Sunday, February 25
Seattle, WA
3:00 PM
University of Washington
vs
California
Huskies Close Our Regular Season vs California on Sunday
February 24, 2018 | Women's Basketball
SEATTLE --- Washington wraps up the regular season on Sunday, hosting California at Alaska Airlines Arena at 3:00 p.m. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Anne Marie Anderson and Layshia Clarendon on the call. Fans can also listen to the game on radio with Dick Fain on the call on KKNW 1150 AM or on gohuskies.com.
Β
On Friday, the Huskies battled hard but came up just short of an upset of No. 16 Stanford, losing 86-79 at Alaska Airlines Arena. Washington was within three with 5:36 left and trailed by just five with a minute to play but was unable to pull off the upset. Sophomore Amber Melgoza had a monster game, scoring a career-high 40 pointsβthe most by a Pac-12 player this season. She opened the game with 18 points in the first quarter, then closed it out with 14 over the final 10 minutes.
Β
Scouting the Golden Bears
California picked up a 67-54 victory at Washington State on Friday, giving the Golden Bears four wins in their last five games. Cal is in a battle with Arizona State for the fifth spot in the conference, though ASU holds the tie breaker and can knock the Golden Bears down to sixth simply by beating Oregon State on Friday.
Β
Cal is led by All-American candidate Kristine Anigwe, who is leading the team in scoring and rebounding at 16.8 points and 8.6 boards per game. When the teams met earlier this season in Berkeley, Anigwe had 26 points and 10 rebounds, scoring 10 points each in the first and third quarters.
Β
All-Time Series Record
Washington leads the series 46-23 and has won four of the last seven games overall. The Huskies have won the last two games at Alaska Airlines Arena with Cal's last victory coming in Feb. 7, 2014 (70-65). The Golden Bears picked up a 69-60 victory when the teams met in Berkeley earlier this season, pulling away late for the close win. Washington won the lone game between the two last year, beating the Golden Bears 90-67 in Seattle.
Β
Senior Day
Following Sunday's game, the Huskies will honor a trio of seniors: Jenna Moser, Mackenzie Wieburg and Kelli Kingma. Moser and Wieburg have transitioned from being walk-on players to being key contributors during their senior years. Kingma was forced to miss her senior season after being medically retired prior to the start of the season. However, she had remained involved with the program, overseeing the honorary captain program along other volunteer opportunities for the team.
Β
Up Next
The Huskies head to the Pac-12 Tournament next week, playing the 2:00 p.m. game on Thursday, March 1 at KeyArena in Seattle. UW's opponent has yet to be determined, but will either be California or Arizona State.
Β
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.Β
Β
One Bad Quarter
The Huskies have been plagued by one bad quarter in 11 of their 16 Pac-12 losses thus far; a quarter which turned a close game into a big loss. In those bad quarters (which quarter differs in each game), UW has been outscored by an average of 15.9 points. However, in the other three quarters of those games, the Huskies have outscored their opponents by an average of 4.0 points.
Β
Amber Alert
Melgoza continues to shine offensively for the Huskies. Her 40-point effort against Stanford moved her into second place on the conference scoring list with a 18.4 ppg average. MelgozaΒ leads the Pac-12 in scoring in Pac-12 games averaging 20.4 points per game.
Β
Melgoza's 40-Point Night
Sophomore Amber Melgoza had an amazing night on Friday, scoring a career-high 40 points against Stanford. It was the most points scored by a Pac-12 player this year and just the third player to score 40 or more points in program history (Plum 6x, Guiliana Mendiola). Melgoza was 14-of-26 from the field, hitting 5-of-9 from three-point range and adding seven free throws. She had 18 points in the first quarter, 2 in the second, 6 in the third and 14 in the fourth.
Β
Melgoza's 23 Point Quarter
Earlier this season at Oregon, Amber Melgoza scored a career-high 31 pointsβthe 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.
Β
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 18.25 per game and ranks second in turnover margin at +3.25.
Β
Washington also leads the Pac-12 and ranks 11th in the NCAA in three-point field goals attempted (740) and is third in the Pac-12 and 29th in the NCAA in three-pointers made with (235). The Huskies also rank second in steals (269) and second in steals per game (9.6).
Β
Individually, Amber Melgoza leads the conference in scoring in Pac-12 games at 20.4 ppg and is second in the conference in overall scoring at 18.4 ppg. In addition, she ranks third in total points (516) and is sixth in free throw percentage at 76.2%. Jenna Moser is fifth in steals at 1.8 per game, and ninth in three-pointers made with 1.9 per game.
Β
Everybody Starts, Everybody Plays
All 10 of Washington's active players at the beginning of the season have made at least one start this year and each is averaging at least 14 minutes per game. Jenna Moser is the lone Husky to start all 28 games with Amber Melgoza making 23 starts, Hannah Johnson starting 22 games and Mai-Loni Henson starting 21. Moser also leads the team in minutes played, averaging 30.7 mpg with Melgoza playing 27.1, Henson playing 26.0 and Johnson checking in at 24.0 minutes per game. The Huskies have used 15 different lineup combinations through their 28 games this season.
Β
Johnson Catching Fire
Junior forward Hannah Johnson has played well in conference play this year, averaging 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds. Her rebounding average is 12th-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.
Β
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 24th most difficult overall schedule among the 349 NCAA DI WBB programs with UW's opponents posting an overall winning percentage of .596 this season.
Β
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 (#8 Oregon, #10 UCLA, #12 Oregon State, #16 Stanford with Arizona State, California and USC receiving votes). Besides their Pac-12 foes, the Huskies have also faced #6 Texas and #14 Ohio State in non-conference games.
Β
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 9.4 points per game and 32 total steals.Β
Β
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.
Β
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.
Β
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 27 games and averaging 9.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 2.5 assists per game.
Β
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.
Β
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 Friday, Van Dyke broke her own section scoring record with 60 points in a 73-50 win over Moreau Catholic in a Division III quarterfinal game.
Β
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 Schoolβthe alma mater of Head Coach Jody Wynn and Coordinator of Player Development Anna Kim.Β 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, began playing at Walnut in January.
Β
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.
Β
Β
On Friday, the Huskies battled hard but came up just short of an upset of No. 16 Stanford, losing 86-79 at Alaska Airlines Arena. Washington was within three with 5:36 left and trailed by just five with a minute to play but was unable to pull off the upset. Sophomore Amber Melgoza had a monster game, scoring a career-high 40 pointsβthe most by a Pac-12 player this season. She opened the game with 18 points in the first quarter, then closed it out with 14 over the final 10 minutes.
Β
Scouting the Golden Bears
California picked up a 67-54 victory at Washington State on Friday, giving the Golden Bears four wins in their last five games. Cal is in a battle with Arizona State for the fifth spot in the conference, though ASU holds the tie breaker and can knock the Golden Bears down to sixth simply by beating Oregon State on Friday.
Β
Cal is led by All-American candidate Kristine Anigwe, who is leading the team in scoring and rebounding at 16.8 points and 8.6 boards per game. When the teams met earlier this season in Berkeley, Anigwe had 26 points and 10 rebounds, scoring 10 points each in the first and third quarters.
Β
All-Time Series Record
Washington leads the series 46-23 and has won four of the last seven games overall. The Huskies have won the last two games at Alaska Airlines Arena with Cal's last victory coming in Feb. 7, 2014 (70-65). The Golden Bears picked up a 69-60 victory when the teams met in Berkeley earlier this season, pulling away late for the close win. Washington won the lone game between the two last year, beating the Golden Bears 90-67 in Seattle.
Β
Senior Day
Following Sunday's game, the Huskies will honor a trio of seniors: Jenna Moser, Mackenzie Wieburg and Kelli Kingma. Moser and Wieburg have transitioned from being walk-on players to being key contributors during their senior years. Kingma was forced to miss her senior season after being medically retired prior to the start of the season. However, she had remained involved with the program, overseeing the honorary captain program along other volunteer opportunities for the team.
Β
Up Next
The Huskies head to the Pac-12 Tournament next week, playing the 2:00 p.m. game on Thursday, March 1 at KeyArena in Seattle. UW's opponent has yet to be determined, but will either be California or Arizona State.
Β
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.Β
Β
One Bad Quarter
The Huskies have been plagued by one bad quarter in 11 of their 16 Pac-12 losses thus far; a quarter which turned a close game into a big loss. In those bad quarters (which quarter differs in each game), UW has been outscored by an average of 15.9 points. However, in the other three quarters of those games, the Huskies have outscored their opponents by an average of 4.0 points.
Β
Amber Alert
Melgoza continues to shine offensively for the Huskies. Her 40-point effort against Stanford moved her into second place on the conference scoring list with a 18.4 ppg average. MelgozaΒ leads the Pac-12 in scoring in Pac-12 games averaging 20.4 points per game.
Β
Melgoza's 40-Point Night
Sophomore Amber Melgoza had an amazing night on Friday, scoring a career-high 40 points against Stanford. It was the most points scored by a Pac-12 player this year and just the third player to score 40 or more points in program history (Plum 6x, Guiliana Mendiola). Melgoza was 14-of-26 from the field, hitting 5-of-9 from three-point range and adding seven free throws. She had 18 points in the first quarter, 2 in the second, 6 in the third and 14 in the fourth.
Β
Melgoza's 23 Point Quarter
Earlier this season at Oregon, Amber Melgoza scored a career-high 31 pointsβthe 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.
Β
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 18.25 per game and ranks second in turnover margin at +3.25.
Β
Washington also leads the Pac-12 and ranks 11th in the NCAA in three-point field goals attempted (740) and is third in the Pac-12 and 29th in the NCAA in three-pointers made with (235). The Huskies also rank second in steals (269) and second in steals per game (9.6).
Β
Individually, Amber Melgoza leads the conference in scoring in Pac-12 games at 20.4 ppg and is second in the conference in overall scoring at 18.4 ppg. In addition, she ranks third in total points (516) and is sixth in free throw percentage at 76.2%. Jenna Moser is fifth in steals at 1.8 per game, and ninth in three-pointers made with 1.9 per game.
Β
Everybody Starts, Everybody Plays
All 10 of Washington's active players at the beginning of the season have made at least one start this year and each is averaging at least 14 minutes per game. Jenna Moser is the lone Husky to start all 28 games with Amber Melgoza making 23 starts, Hannah Johnson starting 22 games and Mai-Loni Henson starting 21. Moser also leads the team in minutes played, averaging 30.7 mpg with Melgoza playing 27.1, Henson playing 26.0 and Johnson checking in at 24.0 minutes per game. The Huskies have used 15 different lineup combinations through their 28 games this season.
Β
Johnson Catching Fire
Junior forward Hannah Johnson has played well in conference play this year, averaging 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds. Her rebounding average is 12th-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.
Β
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 24th most difficult overall schedule among the 349 NCAA DI WBB programs with UW's opponents posting an overall winning percentage of .596 this season.
Β
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 (#8 Oregon, #10 UCLA, #12 Oregon State, #16 Stanford with Arizona State, California and USC receiving votes). Besides their Pac-12 foes, the Huskies have also faced #6 Texas and #14 Ohio State in non-conference games.
Β
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 9.4 points per game and 32 total steals.Β
Β
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.
Β
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.
Β
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 27 games and averaging 9.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 2.5 assists per game.
Β
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.
Β
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 Friday, Van Dyke broke her own section scoring record with 60 points in a 73-50 win over Moreau Catholic in a Division III quarterfinal game.
Β
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 Schoolβthe alma mater of Head Coach Jody Wynn and Coordinator of Player Development Anna Kim.Β 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, began playing at Walnut in January.
Β
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.
Β
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballAliyah's Bell Celebration with Washington Women's Basketball
Thursday, July 17
Dalayah Daniels 2024-25 Season Highlights
Thursday, April 17
Washington Women's Basketball March Madness Press Conference: First Four
Thursday, March 20
Head Coach Tina Langley Weekly Press Conference: March 11
Tuesday, March 11
