Huskies Host No. 13 UCLA on Friday

Friday, January 26

Seattle, WA

7:00 PM

University of Washington

UCLA

Tickets

January 24, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)Tickets

SEATTLE --- Washington welcomes the LA schools this weekend starting with a showdown against No. 13 UCLA at Alaska Airlines Arena on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Elise Woodward and Joan Bonvicini on the call. Fans can also listen to the radio broadcast with Gary Hill Jr. on KKNW 1150 AM in the Seattle area or online at gohuskies.com.

The Huskies picked up their first Pac-12 victory with a solid defensive showing in a 56-49 win over Washington State University on Sunday. Hannah Johnson had a career-high 17 rebounds, adding 13 points. Amber Melgoza led the way with 14 points while Jenna Moser added 10.

Johnson had 33 rebounds over the last two games, becoming the third player in program history to have 33 or more in two-straight games. She has averaged 11.6 rebounds and 11.8 points over her last five games.

Scouting the Bruins
UCLA comes into the game tied for second in the Pac-12 standings with a 6-2 conference record and have won six of its last seven games overall. The Bruins have posted an impressive 4-2 record against ranked teams including an 82-68 win over No. 3 Baylor–the Bears' only loss this season.

UCLA is led by a pair of talented seniors in guard Jordin Canada and forward Monique Billings. Both were named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list and are favorites for All-Pac-12 Honors.

Billings is averaging 14.8 points and leads the conference with 9.4 rebounds per game. Billings was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for last week after averaging 16 points and 13 rebounds in games against Cal and Stanford last week.

Canada leads the team with 15.1 points per game and is second in the conference with 6.6 assists per game including a Pac-12-best 6.8 assists in eight league games.

All-Time Series Record
Washington holds a slight 32-30 edge in the all-time series against UCLA. The teams have split the last four games with each winning on its home court. Washington has won four of the last five games at Alaska Airlines Arena and is 19-10 against the Bruins at home all-time.

Up Next
The Huskies close out their three-game home stand against USC on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The Trojans come into the weekend just two games ahead of the Huskies in the conference standings at 3-5 in Pac-12 play.

Last Time Out
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.

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.

Amber Alert
Sophomore Amber Melgoza scored a team-best 15 points to give her 37 points in two games against Washington State last week. Melgoza has scored at least 14 points in 12 of the last 13 games. Over the last 10 games, Melgoza has averaged 20.6 points and is currently tied for third in the Pac-12 with 19.4 ppg in league play. Earlier this sesaon 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.

Johnson Catching Fire
Junior forward Hannah Johnson has been red-hot since the start of conference play and especially over her last five games. Johnson is averaging a double-double over her last five games, averaging 11.8 points and 11.6 rebounds over that stretch. Since the start of Pac-12 play, Johnson leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference with 8.0 rebounds per game and is adding 10.4 ppg.

Johnson's rebounding has especially taken off lately as she has established then broke her career-high in rebounding four times over the last five games. Her latest record-breaking performance came on Sunday when she pulled down 17 boards vs. Washington State just days after recording 16 at WSU on Wednesday. Since the Pac-10/12 added women's basketball in 1986-87, Johnson is one of three Huskies to record at least 33 total rebounds over a two-game stretch (Johnson 2017-18; Chantel Osahor 2015-16 and 2016-17; Amber Hall 1997-98).

Johnson also had 11 rebounds at Cal where she out-rebounded All-American candidate Kristine Anigwe 11-10. Anigwe, who has a three-inch height advantage and one of the longest wingspans in the Pac-12, ranks third in the conference with nearly nine rebounds per game. Johnson was 5-of-9 from the field in the game including draining a career-best three from beyond the arc in a 31 minutes.

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 19.11 per game and rank fourth in turnover margin at +3.9. Washington also leads the conference in three-point field goals attempted (500) and is third in three-pointers made with (155) and three-point makes per game (8.2). The Huskies are also second in steals (184) and steals per game (10.2).

Individually, Amber Melgoza ranks tied for third in scoring in Pac-12 games at 19.4 ppg. In addition, she is fifth in the conference in overall scoring at 17.1 ppg, fifth in total points (324) and is seventh in free throw percentage at 76.2%. Jenna Moser is fourth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 41.8% and is fourth in steals at 2.05 per game and seventh in three-pointers made with 2.00 per game.

Hitting From The Charity Stripe
The Huskies have improved on their free throw shooting this season, hitting 71.5% from the charity stripe overall. In Pac-12 play, UW is shooting 73.9% from the free throw line, the fifth-best mark in the conference. Amber Melgoza ranks eighth in the Pac-12 with a 76.2% mark from the line including going 10-of-11 against Utah. Mai-Loni Henson is close behind in 10th place at 74.6%. Jenna Moser–who has hit 25 her last 27 from the free throw line–is up to 77.1% (she does not meet the minimums to rank in the Pac-12).

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 19 games with Amber Melgoza making 15 starts, Hannah Johnson starting 14 games and Mai-Loni Henson making 13 starts. Moser also leads the team in minutes played, averaging 30.3 mpg with Melgoza playing 26.8 and Henson playing 24.3.

Strength of Schedule
The Huskies are not shying away from playing tough teams in the 2017-18 season as UW faces seven teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and two others receiving votes. In fact, the Huskies' have played the 34th toughest schedule to this point, and have the 27th 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 one other receiving votes (#7 Oregon, #13 UCLA, #17 Oregon State, #23 California, #25 Arizona State, with Stanford and Utah receiving votes). Besides their Pac-12 opponents, the Huskies have also squared off against #6 Texas and #12 Ohio State 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 fifth on the team with 7.3 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 4.4 rebounds per game with over half of those coming on the offensive end (46o/38d). Alexis Griggsby has been a solid contributor off the bench, adding 5.7 ppg which is the highest among players with 10 or fewer starts. Khayla Rooks has been battling injury but is still averaging 5.1 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds vs. Seattle. Prior to suffering a knee injury, Missy Peterson contributed 3.3 ppg and shooting a team-best 51.1% from the field. She is expected back in a few weeks.

No More 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. Another longer UW OT streak was ended at Washington State as the Huskies lost their first overtime game since Feb. 5, 2012.

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 in the Huskies big win against Creighton. Overall, she averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists a game in Vegas.

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 league 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 sat out a quarter after transferring schools, just began playing with Walnut HS last week.

2016-17 Recap
The Huskies posted a 29-6 record and made their second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17. In the tourney, the Huskies downed Montana State and Oklahoma before falling to Mississippi St. in the Sweet Sixteen. UW's Kelsey Plum earned numerous honors including the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award before being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft by the San Antonio Stars.

Radio Show
UW 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. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Feb. 20, Feb. 27 and March 5. The show can be heard on gohuskies.com or on the TuneIn App.

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 in USA Basketball
Five former UW athletes have competed internationally for USA Basketball. Karen Deden, who was named to the 1995 USA Pan American Games Team, but was denied a shot at a medal after the women's basketball competition was canceled due to too few team entries, played on the 1989 USA Junior World Cup (U19) Team that placed seventh and the 1988 USA Junior World Cup Qualifying Team that won gold. Loree Payne won gold on the 2000 USA R. William Jones Cup Team and competed in an exhibition game as a member of the 2000 USA Select Team against the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team; Jamie Redd was a member of the 1998 USA Select Team that posted a 7-1 slate against international teams in exhibition games; while Rhonda Smith won a silver medal at the 1997 Tournament of the Americas and a bronze medal at the 1993 R. William Jones Cup. Most recently, Kelsey Plum earned a gold medal at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Cup, silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games and participated in the 2017 USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Santa Barbara, California.