Wildcat women on the rebound

Tanith L. Balaban Arizona Daily Wildcat Women's basketball head coach Joan Bonvicini talks to freshman forward Julie Brase (20) during a practice earlier this season. Bonvicini had her 450th career win in the victory over Oregon State.

And after this weekend's sweep of the Oregon schools, including a victory over No. 25 Oregon Thursday, and last weekend's victory over Arizona State, the Wildcats are currently on a three-game winning streak and stand at 4-3 in the conference.

"This team has really improved in the last two weeks," said head coach Joan Bonvicini, who recorded her 450th career victory against Oregon State. "We're getting more cohesive and starting to gel as a unit."

The team has found its confidence despite the loss of Tatum Brown, who has sat out the last three games because of academics. Without her, the Wildcats miss a starter and have their bench shortened to four players.

But, as Bonvicini said, it has given players who don't get as much playing time a chance to step in and gain some experience.

Redshirt freshman LaKeisha Taylor had 10 points Saturday against Oregon State, while true freshmen Michelle Mitchell and Jen Callahan got into the scoring column as well. Callahan ignited the crowd and the bench when she converted a difficult layup in the second half, while Mitchell, an native of Oregon City, got over 10 minutes of action against a team from her home state.

The Wildcats travel to California this week for a matchup against Stanford Thursday and the California Golden Bears on Saturday.

"This was our first sweep of the season, and it really puts us back in the Pac-10 race," Bonvicini said. "It also gives us a big boost in confidence, and that's very important going into the California games."

Junior guard Lisa Griffith said this is the time to focus on Stanford.

"I'm focusing on every team we play each week," she said. "There were a lot of losses this year where we looked ahead. The coaches aren't going to let us get lazy and everybody is going 100 percent in the games, too."

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Sophomore guard Reshea Bristol was named Pacific 10 Conference player of the week yesterday.

Bristol led Arizona to a sweep of the Oregon schools, averaging 17.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 3.0 assists per the two games. She was 14 of 16 from the free throw line.

The Omaha, Neb., native scored 14 points and had four steals against the Ducks, then scored a season-high 20 points and was 11 of 12 from the free throw line against the Beavers.

This is the first time Bristol has been honored as player of the week.

Bryan Rosenbaum can be reached at Bryan.Rosenbaum@wildcat.arizona.edu.