Huskies Open Pac-12 Tournament Thursday With Rematch vs Cal

Thursday, March 1

Seattle, WA

2:00 PM

University of Washington

California

The UW Women's Basketball team opens the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday vs Cal

Huskies Open Pac-12 Tournament Thursday With Rematch vs Cal

February 28, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)Pac-12 Tournament Site

SEATTLE --- Washington opens the Pac-12 tournament on Thursday at KeyArena, facing California in a rematch of the regular-season finale between the two schools. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Ann Schatz and Tammy Blackburn on the call. Fans can also listen to the game with Gary Hill Jr. and Elise Woodward calling the action on KKNW 1150 AM or on gohuskies.com.

In the Huskies last game, California used a big first quarter and its height inside to beat Washington 83-67 on Sunday. Amber Melgoza scored a game-high 24 points with Mai-Loni Henson and Hannah Johnson each adding 11 points.

Melgoza was selected to the All-Pac-12 team as voted on by the conference coaches. Melgoza is the Pac-12's second-leading scorer, averaging 18.6 points per game and she averaged the most points in Pac-12 play at 20.6 ppg. Freshman Kierra Collier also earned All-Freshman honorable mention despite playing with an injured shooting wrist all season. Melgoza was one of just four underclassmen on team of 15. She became the 22nd Husky in program history to be named to the all-conference squad (excluding honorable mention). She was also one of five first-time honorees on the All-Pac-12 team this season.

Melgoza in the Rankings
Melgoza ranks second in the conference in scoring at 18.6 points per game and leads the Pac-12 in scoring in conference games at 20.6 ppg. She also leads the conference in field goal attempts (452), is third in free throw percentage (77.7%) and total points (540); fifth in field goals made (194), and 14th in field goal percentage (42.9%), though fourth-highest by a guard in the conference.

Melgoza's 40-Point Night
Melgoza had an amazing night on Feb. 23, scoring a career-high 40 points against Stanford. It was the most points scored by a Pac-12 player this year as she becomes 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, 5-of-9 from three-point range and added seven free throws. She had 18 points in the first quarter, two in the second, six in the third and 14 in the fourth.

Scouting the Golden Bears
After hitting a rough past at the end of January and beginning of February, Cal ended the year with five wins in its final six games including an 83-67 victory over Washington on Sunday. The win coupled with Arizona State's loss gave Cal the No. 5 seed in the tournament.

The Golden Bears have played well at home this season, posting a 12-3 overall record, however, they are just 8-6 away from Berkeley. Cal had lost four of its last five road games prior to a pair of wins last week at the Washington schools.

Cal is led by All-American candidate Kristine Anigwe, who is leading the team in scoring and rebounding at 17.0 points and 8.8 boards per game. Anigwe has combined to score 49 points and pull down 22 rebounds in the two games against the Huskies this year.

Guard Asha Thomas adds 12.3 ppg and is shooting 41.7 percent from the field with fellow guard Mikayla Cowling adding 9.0 ppg and also hitting 41.0 percent from the field. Cal's other post player Penina Davison averages just 7.7 points per game, but has averaged 9.5 points against the Huskies.

All-Time Series Record
Washington leads the series 46-24, but the teams have split the last four games overall. Cal picked up its first win at Alaska Airlines Arena since 2014 with its win on Sunday. The Huskies have not beaten the Golden Bears in three tries at the Pac-12 Tournament. Their last game came in the 2015 Tourney where Cal downed the Huskies 69-53 in the Quarterfinals.

UW Pac-12 Tournament History
The Huskies have posted an overall record of 9-16 in the Pac-12 tournament, but are 4-5 since the tournament moved to Seattle in 2013. Washington made an impressive run to the semifinals in 2016 as a No. 5 seed, beating No. 12 Colorado and No. 4 Stanford before losing a close 57-55 game to No. 1 Oregon State in the semifinals. The Huskies are 2-2 as a No. 8 seed or lower including a stunning 69-43 victory over Oregon as a No. 10 seed in 2009.

Up Next
If the Huskies can pull off the upset, Washington would face off against No. 4 seed UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday at 2:00 p.m. at KeyArena. The Huskies and Bruins have never played at the Pac-12 Tournament.

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. The five freshmen match the most in the conference this season. 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 12 of their 17 Pac-12 losses; a quarter which turned a close game into a big loss. Taking out that one bad quarter would have given Washington seven wins. In those bad quarters (which quarter differs in each game), UW has been outscored by an average of 15.75 points. However, in the other three quarters of those games, Washington outscored its opponents by 3.5 points on average.

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 18.03 per game and ranks fourth in turnover margin at +3.17.

Washington also leads the Pac-12 and ranks 11th in the NCAA in three-point field goals attempted (769), averaging out to 26.5 per game. The Huskies are also third in the Pac-12 and 27th in the NCAA in three-pointers made with (244) and are third in the Pac-12 with 8.4 made threes per game. Additionally, UW is third in steals (274) and in steals per game (9.4).

Individually, Amber Melgoza leads the conference in scoring in Pac-12 games at 20.6 ppg and is second in the conference in overall scoring at 18.6 ppg. She also ranks third in total points (540) and is third in free throw percentage at 77.7%. Jenna Moser is fifth in steals at 1.9 per game, and ninth in three-pointers made with 1.9 per game.

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.

Strength of Schedule
Despite having a young team and new coaching staff, the Huskies are not shying away from playing tough teams in the 2017-18 season as UW faces six teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and two others receiving votes. In fact, the Huskies have the 25th most difficult overall schedule among the 349 NCAA DI WBB programs with UW's opponents posting an overall winning percentage of .592 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 (#6 Oregon, #9 UCLA, #10 Oregon State, #16 Stanford with Arizona State and California receiving votes). Besides their Pac-12 foes, the Huskies have also faced #7 Texas and #13 Ohio State in non-conference games.

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 29 games with Amber Melgoza making 24 starts, Hannah Johnson starting 23 games and Mai-Loni Henson starting 22. Moser also leads the team in minutes played, averaging 30.9 mpg with Melgoza playing 27.3, Henson playing 26.1 and Johnson checking in at 24.2 minutes per game. The Huskies have used 15 different lineup combinations through their 29 games this season, but have used the lineup of Moser, Johnson, Henson, Melgoza and Mackenzie Wieburg in each of the last five games and eight times this year.

Johnson Catching Fire
Junior forward Hannah Johnson has played well in conference play this year, averaging 8.6 points, 6.7 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.

Henson's Heroics
Sophomore Mai-Loni Henson poured in 11 points on Sunday against Cal, hitting 3-of-4 from three-point range and adding a career-high three blocks. It was her 14th game in double-figures this season. At Arizona on Feb. 4, Henson recorded her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She followed that up with a 16-point performance on Feb. 9 against Oregon, connecting on a season-high four three-pointers. Overall, Henson ranks second on the team with 9.4 points per game.

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.

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.

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 29 games and averaging 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 2.5 assists a 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 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.

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, began playing at Walnut in 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: Dec. 4, Dec. 11, Dec. 18, Dec. 26, Jan. 2, Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, 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.

Senior Day
Following Sunday's game, the Huskies honored 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.

49er Club
The Huskies' goal in each game is to put the opponent in the "49er Club" by holding them to 49 or fewer points. Washington was able to do that for the first time this season when it limited Washington State to 49 points in a 56-49 victory on Jan. 21. The Huskies previous opponent low had been 64 in a 67-64 win over Creighton on Nov. 24.

Huskies in USA Basketball
Five former UW athletes have competed internationally for USA Basketball. Karen Deden, who was named to the 1995 USA Pan American Games Team, but was denied a shot at a medal after the women's basketball competition was canceled due to too few team entries, played on the 1989 USA Junior World Cup (U19) Team that placed seventh and the 1988 USA Junior World Cup Qualifying Team that won gold. Loree Payne won gold on the 2000 USA R. William Jones Cup Team and competed in an exhibition game as a member of the 2000 USA Select Team against the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team; Jamie Redd was a member of the 1998 USA Select Team that posted a 7-1 slate against international teams in exhibition games; while Rhonda Smith won a silver medal at the 1997 Tournament of the Americas and a bronze medal at the 1993 R. William Jones Cup. Most recently, Kelsey Plum earned a gold medal at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Cup, silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games and participated in the 2017 USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Santa Barbara, California.