University of Washington
California
UW Earns Weekend Split, Downs Cal, 79-77
January 11, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Box Score | Highlights | Plum Postgame Interview
SEATTLE – Washington bounced back from Friday's frustrating loss to Stanford, beating California 79-77 to earn the weekend split against the two teams picked to finish first and second in the Pac-12. The Dawgs used a late surge to come back from a five-point deficit to even their Pac-12 record and 2-2.
Kelsey Plum scored 30 points for the sixth time this season, but the Dawgs also used a balanced attack with five players in double figures.
After leading by five at the half, the Dawgs pushed the lead to eight early in the second period. Cal would not go away, however, slowly chipping away at the lead until a 7-0 run gave the Bears a 56-51 lead with 9:00 to play. Washington called timeout to set up a play, working it to perfection as Chantel Osahor got an open look from 3-point range and knocked it down.
The next possession, the Dawgs ran a variation of the same play as this time Osahor got an isolation in the post and scored again to tie the game. It was a huge series to end the Cal run when it appeared the game might start to slip away. Osahor finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, playing a career-high 28 minutes off the bench.
The game would go back and forth the next several minutes as the contest included 12 ties. Finally, the Dawgs took the lead for good with 3:19 to play when Jazmine Davis knocked down a big 3-pointer. Davis finished with 12, while contributing five rebounds and five assists.
Plum and Talia Walton were the closers for the Huskies, coming up with three big baskets to take control of the game. First, Walton followed up a Plum miss with an offensive rebound and putback. That would be Plum's final miss, however, as she scored the next two possessions on jumpers, before making four clutch free throws.
Despite Plum scoring eight of her 30 in the final two minutes, Cal still had a chance until Walton stepped to the line up three with three seconds to play. Walton calmly sunk both to allow Cal's 3-pointer at the buzzer to not matter. The first of her free throws in the final seconds also put Walton at 1,000 points for her career, becoming the 25th Husky in program history to do so. She finished with 11 points and is now at 1,001 for her career.
The final Husky in double figures was Aminah Williams who earned her seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Williams came into the game needing 14 boards to tie Rhonda Smith atop the all-time Husky list, but will have to wait one more game. She is now at 999 rebounds for her career, four back of the Husky legend's career mark.
The Dawgs finished 31-68 from the floor (41.7 percent), while also matching a bigger Cal team with 38 rebounds apiece. The difference may have come at the foul line where the Dawgs made 24-30 to just 8-12 from Cal. Plum finished 11-12 from the line, while Davis was 7-10.
Things don't get any easier for Washington as they now travel south to face Oregon and Oregon State. The Dawgs play in Eugene on Friday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m., followed by a trip to Corvallis to face the 11th-ranked Beavers on Monday night at 5 p.m.
