Huskies Open SoCal Trip At USC Friday

Friday, February 1

Los Angeles, CA

7:00 PM

University of Washington

USC

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

January 30, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
• Washington heads back on the road this week, making its first trip to Los Angeles in two years, taking on USC on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the Galen Center.

• Fans can listen to the game on the UW/IMG Network broadcast with Gary Hill Jr. on KKNW 1150 AM, on the TuneIn App on GoHuskies.com. USC will also produce a live stream of the game with a link available on gohuskies.com.

• The game features a pair of head coaches with a long history as USC Head Coach Mark Trakh was UW Head Coach Jody Wynn's first coach when she started playing basketball at Brea-Olinda HS. This will be the second time the two have faced each other as collegiate coaches after USC won 72-61 at UW last year.

• Amber Melgoza became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with her first bucket against Oregon on Sunday. Melgoza has scored 956 points over the last two seasons after scoring just 53 as a freshman.

• UW plays five of its next seven games on the road and has just two home games during the month of February.

Melgoza Reaches 1,000 Career Points
Junior Amber Melgoza became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with her first basket against Oregon on Sunday. The junior has averaged 13.3 points per game through her first three seasons–the 14th-highest per game average of any of the Huskies' 1,000-point scorers.

Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games. She has scored 956 points during the last two seasons, averaging 18.8 ppg over that time. If she keeps up her current pace, Melgoza should end up in the UW Top 10.

Amber Alert
Melgoza continues to pace the Huskies, averaging 18.4 points per game this season–7th-best in the Pac-12. Once again, she has picked up her play in conference action, scoring 20+ points in five Pac-12 games, averaging 18.2 ppg. Overall, Melgoza has scored 20+ points in 11 games this season and 25 times in her career. She led the Pac-12 in scoring in conference games last season, averaging 20.6 ppg.

Melgoza also leads the team in assists (2.8/game), rebounds (4.6/game) and is second in steals (1.4/game). If she leads the team in all four categories, she could become the second player in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals (Giuliana Mendiola 2x, 2002-03, 2003-04).

Melgoza on Drysdale Watch List
Melgoza is one of 20 NCAA DI players to be named to the 2019 Ann Meyers Drysdale Watch List as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association on Oct. 23. The winner will be revealed on ESPN during the 2019 Women's Final Four in Tampa, Florida.

Scouting the Trojans
USC has struggled through the first part of the conference season, posting a 1-7 record in Pac-12 play after opening the year with an 11-1 record. The Trojans were just swept in the desert last week, losing 71-68 at Arizona on Friday and falling 68-59 at Arizona State on Sunday.

USC has struggled offensively this season, scoring just 66.7 points per game–11th in the Pac-12. The Trojans have scored just 61.5 points per game in conference games, shooting a Pac-12 low 35.9% through eight conference contests.

The big advantage the Trojans have is on defense, where USC's physical style of defense forces a conference-high 17.2 turnovers a game. The Trojans are also taking care of the ball, committing just 13.8 turnovers a game which has produced the second-highest turnover margin in the conference and the highest in Pac-12 games (+2.6).

The sister guard duo of junior Minyon Moore and senior Mariya Moore pace the Trojans offense, combining for 27.6 ppg with Minyon tallying 14.5 ppg. Senior guard Aliyah Mazyck has added 13.7 ppg as the trio accounts for 41.3 of the team's 66.7 points per game (62%).

All-Time Series vs USC
The Huskies lead the all-time 37-29 and have won eight of the last nine games in the series. USC leads 17-14 in games played in LA, though the Huskies have won five-straight games at the Galen Center. The last time UW lost at USC was a 61-51 overtime loss on March 6, 2011.

Thanks to the unbalanced Pac-12 schedule, the teams play just once this year and played once last year as well. Last season, USC got the jump on the Huskies, outscoring UW 22-6 in the first quarter and building a 27-point lead midway through the second. But the Huskies rallied, cutting the lead to 10 midway through the fourth but could get no closer as the Trojans held on for the 72-61 win.

Coaching Matchup Years in the Making
UW Coach Jody Wynn and USC Coach Mark Trakh have a storied history but are facing off as coaches for the second time. Trakh was Wynn's coach as Brea Olinda High School, leading the Wildcats to state championships three of Wynn's four years at BHS. After Wynn finished her collegiate career at USC, she became an assistant under Trakh, first for five seasons at Pepperdine, then five at USC. Since then they have gone their separate ways but stayed in close touch. Today's game is the second between the two as head coaches with USC winning 72-61 in Seattle last season.

Up Next
The Huskies close out the brief trip to Los Angeles on Sunday, taking on UCLA at Pauley Pavilion at 12:30 p.m. Washington returns home next week for its lone two home games in February, hosting the Arizona schools on Thursday and Saturday.

Last Time Out
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 hung close with the Ducks 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.

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 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.

That Halftime Lead...
The score at halftime has gone a long way to determine the score at the end of the game for the Huskies. This season, the Huskies are 8-0 when leading at halftime, but are 0-13 when trailing or tied at the break. Over the last two seasons, Washington is 15-4 when leading at the half but is 0-32 when tied or trailing at halftime.

Freshmen Power
Washington's freshmen trio of Haley Van Dyke, T.T. Watkins and Darcy Rees has seen quite a bit of action this season with the trio averaging just over 17 minutes/game so far with Rees and Watkins combining for 17 starts. The three freshmen put together their best collective game so far this year in the Huskies' win over Colorado on Jan 11, combining for 27 points. Watkins led the group with 10 points–just the second time she has scored in double-figures this season–while Van Dyke added nine points and Rees scored eight.

The Masked Duo
Washington will have a pair of players wearing face masks for the rest of the season after suffering broken noses. Missy Peterson has suffered a pair of knocks to the nose throughout the early part of the season and has been wearing a mask since December. Alexis Griggsby suffered a break after an inadvertent elbow at the end of the Oregon State game.

Darcy from Down Under
Darcy Rees had an impressive showing in her first-ever Pac-12 game, recording career-highs of 15 points and eight rebounds against Washington State. Rees connected on 7-of-14 from the field and had more offensive rebounds (6) than she had rebounds in any previous game this season.
She recorded her fourth game in double-figures on Friday, scoring 10 points including draining a pair of three-pointers. She has connected on four of her last nine from beyond the arc after starting her career 0-for-17 from deep. The freshman from Adelaide, Australia, is averaging 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds on the season. She had back-to-back 10 point games against Duke and Fordham at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida earlier this year.

Griggsby Breaks Out
Sophomore guard Alexis Griggsby had a career game at Oregon to open Pac-12 play, scoring 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting including going 6-of-11 from three-point range. She followed that up with a 15-point game at Oregon State including going 5-of-7 from three-point range. Griggsby is averaging 4.6 points per game and is one of the top defensive players on the team with 22 steals.

Productive Peterson
After an injury-plagued freshman campaign, Missy Peterson has been solid during her sophomore season, averaging 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She averaged 14.6 ppg (73 total points) over a five-game stretch beginning with a 17-point performance against Duke at the Gulf Coast Showcase and has scored at least 17 points in four games this season. Those 73 points were more than she had all of last year (59).

Peterson struggled with injuries her freshman year as a lingering foot injury kept her off the court until just before the start of the season. After playing sparingly through 18 games last year, Peterson suffering a season-ending knee injury at Washington State on Jan. 17. After rehabbing during the off-season, she returned strong, but has been dealing with a nose injury through much of this season, wearing a custom mask to protect it.

The Charity Stripe
The Huskies are fourth in the Pac-12 and 65th in the NCAA in free throw shooting at 73.2% (199-272). Amber Melgoza ranks third in the Pac-12 and 32nd in the NCAA in free throws made (86) and is second in the Pac-12 and 63rd nationally in free throw percentage at 83.5% (86-of-103).

Melgoza is one of four players on the team converting at 80% or better along with Khayla Rooks (11-13; 84.6%), Hannah Johnson (13-15; 86.7%), Missy Peterson (21-25; 82.6%). Freshman Haley Van Dyke started her season making just 2-of-14 from the line, but has converted 11-of-13 free throw attempts over her last seven games.

Strength of Schedule
Once again, the Huskies are not shying away from playing a difficult schedule in 2018-19. UW plays nearly half of its schedule (13 games) against seven teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 or receiving votes. The Huskies have the 11th-toughest schedule among the 351 NCAA DI programs when looking at the cumulative record of its opposition this year (376-191, .663).
The Pac-12 conference boasts five teams in the AP Top 25 including four in the Top 15: #4 Oregon, #8 Stanford, #9 Oregon State and #14 Utah and #21 Arizona State with Cal receiving votes.

Huskies in the Rankings
Coming into the weekend, UW ranks among the Pac-12 leaders in a number of categories: second in total steals (181), third in turnovers forced (16.33/game), fourth in free throw percentage (73.2%), fourth in three-pointers made (149) and first in three-point field goals attempted (509).

Individually, Amber Melgoza ranks in the top 25 in the NCAA in three categories: 10th in field goals attempted (345), 23rd in field goals made (139) and 23rd in total points (386). She is also 32nd in free throws made (86), 59th in free throw attempts (103), seventh in the Pac-12 and 56th in the NCAA in points per game (18.4), and ranks second in conference and 63rd nationally in free-throw percentage (83.5%).

NCAA Free Throw Records
The Huskies matched an NCAA record earlier this year when they weren't awarded a free throw in the game against Fordham–a record shared with numerous teams. The Huskies now hold the NCAA records for fewest free throws in a game (0) and the most (69). On Nov. 30, 1991, UW attempted 69 free throws (making 51–also an NCAA record) in a 101-91 2 OT win vs. Northern Illinois.

Non-Conference Recap
The Huskies posted a 7-5 record though the non-conference schedule, despite playing another tough non-conference slate. Through Dec. 20, UW's opponents had a combined record of 71-39, which includes Seattle U at 0-12.

Wynn Adds Talented Trio on Signing Day
UW coach Jody Wynn announced the signing of a talented trio to National Letters of Intent during the November early signing period: JaQuaya Miller (Renton, WA/Kentridge HS), Ali Bamberger (Concord, CA/Carondelet HS), and Nia Lowery (Sacramento, CA/McClatchy HS).

Miller is a local product and one of the top post recruits in the country. The 6-3 post from Renton is a 4.5-star rated recruit by Prospects Nation, ranked No. 41 overall (sixth-best post in the country) and the top overall prospect out of Washington state.

Bamberger, a 6-3 post, is ranked as the No. 8 player out of California (No. 2 post player) and No. 81 overall in the Class of 2019 by Prospects Nation heading into her final season at Carondelet High School in Concord, Calif.

Lowery, a 5-11 wing from Sacramento, is rated as a four-star recruit by Prospects Nation from McClatchy High School. As a senior, she helped guide the Lions to a NorCal Division I Title, an appearance in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship and a berth in the state tournament.

Radio Show
Washington 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. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 4 and March 11. The show can be heard online at GoHuskies.com or on the TuneIn App.

Medical Retirements
Jody Wynn announced a pair of roster changes heading into the 2018-19 season, as Deja Strother and Natalie Romeo will be medically retired, ending their UW careers. Strother, a redshirt-junior center, suffered a leg injury prior to the start of the 2017-18 season. Despite rehabbing over the last season, she has not been able to return from the injury. Romeo, a senior guard, has battled an undisclosed medical issue which kept her off the court last season. She attempted to make a comeback this season, joining the team for summer workouts, but the condition kept her from returning.

2017-18 Recap
Washington's first season under new head coach Jody Wynn proved to be a tough one with the Huskies' new coach inheriting a team with just five returning players and one who had started a college game. Despite the inexperience and the fact that no Husky on the active roster stood taller than 6-1, Washington proved to be a gritty, gutty team which gave many of its opponents as much as they could handle. The Huskies finished the 2017-18 season with a 7-23 overall record.