Washington Starts Long Road Trip at No. 24 Cal Friday

Friday, January 12

Berkeley, CA

8:00 PM

University of Washington

California

January 10, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

SEATTLE --- Washington heads back on the road for its longest road trip in conference play beginning at No. 24 California on Friday, Jan. 12 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Anne Marie Anderson and Julianne Viani on the call. Fans can also catch the call on 1150 AM KKNW in Seattle with Gary Hill Jr. on the mic.

The Huskies took a tough loss on Sunday, falling 66-61 to Colorado. Washington played well in the first half and led at the half. However a big third quarter gave the Buffaloes a lead and despite a late run, Washington was unable to complete the comeback. Amber Melgoza once again led the team in scoring with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field. Hannah Johnson had a big game, scoring 10 points and just narrowly missing a double-double with nine rebounds. She also had a team-high four steals.

Scouting the Golden Bears
California snapped a two-game losing streak with a close 53-51 win at Arizona on Sunday. The Golden Bears had dropped their previous two games–both against nationally rated teams. Cal lost 80-71 at #25 Arizona State last Friday and 82-46 vs #11 UCLA. Overall, the Golden Bears are 11-4 including a 6-2 mark on their home court.

Junior forward Kristine Anigwe, who is on the preseason watch list for every major NCAA award, is living up to the hype, averaging 16.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. In conference play, Anigwe is averaging 15.5 ppg and is atop the standings in rebounding at 9.3 per game. After scoring 24 points at Arizona State, Anigwe tallied just seven points, though she did have seven rebounds in the game.

She is among five Cal starters averaging at least 9.0 points per game including junior guard Asha Tohoma, who is averaging 11.8 points. Senior guard Mikayla Cowling scored a game-high 19 points against Arizona and is averaging 9.9 ppg.

All-Time Series Record
Washington leads the series 46-21 and has won four of the last six games overall. The Huskies won the lone game between the two last year, beating the Golden Bears 90-67 in Seattle. Cal has had the Huskies number of the last decade, holding a 14-9 advantage in the series since 2005-06 season.

Up Next
The Huskies stay on the road, traveling across the Bay to face off against Stanford University on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 3:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
Washington fell victim to a big third quarter by Colorado and—despite a late rally—was unable to pull out a victory, falling 66-61 to the Buffaloes on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Amber Melgoza led Washington with a game-high 28 points, adding three steals, three rebounds and two assists. The sophomore continues to lead the Pac-12 in scoring through the first four games, averaging 24.8 points per game in conference play. Hannah Johnson was the only other Husky in double figures with 10 points.

Washington led through much of the game, holding a 26-13 lead four minutes into the second quarter and leading 34-26 at intermission. But Colorado quickly tied the game with an 8-0 run to start the third and outscored the Huskies 22-9 in the period to take a big lead. In the final quarter, Washington mounted a late charge, using a 13-4 run to close within two points with 1:30 left but got no closer.

Amber Alert
Sophomore Amber Melgoza continues to put up big numbers, recording 50 points over the last weekend including 28 points against Colorado on Sunday. Over her last seven games, Melgoza is averaging 24.0 points per game, scoring no fewer than 18 in any of those games. The sophomore currently leads the Pac-12 with 24.8 ppg in league play. At Oregon, Melgoza scored a career-high 31 points–the most by a UW player since Kelsey Plum scored 38 against Oklahoma on March 20, 2017. Melgoza had just eight going into the final quarter, but erupted for 23 points, a Pac-12 record for points in a quarter.

Moser's Shooting Prowess
Senior Jenna Moser ranks third in the Pac-12 in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 46.9% (30-for-64) from beyond the arc. (Using NCAA stat minimums of 2 made per team game, she leads the conference.) Moser broke out of a mini-slump with a 4-for-5 performance from beyond the arc at Oregon and has hit 7-of-12 over last four games. In addition, Moser is shooting 46.0% from the field and has connected on her last 15 free throw attempts after starting the season 2-of-8. Moser began her UW career as a practice player, was added to the roster her second year and awarded a scholarship at the start of this season.

Huskies in the Rankings
Washington is among the leaders in the conference in a number of categories. The Huskies lead the Pac-12 in turnovers forced at 19.53 per game and rank fourth in turnover margin at +4.47. Washington also ranks second in the conference in steals (159), steals per game (10.6) and three-point field goal attempts (391) and third in 3-pointers made (125).

Individually, Amber Melgoza leads in scoring in Pac-12 games at 24.8 ppg. In addition, she is tied for third in the conference in free throw percentage at 81.3% and tied for third in overall scoring at 17.9 ppg. Jenna Moser is third in the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 46.9% and is sixth in three-pointers made with 2.0 per game and steals at 1.9 per game.

Henson's Heroics
Sophomore Mai-Loni Henson has quietly moved into second on the team's scoring chart, averaging 10.6 points per game. She has scored in double-figures in 10 of 15 games this season including a career-high 17 points vs. Creighton.

Hitting From The Charity Stripe
The Huskies have improved on their free throw shooting this season, hitting 71.8% from the charity stripe overall. In Pac-12 play, UW is shooting 77.2%, the fourth-best mark in the conference. Amber Melgoza ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with a 81.3% mark from the line including going 10-of-11 against Utah on Friday. Mai-Loni Henson is not too far behind at 72.5% while Jenna Moser–who has hit her last 15 from the free throw line–is up to 73.9%.

Everybody Starts, Everybody Plays
All 10 of Washington's active players have made a start this season and each is averaging at least 13 minutes per game. Senior Jenna Moser is the lone Husky to start all 15 games with Amber Melgoza making 12 starts and Mai-Loni Henson making 11. Moser also leads the team in minutes played, averaging 29.7 minutes per game with Melgoza playing 26.4 and Henson playing 24.2.

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' have played the 25th toughest schedule to this point, and have the 40th most difficult schedule overall among the 349 NCAA DI WBB programs.

The Pac-12 conference is the main reason the Huskies' schedule is so tough as the conference boasts five teams in the AP top 25 with two others receiving votes (#8 Oregon, #14 UCLA, #18 Arizona State, #22 Oregon State, #24 California with Stanford and Utah receiving votes). Besides their Pac-12 opponents, the Huskies have also squared off against #7 Texas and #10 Ohio St. in non-conference games.

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.

Freshman Power
The Huskies have received solid contributions from the five freshmen on the squad. Kierra Collier ranks fourth on the team with 7.9 points per game, and has excelled after taking over primary point guard duties at the start of conference play. Fapou Semebene recorded her first double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds against GCU–both season-highs. She is averaging a team-best 4.8 rebounds per game with over half of those coming on the offensive end (40o/32d). Missy Peterson is contributing 3.9 ppg and shooting a team-best 57.1% from the field. Alexis Griggsby has been a solid contributor off the bench, adding 6.5 ppg which is the highest among players with five or fewer starts. Khayla Rooks has been battling injury but is still averaging 5.6 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds vs. Seattle.

No Overtime, Please
UW's streak of games decided in regulation came to an end Sunday as the Huskies needed OT to beat Seattle, 84-76. Washington's last overtime game came on Jan. 17, 2014 when the Huskies beat Utah 53-52. Despite one streak coming to an end, one remained: UW has not lost an overtime game since Feb. 5, 2012, a streak of 200-straight 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. Washington's season includes one of its longest road trips in recent memory, a 2,432 mile trip to play North Carolina in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

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.

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. Griggsby added nine points, four rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes with Peterson contributing eight points and two assists. Two freshman cracked the starting lineup for the Huskies with Semebene and Rooks each scoring five points and pulling down a team-high five rebounds.

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.

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.

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 by Prospects Nation. After an early season ankle injury, Van Dyke returned to the court with back-to-back 30 point performances in December. On Jan. 2, she scored a eague record 56 points and added 27 boards in a 96-75 win over Brookside Christian.

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–the alma mater of Head Coach Jody Wynn and Coordinator of Player Development Anna Kim. She is ranked as the No. 14 wing in the class of 2018 by ESPN and No. 20 by Prospects Nation. Watkins, who had to sit out after transferring schools, will be eligible to play in mid-January.

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.

Radio Show
Washington 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: Jan. 9, 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 App, available in the Apple and Google App Stores.