University of Washington
Kent State
Kingma Explodes For 30, But Dawgs Fall 59-58 To Kent State
November 24, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2010
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - As Tia Jackson left the Washington locker room, she pulled her star player aside and embraced her. Despite the game's decision, the Huskies' head coach told Kristi Kingma and the rest of the Huskies they had nothing to hang their heads at.
In a performance that showed marked improvement over their last result, the Huskies absorbed everything from Kent State in the opener of the Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena. But Washington turned the ball over on its final possession, which allowed the Golden Flashes to escape with a 59-58 win.
That means KSU moves on to the championship game to play host Alaska-Anchorage, while the Huskies (1-2) hope to even their record against San Jose State on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. (PST).
Kingma scored a career-high 30 points for the Huskies, showcasing all facets of her game in hitting 10-of-20 shots from the floor. She hit four three-pointers, had four steals, and dazzled the crowd of 4,711 with a vicious crossover and elbow jumper. It was one of the finest performances for a Husky in recent memory, carrying a short-handed roster, and the first 30-point outburst since the now-graduated Sami Whitcomb scored 32 against Washington State last year.
Yet it was Kingma who also had the ball stripped from her with six seconds remaining, leaving the junior despondent after the game. Jackson leaned in and whispered how proud she was of her effort, and everything she left on the court.
"Something inside me tried to will my team to a win," Kingma said. "But it wasn't enough."
Foul trouble didn't help a Huskies' team that was already missing Regina Rogers (hamstring) and Sarah Morton (ankle) with injuries. A thin frontline had to also stomach the loss of Marjorie Heard and Mackenzie Argens, who both fouled out late in the second half. Heard had another solid performance with seven points and seven rebounds, while Argens stepped her game up with 10 points and nine boards, along with four blocks. With the reduced frontline, the Huskies had trouble keeping Taisja Jones (14 points) and Jamilah Humes (13 points) in check down the stretch.
"It's unfortunate that we got in foul trouble," Jackson said. "That's one of the key things when you have a short roster."
Despite limitations with personnel, Washington never made it easy for the Golden Flashes with a packed-in matchup zone, which all but dared Kent State to score from the perimeter. But it also left the Huskies susceptible to offensive rebounds, and KSU was able to extend several of its first-half possessions. That helped stake KSU to a 31-25 halftime advantage.
The message to the players at halftime by the coaches was simple - there are no excuses, step up your game.
The Huskies responded in the second half, scoring the first five points after the break to trim the lead to one.
Underwritten in the Washington comeback was the blossoming effort from freshman point guard Mercedes Wetmore, who coolly orchestrated the offense and looked undaunted by the stage in notching nine points, four assists and four rebounds. A three-time state champion at Auburn-Riverside, Wetmore is used to playing in taut, tense ballgames.
After settling themselves in the second half, the Huskies then re-took the advantage at the 11:19 on a three-pointer by Kingma from the wing.
Later with her team down 50-47 late, Kingma hit another three to tie up the ball game. Washington then held the lead for as late as the 1:14 mark, before Kent State responded with a pair of free throws by Tayler Stanton to go ahead 57-56.
Two foul shots from Jones put the Golden Flashes up three with 43 seconds left before Wetmore came down and hit a timely runner in the lane. After Jones then missed two from the charity stripe, Kingma had the game in her hand. But the ball was poked loose as the junior dribbled up-court, and the loss sealed.
"I tried to take smart shots, I tried to let the game come to me," Kingma said. "But I wish we could have got the win."
The Huskies have a shot at a win tomorrow when they take on an 0-5 Spartans team at Sullivan Arena. But the consolation game was not the goal the team had coming into the Great Alaska Shootout.
But performances like the one Kingma put forth will bolster the team going forward as it nears the halfway mark of the non-conference slate. After the 25-point loss at BYU, the team needed their leader to step up.
"I can't think of a kid who deserves as much credit as she can get," Jackson said. "I had to wrap my arms around her and tell her how proud I was of her."
