Arizona Daily Wildcat
The Arizona women's basketball team is now 19 games into its season and Ä as well they should Ä the Wildcats have a pretty good idea of what they can and can't do. They can win on any given night. And they can lose on any given night.
In order to have any chance at qualifying for the NCAA tournament in March, the Wildcats (9-10 overall, 4-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference) need to win on their latest given nights Ä tonight and Saturday.
Tonight at 8 at Bohler Gym in Pullman, Wash., the UA will face Washington State in a battle against a Cougar team it defeated twice last season.
Then Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Arizona plays 13th-ranked Washington.
"This weekend will be a good test for our team," said UA coach Joan Bonvicini. "We are a young team that is ready to grow up. This will only be our second Pac-10 road trip and it is so important to get wins on the road, in this conference."
Currently, the UA is tied with Oregon (which it defeated last week 78-74) and Oregon State (which it lost to last week 79-64) for third place in the conference behind Washington (15-5, 5-2) and Stanford (16-1, 7-0).
Seventh-place Washington State (9-7, 2-5) is led by junior forward Jenni Ruff and senior center Kireen Ellis, who are both averaging 13-plus points and five-plus rebounds per game.