Citizen Staff Writer
KEN BRAZZLE
kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com
Now that the Arizona women’s basketball team has a Pac-10 win, home-court advantage might start to mean something again.
Arizona (8-12, 1-8) is 0-4 in Pac-10 home games with five left. The Wildcats face Oregon State (12-7, 3-6) at 7 p.m. Thursday at McKale Center (1400 AM).
UA won at Washington but lost at Washington State last week.
“We went in with the mindset that we could come out with two wins,” first-year coach Niya Butts said. “With both (UW and WSU) in the same predicament that we were in terms of needing a win, we thought it would be a battle of wills and who could go out and compete and make the least amount of mistakes.
“I thought we did that at Washington. The problem is, it didn’t carry over, especially in the second half at Washington State.”
Butts saw some positive things on the recent road trip that she hadn’t witnessed before.
“We made some play in transition that we hadn’t made all year. We were able to get to the foul line and convert,” she said. “I was really pleased with that effort.”
Arizona continued that style of play against WSU in the first half before returning to its old ways in the second half.
“A lot of our mistakes started to catch up with us,” Butts said.
Since their last appearance at McKale Center, the Wildcats have undergone a lineup change. Sarah Hayes and Faihza Hill have started the last three games. Hill tied her career high with 11 points at Washington.
“We showed some things as a team and individuals that we have been looking for all year,” Butts said. “I think they all kind of came together at Washington.”