Women's hoops coaches give midseason report

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior forward Tatum Brown (53) takes a shot during the game against San Diego Nov. 23 at McKale Center. Brown, who transferred from Central Arizona Community College, is ineligible for the rest of the season due to academics.

The Wildcats aren't looking too far ahead, and have focused on the short-term goals of winning the halves of games. The more they win those, the better chance they'll have of winning complete games, their coaches said.

"We've improved as a team and identified our strengths, and we're trying to play to our strengths," assistant coach Denise Dove said. "We've focused on the short goals, the 20-minute increments. The second half is a whole new game to us."

Two things Arizona needs to improve to be successful in the second half of the Pac-10 season are defense and rebounding. Head coach Joan Bonvicini has been emphasizing these areas all season, and believes if her team can do better there, it will be a much better team.

"We need to be a lot better rebounding the ball," Bonvicini said. "Rebounding, defensive rebounding, is the key to winning games, especially on the road.

"We also need to do a much better job holding down our opponents' field goal percentage. We're forcing a lot of turnovers, but we're not converting them."

Arizona has forced 243 turnovers in the Pac-10, committing only 163. The team is also out-stealing their conference opponents 120-66.

"Our press has helped because our goal is to wear our opponents down and force them to make mistakes," Bonvicini said.

The backcourt has been stabilized by juniors Felecity Willis and Lisa Griffith and sophomore Reshea Bristol. Willis has been the undisputed leader of the team, while Griffith has made significant improvement since moving to the point guard spot during the Washington road trip. Bristol has been a major factor since she exploded out of a slump in late-December.

"I think our backcourt is much better than they were at the beginning of the season," Dove said. "They've identified their roles and are playing well together."

Dove credits freshman guard Julie Brase as the team's unsung hero, saying Brase has shot the ball much better and is understanding team defense.

"You never question her effort. She always comes ready to play," Dove said.

The frontcourt has had plenty of success, but the loss of junior forward Tatum Brown, who was ruled ineligible for the remainder of the season yesterday, will force more players to step up.

Junior Angela Lackey has been the benchmark of the team's success this season. Bonvicini says when Lackey plays well, the team follows. Elizabeth Pickney has learned a lot in the post, and has played extremely well for a freshman.

Redshirt freshman LaKeisha Taylor has come on strong recently, while freshman Michelle Mitchell has been getting valuable playing time.

"I'm very pleased with where we're at," assistant coach Sam Dixon said. "They're getting better every game. The things they have been doing in practice has been translated into the games."

Bonvicini is pleased with where her team is going, but knows that only hard work is the only way to get to the tournament in March.

"We control our destiny," she said. "We want to go to the tournament but we need to look at it one game at a time."

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Junior forward Tatum Brown, who transferred to the UA this season from Central Arizona Community College, has been ruled ineligible due to academics for the remainder of the 1998-99 season. Brown was averaging 9.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, but had not played since Jan. 9, at Washington.

Brown will continue practicing with the team but will not play or travel. She will return to play next season.

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