University of Washington
California
Cal Eliminates Huskies From Pac-12 Tournament
March 07, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Sitting at the podium after a quarterfinal matchup against Cal in the Pac-12 tournament, Mike Neighbors had a simple explanation for Washington's 69-53 loss.
“Our kids have had a great year,” the Huskies' coach said. “I think we had a bad day today.”
Playing their second game in two nights, Washington (23-9) started strong. Kelsey Plum opened the game with a three and helped the Huskies trigger a 10-2 run that led to an eight-point lead at the second media timeout.
Then Cal (22-8) took charge, using a 17-2 run to take control of the game late in the half.
“We got off to a great start,” Neighbors said. “We took advantage of having played yesterday and then they kind of got settled in and made a big run.”
Trailing by nine at the break, the Huskies regrouped in the locker room. They climbed back into the game thanks to an 11-2 run but, like the first half, the Golden Bears made a run and took control.
“It was just a frustrating game in general,” said Plum, who scored 15 points before fouling out.
When asked about Cal's defense, Neighbors praised the Golden Bears' ability to use their length to cover “a lot of territory.”
“For us to have 18 turnovers, that's too many,” Neighbors said. “That's really a reflection of how hard they played, how many balls they tipped and just how many times they literally just took it from us.”
Jazmine Davis led the Huskies with 21 points in 40 minutes, while Talia Walton added eight points and five rebounds.
After watching Colorado upset Oregon State, the tournament's top seed, before taking the floor, Davis said her teammates saw an opportunity for a similar finish.
“We saw Colorado upset Oregon State and the first thing that came to our minds was, 'Wow, the team that wants it the most is going to get that win,'” Davis said.
Washington opened the game with the kind of intensity that reflected a team looking to advance to the semifinals, but it wasn't enough for the Huskies to advance.
While it was a frustrating finish for Washington, exiting the tournament earlier than the Huskies expected, Neighbors still believes his program is worthy of a trip to the NCAA tournament.
“It's going to be a long 10 days waiting to find out, but I will rest pretty easily thinking that it should happen,” Neighbors said.
Now Washington must await its fate. But, regardless of which program the Huskies draw in the next stage of the postseason, Neighbors believes his team will prepared for what lies ahead.
“If we can get invited to the NCAA tournament, I think we'll be ready,” he said. “The Pac-12 has had a great year. All of the teams have prepared us for whomever we might draw in the tournament.”
