Huskies Fall 79-59 to Idaho State In Season Opener

Sunday, November 12

Seattle, WA

1:00 PM

University of Washington

0-1

Idaho State

2-0

Idaho State

Washington

Photo by: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures

November 12, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SEATTLE --- Washington dropped its season opener 79-59 as Idaho State used a big run late in the third quarter and into the fourth on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Huskies fall to 0-1 to open the 2017-18 campaign while the Bengals move to 2-0 on the season.

Freshman Kierra Collier led Washington with 11 points while sophomore Amber Melgoza added 10 as the Huskies saw nine of their 10 players record at least one point. Idaho State received a career-high 30 points from Brook Blair with Saylair Grandon adding 13.

Washington was able to hang around with Idaho State through the first half, battling back from a 10-point deficit to trail by just three at the break. In the third quarter, the Huskies took their first lead and held a 45-42 lead at the 7:01 mark as Jenna Moser's free throw gave UW its largest lead of the game.

But Idaho State got hot and outscored the Huskies 13-2 the rest of the quarter and 21-4 over the next 10 minutes to pull away and cruise to a 20-point win.

The Huskies took 19 more shots in the contest, but shot just 29.9 percent (20-of-67) from the field. Meanwhile, the Bengals converted 60.4 percent (29-of-48).

"It wasn't the way we wanted to start the season," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We took some ill-advised, quick shots in the second half and it lead to a lot of chances for them in transition. We took 20 more shots than they did, but they weren't good shots. They were rushed shots and put the team in a bad position."

Washington also forced 20 ISU turnovers and converted them into 17 points while turning the ball over just eight times. Idaho State also held a 46-27 rebounding advantage, thought UW had 12 offensive rebounds leading to 10 second-chance points.

After Idaho State opened the contest with a three-pointer, Melgoza drained a three-pointer for UW's first points of the season. But Idaho State responded with quick back-to-back buckets to open an early 7-3 lead just over two minutes in.

The Bengals were able to extend the lead out to a 10-point margin as they hit nine of their first 11 shots from the field to go up 24-14 with 2:14 to go. The Huskies rallied over the final two minutes and closed out the quarter on an 8-2 run. Senior Jenna Moser capped the quarter with a three-pointer with five seconds left to make it a 26-22 game.

The Huskies trailed again by 10 at 33-23 at the 7:01 mark of second quarter. But the momentum seemed to change a minute later as Melgoza drew a charge which seemed to ignite the Huskies. After a few defensive stops, freshman Alexis Griggsby drained a three, followed by fellow freshman Missi Peterson hitting from long-distance on the next possession to make it a four-point game. The teams would exchange buckets the rest of the way with the Huskies trailing 40-37 at the break.

Washington kept things going to start the second half, as Melgoza drained a three to cap a 9-0 run which spanned the half and gave the Huskies their first lead of the game at 42-40. A minute-and-a-half later, UW stretched the lead to three before a three-pointer by Brooke tied the game and started the long run by the Bengals.

The Huskies were able to connect on just 8-of-34 shots in the second half, hitting just four of their final 24 shots in the game. Meanwhile Idaho State took just 19 shots in the second half, making 12 including going 6-of-8 in the fourth quarter.

Washington returns to action on Wednesday, hosting BYU in the Huskies final home game in November. The game begins at 7:00 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena.