University of Washington
UC Riverside
Huskies Rally Falls Short Against UC-Riverside
December 12, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2010
Photo Gallery
Post-Game Press Conference: Jackson, Williams & Argens
SEATTLE - The Huskies had one comeback in their tanks, but just couldn't summon up the strength for a second.
Washington erased a 14-point second half deficit, but missed key shots down the stretch as UC-Riverside bounced back for a 59-54 win at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Huskies (4-3), who hadn't played at home in almost a month.
A fervent crowd of 3,250 braved the "Pineapple Express" rains and greeted the Husky women's basketball team in their return to Hec Ed, but the Dawgs couldn't match the momentum as the Highlanders raced out to an early double-digit lead. Riverside would eventually stretch the margin to 31-19 at the half, prompting some fiery words from Coach Tia Jackson at halftime. UW responded in the second half, eventually taking the lead at 47-46 with 6:53 to go. After both teams traded baskets down the stretch, it was the Highlanders who made the timely plays in the game's final minutes, escaping with the win on the strength of free throws.
Jackson was at a loss to explain the first half. But she was quick to praise her team's efforts in the latter half.
"When we come to play basketball, you saw what happened in the second half and that is us," Jackson said. "For some reason today we just didn't click on all levels in the first half."
Washington did not shoot well from the floor, hitting just 16-of-53 shots (.302) against the long, athletic defense the Highlanders presented. The Huskies did own the boards, crushing UCR 41-26 on the glass. Mollie Williams crashed hard to pull down 10 rebounds, while Mackenzie Argens contributed with seven rebounds to go along with nine points. Marjorie Heard came off the bench to score a career-high 13 points.
The invigorated post play helped the Huskies absorb uncharacteristic performances from their guards. Kristi Kingma was hounded all afternoon by UCR's guards, but still managed to come through with 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
It was the same type of defense applied to Sarah Morton, who scored just two points, 11 shy of her season average.
After the game, Williams shook her head when she tried to explain the team's first half. But she added the second half demonstrated the type of effort the team needs to maintain throughout games.
"Our mentality was better in the second half. In the first half we weren't all there," Williams said. "At halftime we talked about playing in `Our House' and that we need to pick it up and show people what they have been missing while we were on the road. We came into the second half more focused."
Washington had few answers at times for UCR's Alyssa Morris, who scored a game-high 22 points. TreShonti Nottingham added 15, including the game-clinching free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining. The Highlanders effectively won the game, though, on Brittany Waddell's three-point play with 1:54 to go. That extended UCR's lead to 54-50, and the Highlanders didn't allow another Husky field goal until Heard hit a layup with 19 seconds left on the clock.
The Huskies have a week off to prep for finals and rest weary muscles before turning around to host Western Michigan on Dec. 20. That game completes the home-and-home series with the Broncos, who hosted the Huskies at University Arena in Kalamazoo last year, a game Washington won, 71-63. This is WMU's first-ever visit to Seattle.
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