Melgoza Reaches 1,000 Career Points But Huskies Fall to No. 5 Oregon

Sunday, January 27

Seattle, WA

2:00 PM

University of Washington

8-13, 1-8Pac-12

Oregon

19-1, 8-0Pac-12

Oregon

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

Melgoza Reaches 1,000 Career Points But Huskies Fall to No. 5 Oregon

January 27, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SEATTLE --- Amber Melgoza scored 10 points including the 1,000th of her career, however Washington was unable to pull off an upset to double the celebration, falling 76-57 to No. 5 Oregon on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Huskies (8-13, 1-8 Pac-12) hung close with the Ducks (19-1, 8-0 Pac-12) through the first half of the game, leading after the first quarter and trailing by just seven at the break. But Oregon pulled away with a big third quarter and while Washington made it close late, the Ducks held on for the win.

Melgoza became just the 28th player in program history to score 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone in the first play of the game. The junior has scored 956 of her 1,009 points over the last two seasons after recording just 53 as a freshman. Melgoza's 13.3 career points per game average is the 14th-best among those scoring 1,000+ points in a UW uniform.

Missy Peterson led the Huskies with 13 points, connecting on 4-of-9 from the field including connecting on three of Washington's 10 three-pointers in the game. Darcy Rees, who celebrates her 19th birthday tomorrow, scored nine points and had two steals and a block to go along with four rebounds.

Montana Hagstrom, who had played in just 23 total minutes in eight games coming in, was pressed into action due to a pair of injuries to Husky players. She responded with six points on a pair of three-pointers and added two assists in 12 minutes of action.

Melgoza got the milestone out of the way early, scoring on a pull-up jumper from 15 feet out just 26 seconds into the game to give Washington the early lead. Oregon answered back with a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to go up 12-4 with 4:49 left in the period. But Washington came alive after that, using a combination of defense and hot shooting to go on an 11-0 run over the next two minutes, taking a 15-12 lead on Montana Hagstrom's first career field goal: a deep three-pointer. The Ducks would respond with back-to-back buckets, but Melgoza capped the quarter with a three-pointer as the Huskies led 18-16 after one.

Missy Peterson extended the UW lead to five early at 21-16 in the second quarter, draining a three-pointer after forcing a turnover on the other end. But Oregon slowly crept back into the game, taking a 25-24 lead on a pair of free throws at the 5:07 mark. Peterson hit another three-pointer to put the Huskies back on top, but Oregon got three-pointers on the next possession and ended the half on a 11-2 run to take a 36-29 lead at the break.

The Ducks opened the second-half strong, using an early 9-0 to break the game open and take a 47-32 lead at the 5:29 mark. Washington would just one field goal in the period—a three-pointer by Darcy Rees 8:23 into the period. Overall, Oregon would outscore the Huskies 22-9 in the period and held a 58-38 lead after three-periods of play.

The Huskies came out strong offensively, hitting their first three shots from the field including back-to-back three pointers from Peterson and Hannah Johnson. But the Ducks matched the UW output and led Washington 64-43 two minutes in. But the Huskies clamped down after that and rattled off a 7-1 run to cut the lead to 65-50 with Johnson draining her first three in eight games followed by four quick points from Jenna Moser. Neither team could find the bucket over the next two minutes until Oregon broke the a three-minute field-goal drought with back-to-back threes, stretching the lead back to 21 with 3:36 left and cruising from there.

Erin Boley led Oregon with a career-high 31 points, connecting on 9-of-13 from three-point range. The sophomore, who averages 12.2 points per game, seems to play her best basketball against the Huskies after scoring 28 points on 8-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. Overall, nearly 28% of her 61 three-pointers this year have come against Washington.

While the offense struggled at times, the Washington defense was strong, holding the NCAA's second-highest scoring team to its third lowest point total of the season. Outside of Boley, just two other Ducks reached double figures with Sabrina Ionescu scoring 13—nearly seven under her season average of 19.7—and Maite Cazorla adding 11.

The Huskies limited Oregon's post players—Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally—to a combined 15 points on 7-of-19 shooting. The duo had averaged a combined 35.3 points coming into the contest. Hebard, who averages 17.1 points per game, was held to a season-low seven points on 3-7 shooting, who the Huskies limited Sabally—who had 19 points when the team last met in Eugene—to just 8 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

The game marked the final game of a tough stretch for the Huskies which saw them play eight of their last 10 games against teams ranked or receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll. Washington plays three-straight games against unranked teams and has plays just three ranked opponents over its final nine games of the season.

The Huskies make their first trip to the Los Angeles schools in two years beginning with a game at USC on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The game is the second match-up between UW Head Coach Jody Wynn and her former high school coach and mentor Mark Trakh, who is the head coach at USC.