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Melgoza Named to All-Pac-12 Team
February 27, 2018 | Women's Basketball
SEATTLE – Washington sophomore guard Amber Melgoza has been named to the All-Pac-12 team as voted on by the conference coaches and announced by the Pac-12 on Tuesday.
In addition, freshman guard Kierra Collier earned honorable mention All-Freshman Team honors, despite playing much of the season with a wrist injury which eventually sidelined her for the final four games the season.
Melgoza, a sophomore from Santa Barbara, Calif., was one of only four sophomores out of 15 student-athletes to earn all-conference recognition.
"This award is a terrific honor for Amber and our Husky basketball program," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We are very proud of what she's has been able to accomplish throughout her sophomore year. Amber has been a consistent performer the entire conference season. She is a proven scorer and can score on all three levels: driving to the basket, pull-up jumper, and 3-pointer. Amber has been able to score against some of the top team defenses and individual defenders in the country."
Melgoza closed out the regular season averaging 18.6 points per game—the second-highest scoring average in the conference. She did even better during Pac-12 play, averaging a league-best 20.6 points per game. She scored in double-figures in 25 games including 13 games scoring 20 or more points—10 of which came in Pac-12 play.
Melgoza wrapped up the season with an impressive run, scoring 91 points over her final three games including a career-high 40 points against Stanford on Friday, Feb. 23—the most points scored by a Pac-12 player this year. In the season finale, she scored 24 points including going 9-of-9 from the free throw line, the most made without a miss in the conference.
In December, Melgoza set a Pac-12 record by scoring 23 points in the fourth quarter at Oregon, finishing the game with a then-career-high 31 points. She went 8-of-11 from the field in the final quarter, going 2-of-2 from three-point range and adding five points from the free throw line.
Collier, a freshman from St. Louis, had a stellar start to her college career derailed by a wrist injury suffered midway through the season. Collier opened the year with 11 points in her first game and tallied a season-high 18 points at Idaho on Dec. 1. Through the first 14 games of the season, Collier was averaging 8.4 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, transitioning to the starting point-guard position at the start of conference play.
However, she suffered a wrist injury on her shooting hand in practice in early January and was never the same, eventually being shut down for the season in mid-February. Overall, Collier finished her first collegiate season averaging 6.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
The Pac-12 Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Coach of the Year and Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors will be announced this evening at 5 p.m. on Pac-12 Network in a special 30-minute Pac-12 Sport Report. In addition to the live announcement of the yearly awards, the show will include analysis and recaps of the Conference heading into the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament in Seattle, Wash. Ashley Adamson will host with analysts Anne Marie Anderson and Mary Murphy. In addition to airing on Pac-12 Network, the show can be watched via the Pac-12 Now app and on Pac-12.com/now.
The Huskies open the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday as the No. 12 seed, taking on No. 5 seed California in a rematch of their regular-season finale at 2:00 p.m. at KeyArena.
In addition, freshman guard Kierra Collier earned honorable mention All-Freshman Team honors, despite playing much of the season with a wrist injury which eventually sidelined her for the final four games the season.
Melgoza, a sophomore from Santa Barbara, Calif., was one of only four sophomores out of 15 student-athletes to earn all-conference recognition.
"This award is a terrific honor for Amber and our Husky basketball program," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We are very proud of what she's has been able to accomplish throughout her sophomore year. Amber has been a consistent performer the entire conference season. She is a proven scorer and can score on all three levels: driving to the basket, pull-up jumper, and 3-pointer. Amber has been able to score against some of the top team defenses and individual defenders in the country."
Melgoza closed out the regular season averaging 18.6 points per game—the second-highest scoring average in the conference. She did even better during Pac-12 play, averaging a league-best 20.6 points per game. She scored in double-figures in 25 games including 13 games scoring 20 or more points—10 of which came in Pac-12 play.
Melgoza wrapped up the season with an impressive run, scoring 91 points over her final three games including a career-high 40 points against Stanford on Friday, Feb. 23—the most points scored by a Pac-12 player this year. In the season finale, she scored 24 points including going 9-of-9 from the free throw line, the most made without a miss in the conference.
In December, Melgoza set a Pac-12 record by scoring 23 points in the fourth quarter at Oregon, finishing the game with a then-career-high 31 points. She went 8-of-11 from the field in the final quarter, going 2-of-2 from three-point range and adding five points from the free throw line.
Collier, a freshman from St. Louis, had a stellar start to her college career derailed by a wrist injury suffered midway through the season. Collier opened the year with 11 points in her first game and tallied a season-high 18 points at Idaho on Dec. 1. Through the first 14 games of the season, Collier was averaging 8.4 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, transitioning to the starting point-guard position at the start of conference play.
However, she suffered a wrist injury on her shooting hand in practice in early January and was never the same, eventually being shut down for the season in mid-February. Overall, Collier finished her first collegiate season averaging 6.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
The Pac-12 Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Coach of the Year and Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors will be announced this evening at 5 p.m. on Pac-12 Network in a special 30-minute Pac-12 Sport Report. In addition to the live announcement of the yearly awards, the show will include analysis and recaps of the Conference heading into the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament in Seattle, Wash. Ashley Adamson will host with analysts Anne Marie Anderson and Mary Murphy. In addition to airing on Pac-12 Network, the show can be watched via the Pac-12 Now app and on Pac-12.com/now.
The Huskies open the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday as the No. 12 seed, taking on No. 5 seed California in a rematch of their regular-season finale at 2:00 p.m. at KeyArena.
Players Mentioned
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