Melgoza Leads Huskies to 75-58 Win Over Howard

Friday, November 29

San Juan, PR

9:00 AM

University of Washington

5-1

Howard

4-4

Howard

Washington

November 29, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico --- Amber Melgoza poured in a season-high 22 points, adding eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Washington to a hard-fought 75-58 win over Howard University in the second game in as many days in the 2019 Puerto Rico Clasico on Friday.

The Huskies pick up their fourth-straight win, improving to 5-1 on the season. The Bison suffer their second-straight loss in the Clasico and drop to 4-4 overall.

The game was much closer than the final score would indicate as Howard's physical, up-tempo style made Washington work for the win. The Huskies led nearly the entire game, but saw the lead fall to six midway through the third and seven early in the fourth before pulling away both time.

The Husky defense was once again on display, holding Howard to just 31% shooting in the game, forcing 21 turnovers and recording 15 steals. Washington had its best showing inside today, outscoring Howard 48-18 in the paint, shooting 52% from inside the arc.

"It was our first real physical battle from start to finish and we were able to withstand their runs and the intensity and proud that we finished the game the way we should," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "Our kids were talking about how physical the game was and we kept telling them that we need to just keep playing through it. We didn't shoot that well from beyond the arc today, but we played great inside considering just how physical they were. I was encouraged by that. We were really proud of our effort as a whole today."

Melgoza flirted with a triple-double in the second half before finishing with season-highs of 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. She was an economical 9-of-14 from the field in 27 minutes. The senior, who has scored 34 points over her last two games, moved into 18th on the UW All-Time scoring list in the game and now has 1,275 career points. She is just 55 points away from Amber Hall who sits in 17th place on the list.

Darcy Rees picked up her first double-double of the 2019-20 season, pouring in 12 points and adding 10 rebounds, a career-best six blocks and three steals. Missy Peterson contributed 12 points, four assists and three steals for the Huskies while Haley Van Dyke narrowly missed her second double-double of the season with nine points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two assists.

Both teams got off to a bit of a slow start with Howard holding a 6-3 lead five minutes into the contest. But a Melgoza and-one play keyed a 10-0 Husky run and Washington would hold a 15-9 lead through the first 10 minutes. It was the third-straight quarter the Huskies had limited their opponent to single-digit scoring and the eighth time over the last 13 quarters.

Washington would quickly extend the lead to double-digits early in the second quarter as Van Dyke and Melgoza scored on back-to-back possessions to make it a 20-10 game with 7:27 left. After the media timeout, the Bison drained three-pointers on consecutive possessions to pull back to within five with 3:52 remaining. Still leading by five just over a minute later, Peterson drained a step-back three to key an 8-0 run to close out the half and give the Huskies a 37-24 lead at the break.

Washington limited Howard to just 22.9% shooting in the first half with six of their eight made field goals from three-point range.

In the second half, the Bison again made a run, closing to within seven by opening the quarter on an 8-2 run to make it 39-32. After the teams traded buckets, over the next three minutes, Howard cut the Washington lead to six at 45-39 with a tough runner at the 4:30 mark. But Rees drained a corner three followed by a Melgoza and-one play as the Huskies quickly stretched the lead to 51-39 and led 55-44 after three.

Howard made one final push as the fourth quarter started, getting back-to-back buckets in the first minute, closing to within seven again at 55-48. But the Huskies stood strong with Melgoza again using the old-fashioned three-point play to ignite what turned out to be a 14-2 run over the next three minutes to go up 69-50 with 6:20 to go. Washington would extend the lead to as many as 21 late in the game before settling for the 17-point win.

Howard was led by Jayla Thorton, who scored a team-high 21 points thanks to five three-pointers. Imani Bryant added nine points and 10 rebounds. Washington limited the Bison's leading scorer Sarah Edmond to just seven points, well below her season average of 15 points per game.

Washington closes out the trip with a tough contest on Saturday against Iowa. The Hawkeyes also play three games in the Clasico, but had Friday off after beating Cincinnati 69-61 on Wednesday and Towson 100-72 on Thursday. Iowa is 5-1 on the season one year after reaching the NCAA Elite Eight.