TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona's Dee Dee Wheeler scored 14 of her game-high 26 in the second half, hitting 4-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc and nailing down 6-of-6 at the free throw stripe, as Arizona defeated Stanford 79-64 on Thursday night in Tucson.
Arizona (19-7, 12-5 Pac-10) looked good early against Stanford (22-4, 14-3), as freshman center Shawntinice Polk led them to a 37-24 halftime advantage. Polk scored 12 of the Wildcats' first 19 points.
Stanford went cold from outside early on, shooting 11 percent from 3-point range during the opening half.
"Arizona has a great team," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "They played very aggressive and very physical. I hope we play them again next week (in the conference tournament)."
The Cardinal scored the first six points of the second half to slice the advantage to 37-30. But when star forward Nicole Powell exited at the 16:50 mark after tweaking her left ankle, it stopped Stanford's momentum.
Arizona got the lead back into double digits when freshman guard Natalie Jones converted a three-point play to make it 40-30. Stanford was unable to start a run at the lead, as the Wildcats countered every Cardinal basket.
Arizona clinched the victory by knocking down 11 of 12 free throw attempts in the final 1:30.