Huskies Close Out Road Trip at No. 11 Oregon State Sunday

Sunday, January 6

Corvallis, OR

2:00 PM

University of Washington

Oregon State

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

Huskies Close Out Road Trip at No. 11 Oregon State Sunday

January 05, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
• Washington continues its first road trip of the Pac-12 season, traveling to Corvallis to take on Oregon State University on Sunday, Jan. 6, at 2:00 p.m.

• 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. A livestream produced by OSU is also available.

• Alexis Griggsby scored a career-high 26 points as UW nearly pulled off an upset at #5 Oregon Friday. Griggsby, who had just 26 points all season coming in, hit six three-pointers in the game.

• Amber Melgoza is averaging 25.0 ppg through the first two Pac-12 games after leading the conference with 20.6 ppg in Pac-12 games last season.

• Griggsby and Melgoza became the first UW teammates to score 20+ points in a game since Kelsey Plum (28) and Chantel Osahor (24) did so against Colorado on Feb. 23, 2017.

Scouting the Beavers
Oregon State opened Pac-12 play on Friday with a 76-69 victory over Washington State, improving to 11-2 on the season. The Beaver's only two losses have come against then-No. 1 Notre Dame in Vancouver, B.C., and to an unranked Texas A&M team which is now ranked in the Top 25.

The Beavers lead the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 43.2% of their shots from beyond the arc–nearly two percentage points better than the second-place team. OSU also leads the conference in three-pointers made with 140 and three-pointers per game at 10.8.

Despite having a plethora of bigs, the OSU backcourt is one of the best in the Pac-12. Redshirt sophomore Destiny Slocum, a transfer guard from Maryland, is leading the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game to go along with 5.6 assists per contest. She had 12 points and eight assists to pace the Beavers in their conference-opening win over Washington State on Friday.

Junior guard Mikayla Pivec is adding 13.7 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game. Pivec, who had a team-high 14 points vs. WSU, is shooting 55.9% from the field this season and has scored in double-figures in all but two games on the year.

All-Time Series vs Oregon State
Washington holds a 54-39 edge in the all-time series with Oregon State, though the Beavers have won five-straight and eight of the last night overall. Oregon State has won the last four games in Corvallis as the Huskies haven't won at OSU since a 49-44 on Jan. 18, 2013. Overall, Washington holds a 22-19 edge at Gill Coliseum.

Oregon State won both games last year, though the contest in Corvallis was a close one. In the Pac-12 opener for both schools, Washington opened up the game strong, holding down the Beaver's hot shooting side to take a 36-30 lead at the half. However, Oregon State roared back with 25-9 third quarter and held on for a 75-63 victory.

The game in Seattle was all Oregon State as the Beavers scored early and often in a 95-57 win.

Up Next
UW returns home for its first game at Alaska Airlines Arena in 2019, hosting Colorado on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Utah on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
Alexis Griggsby matched her season point total with 26 points while Amber Melgoza added 23 points but despite trailing but just one point with six minutes to play, Washington was unable to pull off the upset, falling 84-71 at No. 5 Oregon.

The Huskies held off several long runs by the Ducks in the game including falling behind 23-6 early on and trailing 55-41 midway through the third. Washington would use a 25-11 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to pull within one at 66-65 with 6:23. However, Oregon would outscore UW 18-6 over the final six minutes to pull out the win.

The Huskies held the Ducks–the NCAA's best field goal shooting team–to their second-lowest shooting night of the season at 42.3%. Meanwhile, the Huskies connected on 46.9% themselves, their best percentage in eight games.

Amber Alert
Washington junior Amber Melgoza picked up right where she left off last year, averaging 19.4 points per game through the first 14 games of the season–sixth-best in the Pac-12. The junior saw her 24-game streak of scoring in double-figures come to an end vs Mississippi State on Dec. 20, but rebounded with a 27-point performance vs Washington State, then added 23 points at Oregon. Melgoza has scored 20+ points eight times this season and 22 times as a Husky. She led the Pac-12 in scoring in conference games last season, averaging 20.6 ppg and is already at 25.0 ppg through two Pac-12 games this season.

Melgoza's off-season goal was to become a more well-rounded player and it shows as she also leads the team in assists (3.0/game) and is second in rebounds (4.9/game). She recorded her first career double-double against Northern Arizona on Nov. 11 with 20 points and 10 rebound, coming up two assists shy of a triple-double with a career-best eight helpers.

Melgoza is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign where she earned All-Pac-12 honors after finishing second in the conference in scoring at 19.0 points per game. She finished the season with 570 points–11th most in program history and five points shy of the Top 10. In addition, Melgoza ended the season with 120 points over her final four games including pouring in 40 against Stanford–the most by a Pac-12 player on the season.

Melgoza on Ann Meyers Drysdale Watch List
Amber Melgoza is one of 20 players from across the country 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.

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. Since Coach Wynn took over last season, Washington is 14-4 when leading at the half but is 0-26 when tied or trailing at halftime. This season, the Huskies are 7-0 when leading at halftime, but are 0-7 when trailing or tied at the break.

Griggsby Breaks Out
Sophomore guard Alexis Griggsby had a career game at Oregon on Friday, scoring 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting including going 6-of-11 from three-point range. Griggsby, who was making her first start of the season, had scored just 26 total points this year coming into the game. She scored 17 points in the second quarter, going a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range. Griggsby has scored 37 points (18.5 ppg) in UW's two games against Top 5 teams this year, scoring team-bests of 11 vs. #4 Mississippi State and 26 vs. #5 Oregon.

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. It was the third game in double-figures for the freshman from Adelaide, Australia, who is averaging 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds. She had back-to-back 10 point games against Duke and Fordham at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida earlier this year.

Productive Peterson
After an injury-plagued freshman campaign, Missy Peterson has been solid during her sophomore season, averaging 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 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.

Shooting Stars
The Huskies have been markedly better in shooting from the field this season, connecting on 41.2% through the first 14 games. Last season, Washington shot just 38.3% for the season. The Huskies hit 46.9% from the field vs Oregon, marking the fifth time UW has shot 45% or better this season after doing so just five times all of last year. Breaking it down even more, the Huskies rank 57th among 351 NCAA DI teams in 2PT FG% at 48.9%. Washington is also among the nation's best free throw shooting teams, ranking third in the Pac-12 and 36th in the NCAA at 75.5% on the season.

The Charity Stripe
The Huskies are third in the Pac-12 and 36th in the NCAA in free throw shooting at 75.5%. Amber Melgoza ranks second in the Pac-12 and sixth in the NCAA in free throws made (77) and is second in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage at 86.5% (77-of-89). Melgoza is one of five players on the team converting at 80% or better along with Khayla Rooks (10-11; 90.9%), Hannah Johnson (13-15; 86.7%), Missy Peterson (17-21; 81.0%) and T.T. Watkins (12-15, 80.0%).

Strength of Schedule
Once again, the Huskies are not shying away from playing a difficult schedule in 2018-19. UW plays nearly half its schedule (13 games) against eight teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 or receiving votes. In fact, the Huskies have the eighth-toughest schedule among the 353 NCAA DI programs when looking at the cumulative record of its opposition this season (284-103, .734). The Pac-12 conference boasts five teams in the AP Top 25 including four in the Top 15: #5 Oregon, #6 Stanford, #11 Oregon State, #18 California and #22 Arizona State with Utah and Arizona receiving votes. UW is currently in a tough stretch which sees the Huskies play three of four games against AP Top 15 teams. (#4 Miss. St, #5 Oregon, #11 Oregon State).

Huskies in the Rankings
UW ranks among the Pac-12 leaders in a number of categories. The Huskies rank third in free throw percentage (75.5%), fourth in total rebounds (537), fourth in steals (120), third in turnovers forced (17.43/game) and also rank second in three-point field goals attempted (332).

Individually, Amber Melgoza ranks in the top 15 in the NCAA in two categories: sixth in free throws made (77) and 15th in free throw attempts (89). She is also 6th in the Pac-12 and 31st in the NCAA in points per game (19.4) and ranks second in conference in free-throw percentage (86.5%) and sixth in field goals made (90).

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

Freshmen Making a Splash
Husky freshmen Haley Van Dyke, T.T. Watkins and Darcy Rees have seen quite a bit of action in Washington's first 14 games of the season with the trio averaging 16.4 minutes per game thus far.

Van Dyke is averaging 5.6 ppg and has scored in double figures in four games thus far including a career-high 13 points against George Mason. Overall she is shooting 51.5% from the field.

Watkins earned her first start vs Montana and has made two starts so far. She scored 12 points against Northern Arizona and is averaging 4.9 points per game. Watkins had four points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 15 minutes vs George Mason after missing two games (concussion).

Rees has scored in double-figures in three games including a career-high 15 against Washington State on Sunday. She also became the first player in two years to record at least three blocks in a game when she did so against George Mason. Overall Rees is averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and has started seven games.

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.

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: Jan. 8, Jan. 14, Jan. 21, Jan. 28, 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.

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.