Melgoza Scores Career-High 40 Points But Huskies Fall 86-79 to No. 16 Stanford

Friday, February 23

Seattle, WA

8:00 PM

University of Washington

7-21, 1-16Pac12

Stanford

20-9, 14-3Pac12

Stanford

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

Melgoza Scores Career-High 40 Points But Huskies Fall 86-79 to No. 16 Stanford

February 23, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Box (PDF)Video: Amber Melgoza 40-Point Performance

SEATTLE – Amber Melgoza recorded the most points by a Pac-12 player this season, pouring in a career-high 40 points. But it was not enough as despite putting up an impressive performance, Washington lost 86-79 to No. 16 Stanford on Friday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Melgoza became just the third player in program history to score 40 or more points behind Kelsey Plum (6 times) and Giuliana Mendiola (1 time). In addition, she became the first player in the Pac-12 to score 40 points in any game this season. The sophomore was 14-of-26 from the field, 5-of-9 from three-point range and went 7-of-9 from the free throw line. She also added three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 34 minutes.

Melgoza eclipsed her previous high of 31 points which came at Oregon on Dec. 31, reaching double-figures for the 25^th time this season and scored 20 or more for the 12^th time.

Washington (7-21, 1-16 Pac-12) shot a season-best 52.8 percent in the game including hitting 9-of-13 from the field in the fourth quarter. The Huskies also scored 79 points, the second-most points they have scored in a Pac-12 game this season behind 83 at Oregon (Dec. 31).

However, Stanford's size advantage proved to be too much for the undersized Huskies, who were out-rebounded 38-22. Half of Stanford's rebounds were on the offensive glass, leading to a 27-8 edge in second-chance points. The Cardinal (20-9, 14-3 Pac-12) also outscored Washington 36-26 in the paint.

"Our team had incredible effort for 40 minutes," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We didn't play perfect basketball by any stretch of the imagination, but I think our focus for the entire 40 minutes was as good as its been throughout the conference season. Stanford came after us and they were aggressive defensively, but out decision making skills were as good as they've been throughout the conference season—both on offense and defense."

"First of all, I give credit to my teammates, they did a great job out there and played hard," said Amber Melgoza. "They were setting great screens and that's how I got open. For me to have a good game, it's about confidence. When I get it in my mind that no one can stop me then I just feel like I am free. That's kind of how I was feeling right off the bat."

Brittany McPhee, from nearby Normandy Park, scored 25 points to lead Stanford while Alanna Smith added 15 points. Kaylee Johnson had a game-high 13 rebounds including seven on the offensive end.

Hannah Johnson broke out of a recent scoring slump with nine points while Mai-Loni Henson and Khayla Rooks each added eight points for the Huskies. Each of Washington's seven players scored and had at least one assist and rebound in the game with six of the seven hitting a three-pointer. The Huskies hit a season-high 13 three-pointers in the game on 29 attempts.

Stanford got off to a quick start, scoring the game's first five points. But Melgoza answered with a three-pointer, then after pulling down a defensive rebound, was fouled on the other end and hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at the 8:15 mark. But the Cardinal responded with an 11-3 run to take a commanding 16-8 lead at the media timeout.

However, the Huskies would erupt for an 18-2 run to close out the quarter with Melgoza scoring 10 of those points. Hannah Johnson got the run going with a great three-point play then Melgoza scored the next seven points to give the Huskies an 18-16 lead with 2:23 left. Stanford scored to tie the game, but the Huskies would score the final eight points of the quarter to take a commanding 26-18 lead after one.

Melgoza finished the quarter with 18 points—matching the Cardinal total for the period. The 26 points were the most scored by the Huskies since scoring 27 in the first quarter at Arizona on Feb. 4 and was the third most scored in a quarter in Pac-12 play.

Stanford came out strong in the second quarter, opening the period on a 12-4 run to the game at 30-30 with 4:19 to go in the half. Mackenzie Wieburg did a fantastic job of working open in the corner, then draining an open three-pointer to stop the run and give the Huskies back the lead at 35-32 with 3:17 left. The Cardinal answered back, closing out the half on a 10-0 run to take back the lead and hold a 42-35 advantage at halftime.

Stanford outscored the Huskies 24-9 in the second quarter, shooting 52.6% and receiving 13 points from McPhee. The Cardinal also held a 14-4 edge in rebounding with eight of their points coming as second chance points.

Melgoza opened the third with a bucket before the teams exchanged five-point runs with the Huskies using the last one to make it 47-42 at the 5:58 mark. Later in the quarter, Stanford hit back-to-back three-pointers to take its largest lead to that point at 58-48 with 3:24 remaining in the period. After buckets were exchanged, Melgoza keyed a five-point run to close the quarter with a layup followed by a defensive stop and three-pointer by Mai-Loni Henson to cut the lead to 60-55.

The teams went back and forth through much of the fourth quarter, matching each other blow for blow. Trailing by six, with 5:33 left, Alexis Griggsby drained a big three-pointer to make it 71-68. But the Cardinal answered with a big three-pointer coming out of the media timeout, stretching the lead back to six. After an impressive running layup among the trees by Griggsby, Stanford rattled off four-straight to stretch the lead back to eight at 78-70.

The Huskies got a free throw from Melgoza to stop the run, but the Cardinal would get a three-point play on the other end with 1:30 left to stretch the lead back to eight. But the Huskies weren't done. Melgoza drained a three-pointer with 1:18 left, then after a pair of missed free throws by Stanford, she added a runner in the lane to cut the lead to 81-76 with 56 seconds left. But the Cardinal would hit a pair of free throws on the other end and after a missed three-pointer by the Huskies, would tally two more free throws to stretch the lead back to nine with 15 seconds left. Melgoza would add to her total with a quick bucket on the other end and hit one of two free throws with three seconds left to get her to 40 on the night.

"We were right there," said Wynn. "Our kids were confident and we were able to make a couple of adjustments against their zone offense. We were playing for our seniors this weekend and Amber put us on her back tonight."

"It's tough when you are outsized every single possession," said Wynn. "They were just able to jump over us and get offensive boards. It wasn't for the lack of toughness or lack of fight down low, they were just able to get to the boards and get extra possessions. We were right there and they shot 13 more times than us because of those offensive rebounds."

Melgoza scored 18 points in the first quarter and tallied 14 in the fourth quarter, marking her 12^th and 13^th quarters in which she has scored in double-figures this season with 10 coming in Pac-12 play. Earlier this season, Melgoza set a Pac-12 record by scoring 23 points in the fourth quarter at Oregon (Dec. 31). She also had two quarters in double-figures in one game for the second time this season (Colorado Jan. 7 – 1^st and 4^th quarters).

Washington closes out the regular season on Sunday (Feb. 25), hosting California at 3:00 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. After the game, the Huskies will be honoring three seniors: Jenna Moser, Mackenzie Wieburg and Kelli Kingma, who was unable to play this year due to injury.