Wildcats shock No. 25 Oregon

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman center LaKeisha Taylor (50) shoots over an Oregon defender last night at McKale Center. The Wildcats beat the No. 25 Oregon Ducks 78-74.

Last night, though, the Wildcats managed to pull one out, upsetting No. 25 Oregon (14-4 overall, 5-2 Pacific 10 Conference) 78-74 at McKale Center.

Junior forward Angela Lackey led Arizona (8-7, 3-3) in scoring for the second straight game with 18 points, while junior guard Felecity Willis had 15 and sophomore guard Reshea Bristol had 14.

Arizona's defense was able to shut down Oregon's 6'5" center Jenny Mowe thanks to its speed in the transition game, UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said.

"Mowe was a tough competitor, but I know that our transition game helped to take her out of the game," Wildcat head coach Joan Bonvicini said. "We played incredibly tough and didn't let up, and things worked out our way."

The Wildcats jumped off to an early first half lead, 14-8 with a set of Lackey jump shots. Lackey's solid defensive play early on helped to take out Mowe's physical inside play. The Wildcats led by as many as 13 at the 10-minute mark on the solid play of both Lackey and Willis. However, as the half dwindled down, so did the Wildcat lead. An Oregon surge in the final minutes of the first half left Arizona clinging to a 38-37 halftime lead.

THE BOX ARIZONA 78, No. 25 OREGON 74 OREGON (14-4) O'Brien 2-3 3-4 7, Meharry 3-3 4-4 10, Mowe 5-5 2-6 12, Williams 2-7 1-3 5, Strange 2-7 0-0 4, Piers 1-3 0-0 2, Bowyer 0-2 1-5 1, Dion 5-8 0-0 10, Wolvert 3-4 2-2 8, Curtis 5-6 4-4 15. Totals 28-48 17-28 74. ARIZONA (8-7) Bristol 5-11 3-4 14, Lackey 5-8 8-10 18, Pickney 2-13 5-5 9, Griffith 3-7 2-3 10, Willis 6-12 2-2 15, Brase 4-6 0-0 9, Taylor 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 26-60 21-26 78. Halftime-Arizona 38, Oregon 37. 3-Point goals-Oregon 1-7 (Curtis 1-2, Bowyer 0-1, O'Brien 0-1, Williams 0-3). Arizona 5-7 (Griffith 2-3, Bristol 1-1, Brase 1-1, Willis 1-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Oregon 35 (Mowe 7), Arizona 28 (Pickney 6). Assists-Oregon 16 (Williams 6), Arizona 15 (Griffith 5). Total fouls-Oregon 20, Arizona 24. Technical-Oregon bench. A-1,692

"We weren't running the floor well towards the end of the first half," Bonvicini said. "I just told the players that we had to make adjustments and just take the ball right at 'em."

The second half saw a change in the Wildcats' mentality.

"In the first half, we played really fidgety offense...we were a little intimidated," Willis said. "We just needed to relax ourselves and keep our composure out there. I think we did a good job of that."

A Willis three-pointer at 9:47 in the second half increased the Wildcat lead to 64-53, giving Arizona its biggest lead of the second half. However, just like in the first half, the Wildcats reduced themselves to playing Oregon's thuggish inside game. Eight-straight Oregon points cut the lead to 64-61 with 5:08 left. It was as close as it was going to get, though. Timely defense by Lackey coupled with two clutch free throws by Bristol with 6.5 seconds left cemented the Wildcat win by a four point margin.

"It didn't matter who we were playing tonight," Bonvicini said. "Tonight was a must-win game. We needed to get back in the Pac-10 title hunt, and tonight's game insured that for us."

Next up for the Wildcats is Oregon State this Saturday night at 7 p.m.

"We're anticipating a sweep," Bonvicini said. "We need to take this Saturday's game. No let-downs."

Last night's game was a coming-out party for freshman guard Julie Brase, who finished with a season-high nine points and two assists.

"I was moving better without the ball," Brase said. "I was breaking down screens, going for the ball, and just really being smarter."