Upset Bid Falls Just Short in 71-68 Loss to No. 5 Cal

Thursday, March 1

Seattle, WA

2:00 PM

University of Washington

California

March 01, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SEATTLE – Washington continued to show why it's been one of the most feared teams in the Pac-12, gutting out an impressive performance against No. 5 seed California, but ultimately falling three points shy of an upset in a 71-68 loss in the Opening Round of the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament Presented by New York Life on Thursday afternoon at KeyArena.

The 12^th-seeded Huskies wrap up the season with a 7-23 record, but once against showed grit and gut –despite being undersized and undermanned, Washington nearly pulled off an improbable upset against the Golden Bears (21-9).

The game was a thrilling back-and-forth affair with 10 lead changes and seven ties. Neither team held a lead of more than five through the first half, but Cal jumped out to an 11-point lead early in the third thanks to an early 6-0 run. But Washington battled back and used a long 21-4 run over the next six minutes to take its largest lead of the game at 51-45 with 2:11 left.

Cal would again go on a 14-0 run through the start of the fourth quarter to go back up by eight and led by nine with 3:00 to go. The Huskies mounted an impressive charge over those final three minutes, pulling within two on a three-point play by Amber Melgoza with 20 seconds left. After two Cal free throws, the Huskies had another chance with Melgoza at the line with 10 seconds left. Melgoza made one of two but Washington secured the rebound on a jump ball. Melgoza again got the ball in her hands, hoisting up a contested three in the waning seconds only to see it fall short.

"For those of you that saw us for the first time, I think what you saw is a team that's battled like this all season long," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We might be short, we might be down in numbers, but through the course of the year, our team has shown the heart and the grit and the toughness in which we want our Washington women's basketball program to be all about."

"I'm just proud of the fight that we showed today," Wynn said. "We could have come in and said, 'oh, guys, weren't not supposed to win this game. They're too good, they're too strong.' But we believed that we could do it. (Melgoza and Mackenzie Wieburg) and the rest of the others, they fought for 40 minutes and I'm certainly proud of that."

Melgoza recorded a game-high 30 points including 14 in the pivotal fourth quarter, scoring at least 30 for the third time this season and second time in her last three games. The sophomore finished the season scoring 121 points over her final four games, giving her 570 for the season—the 11^th-best total in a season in program history and four points shy of the top 10.

"It's a bummer that we lost," said Melgoza. "But I'm very proud of my team and everybody. I thought we played our butts off and we fought till the end."

Freshman Khayla Rooks added 10 points on the strength of three from three-point range. Sophomore Mai-Loni Henson added nine points with junior Hannah Johnson contributing seven.

Washington did a fantastic job denying Cal's All-American candidate Kristine Anigwe from beating them, holding the junior to just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting. Anigwe had tallied 49 total points in the two previous meetings between the two.

However, the Golden Bears' other main weapon Asha Thomas had a solid game, scoring a team-high 22 points including 12 in the final quarter. Mikayla Cowling and Jaelyn Brown each had 14 points before fouling out late in the game.

After a bucket by Cal, Henson opened the scoring for the Huskies with a nice reverse layup around Anigwe in the low post. The Bears scored on their first four possessions of the game, but the Huskies matches, trailing just 9-7 through the first three minutes as Melgoza drained a three from the top. After a defensive stop, the Huskies tied the game with a pair of free throws by Henson with 6:41 left. Washington continued to match the Golden Bears over the next minute, taking the its first lead on a fast-break layup by Henson, going up 13-11 at the 5:53 mark.

Cal would answer back with a mid-range jumper on the next possession to the game up and the Huskies finally missed a shot after a 5-for-5 start the game. The Golden Bears would make them pay with a
three-pointer on the other end and took a 16-13 lead at the first media timeout. Washington would come back with a layup by Melgoza, then a three-pointer on the next trip down to go back up 18-16 with 3:57 to go. But Cal answered right back, going on a 9-2 run to go up 24-20 with a minute to go. Wieburg ended the run with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to two and end the quarter trailing 24-22.

Both teams shot well in first quarter as the Huskies hit 61.5 percent (8-of-13) while Cal shot 64.7 percent (11-of-17). Each team had just one turnover.

The teams each failed to score on their first four possessions of the second quarter with Henson breaking the ice with a three to give the Huskies a 25-24 lead with 7:48 to go. Cal didn't score its first points until the 5:30 mark, taking back the lead with a mid-range jumper. The Bears added another on its next possession to stretch the lead back to three in the low-scoring quarter. But Rooks made a huge play, draining a three and getting fouled, converting the four-point play to give the Huskies back the lead at 29-28 with 4:16 left.

Cal answered right back again, hitting a three-pointer as the shot clock expired on its next possession, then added another bucket after a stop to stretch the lead to 33-29 at the three-minute mark. Moser would end a three-minute scoring drought with a free throw at the 1:10 mark, but Cal would close out the half with a pair of free throws to take a 35-30 lead into the half.

After a great-shooting first quarter, neither team shot great in the second. Cal hit 4-of-13 for 30.8 percent while the Huskies were 2-of-13 for 15.4 percent with the teams combining for nine turnovers.

Cal came out firing in the second half, scoring on its first three possessions to quickly stretch the lead to 11 with 1:40 off the clock. After a UW timeout, Washington came alive, going on a long 21-4 run over a five-minute stretch to take back the lead. Johnson got the run going by hitting a three-pointer for the Huskies first field goal in their last 10 shots. The Golden Bears would score on their next trip down, but Melgoza followed with another three and the Huskies cut it to seven at 43-36 with 6:35 to go.

Washington caught a break as Anigwe was called for a flagrant foul on a screen, catching Melgoza with an elbow. Melgoza would hit one of two free throws and Alexis Griggsby got a layup on the ensuing possession as the Huskies cut the lead to 43-39 with 6:02 remaining. After a Cal bucket, Rooks hit a three from in front of the Huskies bench, igniting a 12-0 Huskies run as Washington took back the lead at 51-45 the 2:11 mark. Cal would make an old-fashioned three-point play with 37 seconds left to end the run, then got bucket after a Husky turnover to make it a 51-50 game at the end of three quarters.

After a rough start, Washington closed out the quarter making eight of its final 11 shots from the field, finishing the third shooting 53.3 percent to Cal's 43.8 percent.

Cal took control early in the fourth quarter scoring the first nine points of the quarter to extend the run to 14-0 and take a 59-51 lead just 1:42 in. Melgoza came out of a UW timeout and got a bucket and the foul, converting the free throw to cut the Cal lead to 59-54 with 6:52 on the clock. But Cal got a quick bucket the next time down the court followed by a three-point play to quickly go back up double-figures at 64-54 with 5:57 left. Wieburg hit a three-pointer for the Huskies to keep the team alive and trim the lead to seven at the 5:35 mark.

Washington kept cutting into the lead as Melgoza drew the fifth foul on Cowling, then hit both free throws to make it 64-69 with 4:02 to go. Cal got an easy bucket by Anigwe to go back up seven then another by Thomas to stretch the lead back to nine with 2:50 left. Melgoza drained a deep three to cut the lead back to six with 2:33 left. Washington made a defensive stop and got fouled on the rebound. Melgoza would make both from the stripe and the Huskies were back to within four at 68-64 with 1:33 to play.

After using most of the shot clock, Cal tried a three-point attempt as the clock expired. The shot went in but was waived off as coming after the buzzer. With 1:01 left, the Huskies went to work. Melgoza tried a long three-pointer from the same spot she had just made one, but it rattled off and Cal secured the rebound with 35 seconds to go. After a pair of fouls to get to the limit, the Huskies sent Thomas to the line with 25.4 seconds to play. Thomas missed the first but made the second to make it a five-point game. On the inbound play, Melgoza drove straight to the hoop and made a circus, behind-the-back shot from the low block, making the shot and getting fouled. She would make the free throw and UW was within two at 69-67 with 19.7 to go.

Cal called a timeout to advance the ball then nearly got a five-second call before calling another. Once the Golden Bears inbounded the ball, the Huskies fouled Thomas with Wieburg fouling out. Thomas made both to stretch it back to a four-point game with 18.5 remaining. Washington called its final timeout to advance the ball and Melgoza was fouled heading to the hoop, earning two free throws with 10.8 on the clock. She would make one of two but the Huskies would get the ball on a jump ball tie-up with 10 seconds left. On the next possession, Washington went back to Melgoza, but her three-point attempt fell short and time would run out on the Huskies.

For the third time in as many games, Washington shot better than 40 percent from the field, hitting 43.1 percent (22-of-51) of its shots in the game. Prior to last weekend, the Huskies had reached the 40 percent mark in just two games since the start of conference play.

"I want to credit Washington: a team that is way better and way more accomplished than their record might show," said Cal Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb. "It's not east to take over a program, certainly not one that's losing a gazillion points to graduation. I think she had her team ready to play every single night. Certainly the three times we played them and the most tonight. I think that speaks to their resilience and those young women how tough they are."

Washington loses just two seniors from the young squad as Jenna Moser and Wieburg wrap up their final seasons in purple and gold. The Huskies will return one junior (Johnson), two sophomores (Melgoza and Henson) and five freshmen next year in addition to a pair of already-signed incoming freshmen. Washington is expected to announce additional signings in the April signing period to add depth not seen on the court much this season.

"I really feel like this game kind of set the tone for what's to come in the next years," said Wieburg. "It sucks that I won't be here, but I really think that these girls, they have so much heart and they absolutely love each other. I think even though the score wasn't what we wanted, the way we finished so hard for 40 minutes through the game—I think that just sets the tone for what's to come and I'm excited to watch, too."