Citizen Staff Writer
KEN BRAZZLE
kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com
Could this be the weekend Arizona walks away with its first Pac-10 women’s basketball win?
Stay tuned.
Arizona (7-11, 0-7) plays at Washington (Thursday) and Washington State (Saturday) – two teams tied for eighth in the Pac-10 at 1-6 each.
Washington (5-12 overall) is up first for the Wildcats. The Huskies opened the Pac-10 season with a win over WSU before losing six straight, their longest skid since the 1999-2000 season, matching the school record.
Arizona has been setting school records, but not the type to brag about, either.
The Wildcats took a step backward in losing 75-38 Saturday at Arizona State. UA shot an all-time low of 21 percent (6 for 28) in the first half.
The 38 points matched Arizona’s low this season.
“We are starting to grow a little bit, but obviously not at the rate I would like to see them grow,” said first-year Arizona coach Niya Butts. “I do understand it’s a process. We have a lot of learning to do, but we are making progress.”
Washington has won the last six meetings against Arizona. The last Arizona win, 64-60, came in 2005. The Wildcats hope to get more out of the starters besides Ify Ibekwe.
She is second in the conference in scoring (15.7) and first in rebounding (11.9) per game.
UA freshman guard Reiko Thomas averages 11.4 points a game, but she was held under 10 against ASU. Although she played last week, Thomas was not at full strength because of an ankle injury she suffered against USC that caused her to miss the UCLA contest.
UP NEXT
Arizona (0-7, 7-11)
at Washington (5-12, 1-6)
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: Seattle
Radio: 1400-AM
PAC-10 WOMEN
Pac-10 Overall
California 7-0 16-2
Stanford 6-1 15-4
UCLA 5-2 14-4
Arizona State 5-2 13-6
USC 5-2 11-7
Oregon 4-4 8-11
Oregon State 2-6 11-7
Washington St. 1-6 8-10
Washington 1-6 5-12
ARIZONA 0-7 7-11