Big Second Half Dooms Huskies in 75-63 Loss at No. 17 Oregon State

Friday, December 29

Corvallis, OR

2:00 PM

University of Washington

6-6, 0-1Pac-12

Oregon State

10-2, 1-0Pac-12

Washington

Oregon State

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

Big Second Half Dooms Huskies in 75-63 Loss at No. 17 Oregon State

December 29, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CORVALLIS, Ore. --- Washington lost its first game when leading at the half this year as No. 17 Oregon State used a big second half as the Huskies dropped their Pac-12 opener 75-63 on Friday afternoon at Gill Coliseum.

Washington falls to 6-6 on the season and to 0-1 in the conference while the Beavers pick up their seventh-straight win and move to 10-2 on the season and to 1-0 in Pac-12 play.

The game proved to be a tale of two halves. The Huskies looked solid in the first half, playing suffocating defense and limiting the high-powered Oregon State offense to just 30 points. Washington also forced 11 turnovers and held a 12-8 edge in the paint and an 8-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

However, the Beavers' offense came alive in the second half, outscoring the Huskies 25-9 in the pivotal third quarter and 45-27 overall in the half. Oregon State shot 60 percent from the field including 5-of-9 from three-point range, cut the turnovers down to seven and saw Marie Gulich go off for 18 of her game-high 24 points.

"We did a nice job of turning OSU over and generating extra possessions through our pressure," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We just didn't sustain it for a full game and couldn't hit a shot in the third quarter. They forced us into some rushed, quick and challenged shots in the third--much different from the patient shots we took off ball reversals in the first half. We battled for 40 minutes, though, had good value of the ball and everyone played very hard."

Washington received 19 points from Amber Melgoza to give her 70 points over her last three games. Mai-Loni Henson contributed 13 points and added a team-high seven rebounds. Alexis Griggsby and Hannah Johnson each added eight points for the Huskies.

Gulich was a dominating factor for OSU in the game, hitting 11-of-12 from the field--missing only her final shot of the game, adding 12 rebounds and seven blocks. The Huskies were able to keep the ball out of her hands in the first half as Gulich had just two field goal attempts and six points at the break. Kat Tudor added 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range while Mikayla Pivec scored 11 points and added seven rebounds and six assists.

Washington broke open an early back and forth game with an 8-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Griggsby to put the Huskies up 17-15 at the midway point of the first quarter. Oregon State answered back with a three and the two teams went back and forth over the final four minutes with UW holding a narrow 21-20 lead after one.

In the second quarter, Washington opened with five quick points as Melgoza hit a tough runner followed by a three-pointer by Henson to put the Huskies up 26-20. The Beavers quickly pulled it back to a one-point game on a three and inside layup, just under a minute into the period. Washington came alive after that, using a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to take a commanding 36-25 lead with 3:23 to go. The Huskies would not score again the rest of the half as the Beavers closed on a 5-0 run to make it a 36-30 game at the break.

However, Oregon State came out firing in the second half, opening the second half on an 11-2 run to go up 41-38 with 5:41 left. The Huskies pulled back to within one on a jumper by Mackenzie Wieburg but the Beavers responded with a 9-0 run to break the game open.

In the fourth quarter, Oregon State pulled away with another long run, scoring nine-straight over a four-minute stretch early on to take a 67-47 lead with 5:57 to go. Washington rallied late, outscoring the Beavers 16-8 the rest of the way but weren't able to get any closer than the final spread of 12 points.

Washington wound up with 32 rebounds including 12 on the offensive glass, outscoring the Beavers 18-9 in second-chance points. The Huskies also forced 18 turnovers by Oregon State—matching the second-most this season by the Beavers—and turned them into 17 points.

UW continued to struggle against Oregon State lately, losing seven of the last eight games against the Beavers including the last four at Gill Coliseum.

Washington closes out its Pac-12 opening road trip at No. 10 Oregon on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.