Huskies Travel to Utah For Final Road Game of Season

Sunday, February 18

Salt Lake City, UT

1:00 PM

University of Washington

Utah

February 17, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

SALT LAKE CITY --- Washington plays its final road game of the season on Sunday, traveling to Salt Lake City to take on Utah at 2:00 p.m. MT (1:00 p.m. PT). The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Krista Blunk and Tammy Blackburn on the call. Fans can also catch Gary Hill Jr.'s call of the game on KKNW 1150 AM or on gohuskies.com.

The Huskies were unable to overcome an early deficit in a 76-56 loss at Colorado on Friday. Washington shot well in the first half, but struggled in the second half. Sophomore Amber Melgoza scored 15 points including 14 of the team's 17 points in the first quarter to score in double-figures for the 23 time this season. Senior Jenna Moser added 13 points including nine in the second half. Moser, who also added three steals, was 4-for-8 from the field in the game.

Scouting the Utes
Utah enters Sunday's game tied for seventh in the conference with a 7-8 record and is 16-10 overall this season. The Utes picked up a hard-fought 54-50 victory over Washington State on Friday, surviving the low-scoring competition to pick up its first win at home since Dec. 29 when they beat Arizona 89-55.

Utah has struggled a bit at home in Pac-12 play, posting a 2-6 record at the Huntsman Center while going 5-2 on the road. The Utes were 7-0 at home in non-conference play.

Leading the way for Utah has been Megan Huff, a junior transfer from Hawaii. Huff is averaging 14.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season and is shooting an even 50% from the field overall. The Huskies did a good job against Huff when the teams met in Seattle earlier this year, limiting her to just four points and four rebounds.

The Utes have two other players scoring in double-figures in junior Daneesha Provo with 13.0 ppg and senior Emily Potter at 11.7 ppg. Provo tallied 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting against the Huskies in Seattle back in January while Potter had just six points and six rebounds.

All-Time Series Record
Washington leads the all-time series 13-10 and is 8-6 since the Utes joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12. The Huskies have had a lot of success at home, posting an 8-2 record against Utah in Seattle including an 84-77 victory at Alaska Airlines Arena last season. However, Utah has had the upper hand in Salt Lake City, going 6-3 against the Huskies including winning two of the last three in Utah. Washington has won three of the last four games in the series overall.

Up Next
The Huskies head home for its final two games of the regular season, battling #14 Stanford on Friday at 8:00 p.m. Washington then faces California on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. in its Senior Night game.

Last Time Out
Amber Melgoza scored 15 points and Jenna Moser added 13 points but it was not enough as Washington lost 76-56 to Colorado on Friday night at the Coors Event Center.

Washington fell behind early as Colorado opened the game on a 17-5 run. The Huskies would close within five a few minutes later, but the Buffs would stretch the lead to 12 by the end of the first and wouldn't look back.

Melgoza scored 13 of her 15 points in the first quarter to provide all but three points of offense for the Huskies. Moser added nine of her 13 in the second half but Washington shot just 26 percent in the second half as Colorado pulled away late.

Young Dawgs
Washington is one of the youngest teams in the Pac-12 with a roster comprised of five freshmen, two sophomores, one junior and two seniors. Of the returning players, just one saw significant playing time prior to this season: red-shirt sophomore Hannah Johnson, who averaged 16.5 minutes in 35 games last season.

One Bad Quarter
The Huskies have been plagued by one bad quarter in 10 of their 15 Pac-12 games thus far. In those bad quarters (which quarter differs in each game), UW has been outscored by an average of 13.7 points. However, in the other three quarters of those games, the Huskies have outscored their opponents by an average of 5.5 points.

Amber Alert
Sophomore Amber Melgoza scored 39 points in two games against the Oregon schools including a game-high 21 points on Friday against Oregon. Melgoza has reached double-figures in 23 games this season including 10 games with 20 or more points and five games with 25 or more points. Overall, Melgoza leads the team and ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring at 17.3 ppg.

Against the LA schools two weeks ago, Melgoza scored 45 points including 25 against USC. Over the last 18 games, Melgoza is averaging 19.4 points per game and is currently fourth in the Pac-12 with 18.7 ppg in league play.

Melgoza's 23 Point Quarter
Earlier this season at Oregon, Amber 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. UW's previous best came from Plum at USC.

Henson's Heroics
Sophomore Mai-Loni Henson recorded her second double-double of the season at Arizona on Feb. 4, recording 13 points and 10 rebounds. It was also her 12th game in double-figures this season. She followed that up with a 16-point performance on Friday against Oregon, connecting on a season-high four three-pointers. Overall, Henson ranks second on the team with 9.5 points per game and is second with 4.3 rebounds per game.

Johnson Catching Fire
Junior forward Hannah Johnson has played well in conference play this year, averaging 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds Her rebounding average is ninth-best in the conference since the start of Pac-12 play. Earlier this season, over a six-game stretch starting with the home game against Colorado, Johnson averaged 12.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.

Johnson's rebounding has especially taken off lately as she has established then broke her career-high in rebounding four times over that six game stretch. Her latest record-breaking performance came last weekend when she pulled down 17 boards vs. Washington State just days after recording 16 at WSU, giving her 33 in two games. 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).

The most impressive fact is those numbers have come against two of the best rebounders in the Pac-12. Johnson had 11 boards at Cal, out-rebounding All-American candidate Kristine Anigwe 11-10. Against UCLA, Johnson out-rebounded another All-American Monique Billings 14-8.

Huskies in the Rankings
Washington is among the leaders in the conference in a number of categories and the Huskies currently lead the Pac-12 in turnovers forced at 18.5 per game and ranks third in turnover margin at +3.30.

Washington also leads the conference and ranks 14th in the NCAA in three-point field goals attempted (685) and is third in the Pac-12 and 32nd in the NCAA in three-pointers made with (216). The Huskies also rank third in steals (251) and second in steals per game (9.7), 10 steals and 0.3 per game behind USC for the top spot.

Individually, Amber Melgoza is fourth in scoring in Pac-12 games at 18.7 ppg and is fifth in the conference in overall scoring at 17.3 ppg. In addition, she ranks fifth in total points (449) and is ninth in free throw percentage at 75.4%. Jenna Moser is fifth in steals at 1.9 per game, and fifth in three-pointers made with 1.9 per game.

Everybody Starts, Everybody Plays
All 10 of Washington's active players have made at least one start this season and each is averaging at least 14 minutes per game. Jenna Moser is the lone Husky to start all 26 games with Amber Melgoza making 21 starts, Hannah Johnson starting 20 games and Mai-Loni Henson starting 19. Moser also leads the team in minutes played, averaging 30.3 mpg with Melgoza playing 26.7, Henson playing 25.6 and Johnson checking in at 23.5 minutes per game. The Huskies have used 15 different lineup combinations through their 26 games this season.

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 the 22nd most difficult overall schedule among the 349 NCAA DI WBB programs with UW's opponents posting an overall winning percentage of .602 this season.

The Pac-12 conference is the main reason the Huskies' schedule is so tough as the conference boasts four teams in the AP top 25 with three others receiving votes (#7 UCLA, #9 Oregon, #14 Oregon State, #15 Stanford with Arizona State, California and USC receiving votes). Besides their Pac-12 foes, the Huskies have also faced #6 Texas and #16 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.

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.

Moser's Incredible Journey
Senior Jenna Moser's road to being a senior captain was not traditional. Moser started at UW as a practice player, not earning a roster spot until her second year. As a sophomore and junior she appeared in just 14 games, playing 30 total minutes and scoring four points. But as a senior, she was awarded a scholarship and has provided leadership to the young team both on and off the court, starting all 26 games and averaging 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.5 assists per game.

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, bringing a talented duo of wing players to Montlake next season.

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. 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 had to sit out a quarter after transferring schools, just began playing with Walnut High School in early January.

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: Feb. 20, Feb. 27 and March 5. The show can be heard on gohuskies.com or on the TuneIn App, which can be downloaded on either the Apple App Store or Google Play.