Sunday, December 17
Myrtle Beach, SC
1:00 PM
University of Washington
vs
North Carolina
Huskies Head to Myrtle Beach to Face North Carolina on Sunday
December 15, 2017 | Women's Basketball
SEATTLE --- Washington hits the road for the final time in non-conference play, traveling to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to face the University of North Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 17, at 4:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. PT) as part of the Philanthropist.com Carolinas Challenge. The trip of 2,432 miles is the longest of the season for UW. The game can be heard on KKNW 1150 AM in Seattle or online at gohuskies.com.
The Huskies picked up their third win in their last four games with a 79-65 victory over Grand Canyon on Sunday. UW improved to 3-1 at home with the victory. Amber Melgoza led the Huskies for the fourth time in the last five games, scoring 18 points. Fapou Semebene recorded her first double-double, scoring career-highs of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
All nine Huskies in uniform for the game scored within the first quarter of the game. In addition, all nine players finished with at least one rebound and eight of the nine recorded at least one steal.
Scouting the Tar Heels
North Carolina has posted an 8-2 record through its first 10 games--all played at home. The Tar Heels embark on their first trip away from Carmichael Arena in 12 games (including two pre-season exhibitions) when they face the Huskies in Myrtle Beach. They play two games in South Carolina, then head back home for one final game before opening ACC play on the road.
UNC has already faced a Pac-12 school this year, beating Colorado 87-80 in overtime in the second game of the season. The Tar Heels also picked up a quality win over Minnesota on Nov. 29, but also has a pair of bad losses on its ledger including a season-opening 70-66 loss to Hampton and a 85-84 loss to South Alabama.
Junior guard Paris Kea is averaging 19.9 points and 7.1 assists per game, leading the team in both categories. Senior guard Jamie Cherry adds 15.0 ppg with freshman center Janelle Bailey contributing 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
All-Time Series Record
The two teams are meeting for just the second time and the first time since early in the 1988-89 season. The only other meeting came in Hawaii as the teams faced off at the Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 25, 1988. The Huskies were able to walk away with a 72-60 victory and went on to place second in the tournament. Washington has not played many ACC teams and is an even 13-13 all-time against ACC schools.
North Carolina (1-0)
(H: 0-0, A: 0-0, N: 1-0)
11/25/88 W 72-60 (n)
Up Next
Washington wraps up non-conference play on Wednesday, hosting cross-town rival Seattle U at 7:00 p.m.
Last Time Out
Amber Melgoza scored 18 points and Fapou Semebene had season-highs with 11 points and 11 rebounds to record her first double-double as Washington cruised to a 79-65 win over Grand Canyon. Jenna Moser contributed 14 points for the Huskies with 10 coming in the fourth quarter while Mai-Loni Henson and Alexis Griggsby each added 11 points. All nine Washington players to play in the game scored and had at least one rebound with all but one also having a steal.
Seven in Double Figures
Washington saw a program-best seven players score in double-figures in the 93-67 victory against Portland on Dec. 3. Mai-Loni Henson and Amber Melgoza led the way with 14 points each while freshmen Kierra Collier, Alexis Griggsby and Missy Peterson each contributed 12 points in the game with Griggsby and Peterson scoring all of their points in the second half. Senior Jenna Moser was the seventh player to reach double-figures in the game, hitting a tough jumper in the lane with 1:23 left to give her 11 while freshman Khayla Rooks scored 10 in the game on 4-of-5 shooting.
Strength of Schedule
The Huskies are not shying away from playing tough teams in the 2017-18 as UW faces seven teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and two others receiving votes. In fact, the Huskies' schedule ranks as the 53rd most difficult among the 349 NCAA Division I WBB programs.
The Pac-12 conference is one of the reason's the Huskies' schedule is so tough as the conference boasts five teams in the AP top 25 and two others receiving votes: (#9 Oregon, #11 UCLA, #17 Oregon State, #18 Stanford, #24 California with Arizona State and USC receiving votes). Besides its Pac-12 opponents, the Huskies have also squared off against #8 Texas and #13 Ohio St. in non-conference games.
Huskies in the Rankings
Washington is among the leaders in the Pac-12 in a number of categories. The Huskies lead the conference in turnovers forced at 19.56 per game and second in turnover margin at +4.0. Washington also ranks second in 3-point field goals attempted (235) and third in 3-pointers made (77), steals (92) and steals per game (10.2).
Moser's Three-Point Prowess
Senior Jenna Moser is ranked third the Pac-12 conference in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 51.3% (20-for-39) from beyond the arc. Over her last four games, Moser has connected on 10-of-15 from three-point range including going 4-for-4 at Idaho on Dec. 1.
Freshman Power
The Huskies have received solid contributions from the five freshmen on the squad. Kierra Collier, who has scored 41 points in the four three games, ranks fourth on the team with 8.9 points per game. Fapou Semebene recoreded her first collegiate double-double on Sunday with 11 points and 11 rebounds--both season-highs. She is averaging a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game with over half of those coming on the offensive end. Alexis Griggsby has added 6.8 ppg while Missy Peterson is contributing 4.8 ppg. The pair each tallied season-highs with 12 points vs. Portland last Sunday. Khayla Rooks has been battling injury but is still averaging 6.9 points, shooting 50.0% from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
No Overtime, Please
Washington has an odd streak going, having played 132-straight games without overtime. The Huskies last overtime game came during the 2013-14 season when UW downed Utah 53-52 on Jan. 17, 2014. What's more impressive is that the Huskies have not lost an overtime game since Feb. 5, 2012–an incredible streak of 194 games. UW is 19-18 all-time in overtime games.
Road Warriors
After opening the season with a pair of home games, the Huskies played just four of their next 10 games at home. The Huskies open conference play on the road at the Oregon schools on Dec. 29 and 31st before hosting Utah and Colorado at home in early January. After making its Bay area trip and facing Washington St. in Pullman, the Huskies play 7 of their final 11 games at home.
Viva Las Vegas
Mai-Loni Henson had an impressive trip to Vegas, scoring 23 points in two games, earning her all-tournament honors. Henson scored a career-high 17 points, adding nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Overall, she averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in Vegas.
First Half Heroes
Through the first eight games of the season, Washington is 5-0 when leading at the half and 0-4 when trailing at the half. Dating back to last year, the Huskies have won their last 14 games and 33 of their last 34 when leading at the half.
Impressive Debuts
Washington had a solid showing from its core of freshman making their collegiate debuts against Idaho State. The Huskies were led in scoring by Kierra Collier, who scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench. Alexis Griggsby added nine points, four rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes with Missy Peterson contributing eight points and two assists. Two freshman cracked the starting lineup for the Huskies with Fapou Semebene and Khayla Rooks each scoring five points and pulling down a team-high five rebounds.
Huskies Ink Talented Duo to NLIs
UW coach Jody Wynn announced the signing Haley Van Dyke (Moraga, Calif./Campolindo High School) and Tyiona "TT" Watkins (Walnut, Calif./Walnut HS) to National Letters of Intent during the November early signing period.
Van Dyke, a 6-0 forward, scored the fifth-most points in the state of California last season, pouring in 765 points in 32 games for a 23.9 points per game average. She ranks 21st among '18 forwards according to ESPN and as the No. 82 player overall according to Prospects Nation.
Watkins is a 5-11 wing who will wrap up her high school career at Walnut High School in Walnut, Calif., after three seasons at Brea Olinda High School. She is currently ranked as the No. 14 wing player in the class of 2018 by ESPN and No. 20 by Prospects Nation.
Versus The State of Idaho
The Huskies played all three DI programs in Idaho this season, posting a 1-2 record against Gem State teams. Washington recorded an 81-69 win over Idaho, but lost 85-62 at Boise State and 79-59 at home to Idaho State.
First Game Struggles
After the Huskies loss against Idaho State, only three of 11 Washington WBB coaches have won their first game as the Huskies' head coach. The last time a coach won their first game at UW came in 1985-86 when Chris Gobrecht defeated UCLA 68-50 when the Huskies were members of the NorPac Conference. Since UW joined the Pac-10/12, Husky coaches are now 0-5 in their first games at the helm.
Huskies Ranked in the Preseason Polls
Washington opened the season tied for No. 25 along with fellow Pac-12 foe California with 79 votes in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll and received four votes in the AP Poll.
2016-17 Recap
The Huskies posted a 29-6 record and made their second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17. Washington went 18-1 at home and earned a pair of home games to open the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. The Huskies downed Montana State and Oklahoma before falling to Mississippi State in the Sweet Sixteen. UW's Kelsey Plum earned numerous honors including the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award as the NCAA Player of the Year before being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft by the San Antonio Stars.
Season/Home Openers
With the loss to Idaho State, Washington is now 26-18 in season openers all-time, snapping a two-game winning streak in such games. Over the last 12 seasons, Washington is 4-8 in season openers. The Huskies have posted an impressive 33-11 overall record in home openers despite losing to Idaho State this season.
Radio Show
Washington Women's Basketball Head Coach Jody Wynn joins Elise Woodward for the UW Coaches Show throughout the season at Chinook's at Fisherman's Terminal. The show is carried live on KOMO AM 1000 in Seattle at 6:00 p.m. on the following dates: Dec. 4, Dec. 11, Dec. 18, Jan. 2, Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Feb. 20, Feb. 27 and March 5. The show can be streamed online at gohuskies.com or by using the TuneIn Mobile App, available in the Apple and Google App Stores.
The Huskies picked up their third win in their last four games with a 79-65 victory over Grand Canyon on Sunday. UW improved to 3-1 at home with the victory. Amber Melgoza led the Huskies for the fourth time in the last five games, scoring 18 points. Fapou Semebene recorded her first double-double, scoring career-highs of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
All nine Huskies in uniform for the game scored within the first quarter of the game. In addition, all nine players finished with at least one rebound and eight of the nine recorded at least one steal.
Scouting the Tar Heels
North Carolina has posted an 8-2 record through its first 10 games--all played at home. The Tar Heels embark on their first trip away from Carmichael Arena in 12 games (including two pre-season exhibitions) when they face the Huskies in Myrtle Beach. They play two games in South Carolina, then head back home for one final game before opening ACC play on the road.
UNC has already faced a Pac-12 school this year, beating Colorado 87-80 in overtime in the second game of the season. The Tar Heels also picked up a quality win over Minnesota on Nov. 29, but also has a pair of bad losses on its ledger including a season-opening 70-66 loss to Hampton and a 85-84 loss to South Alabama.
Junior guard Paris Kea is averaging 19.9 points and 7.1 assists per game, leading the team in both categories. Senior guard Jamie Cherry adds 15.0 ppg with freshman center Janelle Bailey contributing 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
All-Time Series Record
The two teams are meeting for just the second time and the first time since early in the 1988-89 season. The only other meeting came in Hawaii as the teams faced off at the Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 25, 1988. The Huskies were able to walk away with a 72-60 victory and went on to place second in the tournament. Washington has not played many ACC teams and is an even 13-13 all-time against ACC schools.
North Carolina (1-0)
(H: 0-0, A: 0-0, N: 1-0)
11/25/88 W 72-60 (n)
Up Next
Washington wraps up non-conference play on Wednesday, hosting cross-town rival Seattle U at 7:00 p.m.
Last Time Out
Amber Melgoza scored 18 points and Fapou Semebene had season-highs with 11 points and 11 rebounds to record her first double-double as Washington cruised to a 79-65 win over Grand Canyon. Jenna Moser contributed 14 points for the Huskies with 10 coming in the fourth quarter while Mai-Loni Henson and Alexis Griggsby each added 11 points. All nine Washington players to play in the game scored and had at least one rebound with all but one also having a steal.
Seven in Double Figures
Washington saw a program-best seven players score in double-figures in the 93-67 victory against Portland on Dec. 3. Mai-Loni Henson and Amber Melgoza led the way with 14 points each while freshmen Kierra Collier, Alexis Griggsby and Missy Peterson each contributed 12 points in the game with Griggsby and Peterson scoring all of their points in the second half. Senior Jenna Moser was the seventh player to reach double-figures in the game, hitting a tough jumper in the lane with 1:23 left to give her 11 while freshman Khayla Rooks scored 10 in the game on 4-of-5 shooting.
Strength of Schedule
The Huskies are not shying away from playing tough teams in the 2017-18 as UW faces seven teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and two others receiving votes. In fact, the Huskies' schedule ranks as the 53rd most difficult among the 349 NCAA Division I WBB programs.
The Pac-12 conference is one of the reason's the Huskies' schedule is so tough as the conference boasts five teams in the AP top 25 and two others receiving votes: (#9 Oregon, #11 UCLA, #17 Oregon State, #18 Stanford, #24 California with Arizona State and USC receiving votes). Besides its Pac-12 opponents, the Huskies have also squared off against #8 Texas and #13 Ohio St. in non-conference games.
Huskies in the Rankings
Washington is among the leaders in the Pac-12 in a number of categories. The Huskies lead the conference in turnovers forced at 19.56 per game and second in turnover margin at +4.0. Washington also ranks second in 3-point field goals attempted (235) and third in 3-pointers made (77), steals (92) and steals per game (10.2).
Moser's Three-Point Prowess
Senior Jenna Moser is ranked third the Pac-12 conference in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 51.3% (20-for-39) from beyond the arc. Over her last four games, Moser has connected on 10-of-15 from three-point range including going 4-for-4 at Idaho on Dec. 1.
Freshman Power
The Huskies have received solid contributions from the five freshmen on the squad. Kierra Collier, who has scored 41 points in the four three games, ranks fourth on the team with 8.9 points per game. Fapou Semebene recoreded her first collegiate double-double on Sunday with 11 points and 11 rebounds--both season-highs. She is averaging a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game with over half of those coming on the offensive end. Alexis Griggsby has added 6.8 ppg while Missy Peterson is contributing 4.8 ppg. The pair each tallied season-highs with 12 points vs. Portland last Sunday. Khayla Rooks has been battling injury but is still averaging 6.9 points, shooting 50.0% from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
No Overtime, Please
Washington has an odd streak going, having played 132-straight games without overtime. The Huskies last overtime game came during the 2013-14 season when UW downed Utah 53-52 on Jan. 17, 2014. What's more impressive is that the Huskies have not lost an overtime game since Feb. 5, 2012–an incredible streak of 194 games. UW is 19-18 all-time in overtime games.
Road Warriors
After opening the season with a pair of home games, the Huskies played just four of their next 10 games at home. The Huskies open conference play on the road at the Oregon schools on Dec. 29 and 31st before hosting Utah and Colorado at home in early January. After making its Bay area trip and facing Washington St. in Pullman, the Huskies play 7 of their final 11 games at home.
Viva Las Vegas
Mai-Loni Henson had an impressive trip to Vegas, scoring 23 points in two games, earning her all-tournament honors. Henson scored a career-high 17 points, adding nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Overall, she averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in Vegas.
First Half Heroes
Through the first eight games of the season, Washington is 5-0 when leading at the half and 0-4 when trailing at the half. Dating back to last year, the Huskies have won their last 14 games and 33 of their last 34 when leading at the half.
Impressive Debuts
Washington had a solid showing from its core of freshman making their collegiate debuts against Idaho State. The Huskies were led in scoring by Kierra Collier, who scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench. Alexis Griggsby added nine points, four rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes with Missy Peterson contributing eight points and two assists. Two freshman cracked the starting lineup for the Huskies with Fapou Semebene and Khayla Rooks each scoring five points and pulling down a team-high five rebounds.
Huskies Ink Talented Duo to NLIs
UW coach Jody Wynn announced the signing Haley Van Dyke (Moraga, Calif./Campolindo High School) and Tyiona "TT" Watkins (Walnut, Calif./Walnut HS) to National Letters of Intent during the November early signing period.
Van Dyke, a 6-0 forward, scored the fifth-most points in the state of California last season, pouring in 765 points in 32 games for a 23.9 points per game average. She ranks 21st among '18 forwards according to ESPN and as the No. 82 player overall according to Prospects Nation.
Watkins is a 5-11 wing who will wrap up her high school career at Walnut High School in Walnut, Calif., after three seasons at Brea Olinda High School. She is currently ranked as the No. 14 wing player in the class of 2018 by ESPN and No. 20 by Prospects Nation.
Versus The State of Idaho
The Huskies played all three DI programs in Idaho this season, posting a 1-2 record against Gem State teams. Washington recorded an 81-69 win over Idaho, but lost 85-62 at Boise State and 79-59 at home to Idaho State.
First Game Struggles
After the Huskies loss against Idaho State, only three of 11 Washington WBB coaches have won their first game as the Huskies' head coach. The last time a coach won their first game at UW came in 1985-86 when Chris Gobrecht defeated UCLA 68-50 when the Huskies were members of the NorPac Conference. Since UW joined the Pac-10/12, Husky coaches are now 0-5 in their first games at the helm.
Huskies Ranked in the Preseason Polls
Washington opened the season tied for No. 25 along with fellow Pac-12 foe California with 79 votes in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll and received four votes in the AP Poll.
2016-17 Recap
The Huskies posted a 29-6 record and made their second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17. Washington went 18-1 at home and earned a pair of home games to open the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. The Huskies downed Montana State and Oklahoma before falling to Mississippi State in the Sweet Sixteen. UW's Kelsey Plum earned numerous honors including the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award as the NCAA Player of the Year before being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft by the San Antonio Stars.
Season/Home Openers
With the loss to Idaho State, Washington is now 26-18 in season openers all-time, snapping a two-game winning streak in such games. Over the last 12 seasons, Washington is 4-8 in season openers. The Huskies have posted an impressive 33-11 overall record in home openers despite losing to Idaho State this season.
Radio Show
Washington Women's Basketball Head Coach Jody Wynn joins Elise Woodward for the UW Coaches Show throughout the season at Chinook's at Fisherman's Terminal. The show is carried live on KOMO AM 1000 in Seattle at 6:00 p.m. on the following dates: Dec. 4, Dec. 11, Dec. 18, Jan. 2, Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Feb. 20, Feb. 27 and March 5. The show can be streamed online at gohuskies.com or by using the TuneIn Mobile App, available in the Apple and Google App Stores.
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