University of Washington
Stanford
Dawgs Drop Tight One To Stanford, 60-56
January 10, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Box Score
SEATTLE – Washington had their chances to make it two seasons in a row beating a ranked Stanford team at home, but a banked in 3-pointer in the final minute helped the Cardinal prevail, 60-56. The Dawgs dropped to 12-3 (1-2 Pac-12), while the 15th-ranked Cardinal improved to 11-4 and 3-0 in Pac-12 play.
Stanford led 57-55 in the final minute as the Dawgs neared a big defense stop with a shot clock about to expire. Instead, the Cardinal's Lili Thompson chucked a 25-footer with 27 seconds to play that banked in to give Stanford a five-point lead. It was a tough break for the Dawgs who looked to have a chance to tie or take the lead with the final possession.
Washington had fought back multiple times in the second half, including a Jazmine Davis 3-pointer with 1:42 to play to cut the lead to two. The Dawgs would get no closer, however, falling despite a big night from Aminah Williams who finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
After holding a two-point lead at the break, Washington allowed a 9-0 run to begin the half. The Huskies immediately responded, using a 17-3 run to build their largest lead of seven with 11:40 left to play. The Cardinal slowly chipped away at the deficit, regaining the lead for good with 3:39 remaining.
Kelsey Plum led the Dawgs with 16 points, but finished just 6-16 from the floor. Williams was the spark with 12 on just seven shots. Davis made it three Dawgs in double figures, finishing with 13 on 3-7 shooting.
The Huskies outshot Stanford for the game, but were outrebounded and turned it over five more times than their opponent.
Defense was the name of the game in the first half as both teams forced tough shots by the opponent. The Dawgs finished 9-29 (31.0 percent), including 3-10 from beyond the arc. Davis led the way with seven points, while also contributing four assists.
The Cardinal really struggled from the floor, shooting 8-35 (22.9 percent) in the half, including just 3-15 from 3-point range. Washington did a nice job getting out on shooters and contesting shots. The Cardinal stayed in the game with a 26-20 edge on the glass that could have been worse if not for the nine first-half rebounds from Williams who only played 12 minutes in the period due to some foul trouble.
After the break, both teams picked things up at the offensive end. Washington shot 37.9 percent from the field and 5-12 from the 3-point line for the period. Two of those five threes came from Brianna Ruiz who finished 3-12 from beyond the arc for the game.
The Dawgs will have to bounce back quickly with California coming to Alaska Airlines Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Golden Bears won in Pullman on Friday and will bring an undefeated conference record to Seattle. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks as the Dawgs look to navigate their tough early conference schedule with a .500 record.
