it defeated San Diego State 76-69 at McKale Center. The Wildcats currently stand at 2-2.

The lay-off gave the team a chance to work on various aspects of the game in practice, and the coaching staff said it has seen some positive things.

"We've seen a great deal of improvement," UA assistant coach Denise Dove said. "We've worked on setting screens, boxing out, position breakdown work and a lot of scrimmaging. It was a very good 10 days for us."

One of the staff's main concerns after the team's 2-2 start was the backcourt play, something that was considered the cornerstone of the team going into the season. Junior Felecity Willis has held up her end, averaging 13.5 points per game, but junior Lisa Griffith and sophomore Reshea Bristol have been inconsistent. Bristol was suspended for the San Diego State game for violating team academic rules.

After more than a week of practicing and getting the team's offense in gear, the improvements should be seen on the court this weekend, Dove said.

"The guards are coming along well," she said. "We've changed the offense a little to allow them to penetrate the lane to the basket more and chances to create more off the dribble. The break has allowed for better timing in the backcourt."

There haven't been many complaints about the frontcourt, especially newcomers Elizabeth Pickney and Angela Lackey.

"Angie Lackey's learning how to play hard and play defense," Bonvicini said. "Liz is going to be a great player. She's learned a lot from the past few weeks."

Sam Houston State (3-3) is led by senior guard Shayla Teague and junior center Alicia Ferguson. Teague averages 12.2 ppg, while Ferguson averages 10.8 ppg.

"Sam Houston State is going to be a good test for us because they are a very scrappy team," Bonvicini said. "They do a lot of things, like press, trap out of the zone, man-to-man and 12 different offensive schemes."

Louisiana Tech is coming off a 92-73 loss to Tennessee on Monday night, a rematch of the 1998 National Championship game.

Iowa State's Megan Taylor, a sophomore guard, is averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

"Iowa State-Louisiana Tech is going to be a good game," Bonvicini said. "Iowa State has great perimeter shooting, while Louisiana Tech is going to be hungry after their loss to Tennessee."

Arizona has won the last three tournaments, and has made it to the championship game in seven of the last eight tournaments it has hosted.

"It's good to play at home, but it's also good to be challenged," Bonvicini said.

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