Huskies' Defense Shines In 56-49 Victory Over Washington State

Sunday, January 21

Seattle, WA

1:00 PM

University of Washington

7-12, 1-7Pac-12

Washington State

9-11, 2-6Pac-12

Washington State

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

Huskies' Defense Shines In 56-49 Victory Over Washington State

January 21, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Gallery

SEATTLE --- Hannah Johnson recorded a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with 13 points and Amber Melgoza added 14 points to lead Washington to a 56-49 victory over Washington State on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

The Huskies pick up their first win in the Pac-12, snapping a seven-game losing streak to improve to 7-12 on the season and 1-7 in conference play. The Cougars, who won the first game this week between the two rivals in overtime, fall to 9-11 on the season and 2-6 in the Pac-12.

Washington's defense was impressive, limiting Washington State to just 49 points—the fewest allowed by the Huskies this season. The Cougars had just 15 points through the first half a UW limited the visitors to just 7-of-36 shooting from the field. Washington forced 20 turnovers including matching a season-high with 15 steals.

The Huskies looked to be cruising to a big victory, holding a 32-15 lead at halftime and leading by 19 early in the third quarter. But Washington State rallied last in the fourth quarter, using a 12-2 run to cut the lead to three at 52-49 with 1:17 left. The Huskies held strong as Mai-Loni Henson hit a tough jumper as the shot clock expired with 45.6 seconds left to help secure the victory.

Chanelle Molina led the Cougars with 17 points while Kayla Washington added 10 points off the bench. Borislava Hristova, who leads WSU with 19.5 points per game and scored 25 when the teams met in Pullman on Wednesday, was limited to just three points on 1-of-11 shooting.

"I'm just so happy for the team," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We've been in every conference game but one. Tonight they just put it all together. The team was so focused after that game on Wednesday night. They came out dialed in and came out with a great team effort tonight."

Thanks to its defense, Washington opened the game strong, outscoring Washington State 11-4 through the first 5:38 of the game. Johnson led the way through the first minute of the game with a pair of rebounds including one offensive and drained a three-pointer for the first Husky points of the game. Leading 7-4, the Huskies broke the game open early with a 9-0 run over a four-minute stretch. Kierra Collier capped the run with an impressive three-pointer, from the top of the arc as the shot clock expired after Johnson scrambled to get a loose ball and find the freshman.

After a WSU bucket, the Huskies kept the pressure up, using an 8-3 run spanning the quarter to take a 24-9 lead with 7:15 left in the quarter. The Cougars recorded back-to-back buckets on their next two possessions to get into double-figures. But WSU went quiet the rest of the as the Huskies closed out the quarter with a three-point play by Melgoza and a three-pointer by Jenna Moser to take a 32-15 lead to halftime.

The Huskies opened the third quarter with a bucket, but Washington State responded with an 8-2 run over a two-minute stretch to cut the UW lead at 36-23 with 4:03 left in the quarter. Washington answered with five quick points as Melgoza hit a tough layup followed by a three-pointer from Moser to stretch the lead back to 18 with 2:16 left.

But from that point on, Washington State seemed to come alive. The Cougars scored eight straight points from the end of the third to early in the fourth and cut the lead to 10 at 43-33 with 7:11 left. The Huskies got their first bucket of the quarter thanks to a driving layup by Collier, but on the next possession, Collier was fouled on a drive, then taken to the ground hard by WSU's Caila Hailey. Hailey was whistled for a technical foul and Melgoza made one of the two free throws, but Collier had to leave the game, after landing hard on an already sore wrist.

The two teams would exchange buckets over the next two minutes with the Huskies still leading 50-37 with 4:18 left. The Cougars made one final push, using a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to quickly cut the UW lead to three at 52-49. On the next UW possession, the Huskies were running down the clock when they nearly lost the ball along the baseline. But Henson managed to come away with the ball, turned, and hit a tough mid-range jumper with 45.6 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.

Washington State came back down the court looking to quickly cut into the lead, but were whistled for an illegal screen with 37.9 seconds on the clock. The Huskies would take 12 seconds off the clock before the Cougars fouled with Melgoza hitting both free throws to make it 56-49. Washington State would have three shots as time ran down, but Melgoza pulled down a rebound and tossed it ahead to Johnson as time expired to give the Huskies the win.

Johnson has been impressive over her five games, establishing then breaking career-highs in rebounding over that stretch. Her 17 rebounds bested her previous career best of 16 which she recorded when the teams met in Pullman on Wednesday.

"I'm just playing in the flow of the game and having fun," said Johnson. "I just want to go get the rebound—that's what my mentality is—I want to go get the ball. Some players thrive off scoring the ball, but I thrive off getting rebounds and that's what I've been focusing on a lot. It's key especially with our team being undersized and me being the biggest girl: I need to get the rebounds for our team."

"We knew what we needed to do," said Melgoza, who continues to rank second in the Pac-12 in scoring in conference games with 19.4 points per game. "We came together and played together as a unit on defense and rebounded. We weren't afraid out there."

Wynn added: "It's been a long time since that hard work has shown up with a 'W' in the final stats. These girls are continuing to be receptive and wanting to learn and do whatever it takes and play together for each other. After a really tough heart-breaking loss on Wednesday night, to come out with the focus they came out with today and withstand their runs in the second half, I'm super proud."

Moser added 10 points for the Huskies, reaching double-figures for the third-straight game. She was 2-of-5 from three-point range and added a career-high five steals. Mai-Loni Henson contributed eight points and six rebounds off the bench.

The 49 points were the fewest allowed by Washington in a game this year and lowest point total since holding Colorado to 46 points in a 79-46 home victory on Feb. 23, 2017. It was the ninth time the Huskies have allowed fewer than 50 points in a Pac-12 game over the last five years.

Washington stays home for its next two games, hosting the LA schools next weekend. The Huskies welcome No. 13 UCLA to Alaska Airlines Arena on Friday, Jan. 26 for a 7:00 p.m. game.