University of Washington
San Diego State
Dawgs Win Ninth Straight, Beat SDSU, 69-48
December 18, 2014 | Women's Basketball
Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Washington had to earn it, but the Dawgs made it nine-straight victories, defeating San Diego State, 69-48. Kelsey Plum led the Huskies, scoring 30 points in her return to her hometown as Washington improved to 9-1.
The nine-game winning streak is the longest by a Husky team since the 1997-98 squad that opened with 10-straight victories. Thursday's victory did snap one streak as the Dawgs were held under 80 points for the first time all season.
The game was a bit of a slugfest until the final 10 minutes when the Husky backcourt took over. Jazmine Davis finished with 16 points and career-high tying nine assists, setting up teammates, including Plum, who hit a pair of late 3-pointers to ice the game for the Dawgs.
Washington got off to a slow start, shooting just 11-29 and just 2-7 from 3-point range in the first half. Plum led the way with 16 points in the period, but the Huskies were outrebounded 19-14 and turned it over seven times.
Despite the offensive struggles, Washington still led at the break, 26-22, thanks to some excellent defense, causing 12 Aztec turnovers. Talia Walton also singlehandedly protected the paint, blocking five first-half shots.
Out of the break, Washington began to take control, getting more stops, but also playing more efficiently at the offensive end. Walton knocked down a long jumper to open scoring, followed by a spinning Plum layup to give the Dawgs a 30-22 lead.
The Aztecs would never go away, however. They cut the lead back to four, before UW slowly began to rebuild their margin. UW used a 9-0 run to create at 14-point cushion lead punctuated by a Katie Collier basket. Davis found Collier with a nice entry pass and the sophomore post player showed a solid post move to score. The basket gave the Huskies a 44-30 lead with 10:55 to play.
Back came the Aztecs once more, using a 7-1 run to get within seven, but they would get no closer. Davis threw a beautiful no-look pass to a wide open Aminah Williams under the hoop to get the Dawgs back on track. The assist from Davis was one of her six in the second in the second half to go with 12 points after the break.
Washington would turn that layup into a 10-0 run to squash any chance of a comeback. The Dawgs continued to extend the lead the rest of the game, winning by 21, although it was much closer for the majority of the contest.
The Dawgs shot 58.6 percent (17-29) in the second half to finish at 48.3 percent (28-58) for the game. They did make a season-low four 3-pointers, all by Plum who was 12-21 from the floor and 4-8 from deep.
The Huskies also were plus-seven on the boards after the break to end up with a 36-34 edge on the glass. Williams led Washington with nine rebounds, while Plum chipped in six.
The win was the sixth for Washington away from home as they continue an impressive non-conference schedule. Saturday, they complete the non-conference road schedule with a 5 p.m. game at UC Riverside. The Dawgs final non-conference home game will be Monday, Dec. 29, when they host fourth-ranked and currently undefeated Texas A&M at 6 p.m.
