Cal's Height Too Much For Huskies in 83-67 Loss

Sunday, February 25

Seattle, WA

3:00 PM

University of Washington

7-22, 1-17Pac12

California

20-9, 11-7Pac12

California

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

February 25, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SEATTLE --- Amber Melgoza closed out the regular season with her 13th game of 20 or more points, scoring a team-high 24, but it was not enough as Washington dropped its regular-season finale 83-67 to California on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Huskies end the regular season at 7-22 and 1-17 in Pac-12 play while the Golden Bears move to 20-9 and 11-7 in the conference.

Melgoza got off to a slow start in the game but finished with 24 points including going 9-of-9 from the free throw line. She finishes as the second-leading scorer in the conference with a season average of 18.6 points per game and led the Pac-12 with 20.6 points per game in conference games.

Hannah Johnson and Mai-Loni Henson each added 11 points for the Huskies. Johnson was 5-of-10 from the field while Henson was 4-of-7 including going 3-of-4 from three-point range and adding a career-high three blocks.

Washington shot a respectable 40 percent from the field in the game, especially impressive after starting the game by hitting just two of its first 18 shots. That first quarter proved to be the tipping point in the game as Cal outscored the Huskies 20-6 in the opening 10 minutes while Washington played within two points of the Golden Bears over the remaining 30 minutes.

Cal's height inside just proved to be too much for the Huskies. The Golden Bears outscored Washington 44-22 in the paint and also had a 41-25 rebounding advantage. Cal also pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and had a 15-6 edge in second-chance points.

The Golden Bears opened the game strong, using a 13-0 run to take command early and hold a 16-2 lead at the 5:24 mark. Washington ended the run as Amber Melgoza hit a pair of free throws at the 5:07. The Huskies clamped down on defense from there, holding Cal to just four points over the final five minutes. However, Washington struggled from the field, hitting just 2-of-18 and 0-of-9 from three-point range, finishing with just six total points in the quarter.

Khayla Rooks hit the Huskies first three-pointer of the game to open the second quarter as the teams exchanged buckets through the first four minutes of the quarter. Melgoza hit another pair of free throws at the 6:24 mark to make it a 26-15 game and after a bucket by Cal, Mai-Loni Henson drained a three to cut the lead to 28-18 at the 5:40 mark. But the Golden Bears answered back with a three-pointer and a free throw on the next two possessions to stretch the lead back up to 32-18 with 4:37 left. But Cal would outscore the Huskies 7-2 over the final four minutes and took a 39-22 lead the half.

Melgoza opened the second half with a nice running layup, helping the Huskies open the quarter on an 8-3 run and pulling within 12 at 42-30 at the 7:42 mark. But the Golden Bears answered right back with a 9-3 run of their own over the next two minutes to stretch it back to 18. Again, the Huskies cut into the lead with as Henson got a nice back-door layup followed by a three-pointer by Griggsby but the Golden Bears closed the quarter on a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 60-40 after three.

The three-pointers started falling for the Huskies to open the fourth. After Cal drained a deep three to open the period, Washington got three-straight triples as Mackenzie Wieburg, Henson and Jenna Moser drained three-pointers to make it a 63-49 game at the 8:31 mark. But again, the Golden Bears used a big 11-2 run to pull away.
After the game, the Huskies honored their three seniors in a post-game ceremony. Those seniors were Kelli Kingma, Mackenzie Wieburg and Jenna Moser. Kingma did not appear on the roster this season after an injury forced her to be medically retired prior to the beginning of the year.

Washington opens the Pac-12 Tournament with a first round game with a rematch against California on Thursday at 2:00 p.m at KeyArena. Tickets are available on the Pac-12 website at www.pac-12.com.