University of Washington
USC
Huskies Can't Survive OT Thriller At USC
March 06, 2011 | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2011
LOS ANGELES - The Huskies closed the book on their regular season, but not before scripting an overtime thriller at the Galen Center.
But Washington had no answers late for USC stars Jacki Gemelos and Briana Gilbreath, both of whom burned the Huskies late in regulation and in the extra session in the Trojans' 65-61 win on Sunday afternoon.
The Huskies (11-16, 6-12) secured the No. 7 seed for the upcoming Pacific Life Pac-10 Tournament, and will face No. 6 Cal at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday in the first round back here at the Galen Center. The Huskies will remain in California until then.
Playing to a nationally televised audience, the Huskies rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to take a lead with 40 seconds remaining. After a Trojans foul, Mercedes Wetmore stepped to the line for two shots and the chance to make it a two-possession game. Wetmore missed both shots, though, and Gemelos tied the game on an improbable 29-foot 3 with nine seconds remaining.
The drama wasn't over. Sarah Morton missed a short jumper in the lane, but the Huskies regained possession on the dead-ball rebound. A Morton turnover gave USC the ball, but the senior made amends by stealing the inbound pass with 1.9 seconds remaining. Her wide-open shot rimmed out, sending the game to overtime.
Kristi Kingma led all scorers with 16 points, knocking down 3-of-7 treys to increase her record-breaking season high to 76. The junior from Mill Creek, Wash., was the catalyst behind the team's second-half surge, shaking free of Gilbreath's defense to hit several long distance shots.
"In the first half we let the game get away from us a little bit," Kingma said. "We weren't boxing out, we weren't diving for loose balls and we needed to fight hard every possession. Once we were able to do that and hit some shots, things went well."
The Huskies out-rebounded the Trojans 45-44, taking ownership of the boards after a strategic timeout from UW coach Tia Jackson in the second half. At that point, USC was pulling down one offensive rebound after another. Mackenzie Argens led the way with 11 boards, the third double-digit rebounding game this year for the Huskies' post. She formed an effective tandem with Regina Rogers, who notched 10 points off the bench.
Gemelos had a team-high 15 points for the Trojans, doing most of her damage from beyond the arc. The redshirt junior, who has battled through numerous ACL injuries, put USC ahead for good with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:19 left in overtime, her fourth of the game. The Huskies ran a play on offense and isolated Regina Rogers on the low block, but her shot was swatted away by Gilbreath.
The loss stings, but Jackson was content with her team's effort to claw back into the game, outside of some mental mistakes early on.
"Minus the foul trouble and a few careless turnovers, it's a different basketball game," Jackson said.
Notes: UW has now lost seven in a row to USC. The team has not won at the Galen Center since 2006. Washington is 2-0 against upcoming first-round opponent California.
