Huskies in Utah Friday for Penultimate Road Game

Friday, February 22

Salt Lake City, UT

6:00 PM

University of Washington

Utah

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

February 20, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
• Washington continues its final roadtrip of the regular season on Friday, traveling to Salt Lake City to battle Utah in a Pac-12 game. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. MT (6:00 p.m. PT).

• Fans can also listen to the game on the UW broadcast with Gary Hill Jr. on KKNW 1150 AM, on the TuneIn App on GoHuskies.com. Utah will also have a live stream available through their website (link available at GoHuskies.com).

• Amber Melgoza scored 15 points to lead the Huskies at Washington State last week. Melgoza has tallied 1,021 points over the last two seasons after scoring just 53 as a freshman. She is just the 28th player to score over 1,000 career points and the ninth to reach 1,000 over two consecutive seasons.

Scouting the Utes
Utah has had an historic season, earning a spot in the AP Top 25 for the first time in over a decade and rising as high as No. 14 after a win over Stanford on Jan. 27. At that point, the Utes were 18-1 with their lone loss coming to Arizona State on a buzzer beater in their second Pac-12 game.

However, since then, the Utes have lost six-straight games including getting swept on a trip to the desert last weekend. Utah lost 66-55 at Arizona on Friday before blowing an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead in a 60-58 loss at Arizona State on Sunday.

Senior forward Megan Huff continues to dominate for Utah, averaging 19.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game thus far. Huff, who prepped at Beamer HS in Federal Way, has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season, including 12 games with 20+ points. She had a career-high 38 points at Oregon on Feb. 1 in an 87-65 loss.

The team is bookended with talent as the Utes have four seniors on the team which has accounted for 49-percent of Utah's point total this season. On the other end, a trio of freshmen have earned nearly every Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors this season led by Dre'Una Edwards, who has six. She is second on the team with 12.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this season.

All-Time Series vs Utah
Washington leads the all-time series with the Utes 13-12. Utah has won the last three games in the series including a 58-43 victory in Seattle earlier this season. That streak comes on the heels of the Huskies winning three-straight prior to that.

Earlier this year, the Huskies showed some impressive defense, limiting Utah to a season-low 58 points and forcing 18 turnovers. The Utes, who came into the game as one of the NCAA's top three-point shooting teams, hit just 1-of-17 from beyond the arc in the game. But the Huskies' offense could not take advantage, scoring just 43 points on 33.9% shooting in the game and falling 58-43.

When the teams met in Salt Lake City late last season, the Huskies held their own through the first half and trailed by just one at 24-23 after holding the Utes to nine points in the second quarter. But the wheels came off for Washington in the third as Utah outscored the Huskies 37-6 and cruised to a 81-46 win.

Up Next
Washington plays its final road game of the regular season on Sunday, traveling to face Colorado at 1:00 p.m. MT (12:00 pm PT). The Huskies wrap up the regular season at home next week, hosting California and Stanford on March 1 and 3 at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Last Time Out
A big third quarter blew open what had been a close game as Washington lost 94-61 at Washington State in the second game of the Boeing Apple Cup Series on Friday night at Beasley Coliseum.

Amber Melgoza led Washington with 15 points and while eight of nine Huskies scored in the game, she was the lone player in double-figures for the visitors. Darcy Rees, Mai-Loni Henson and Hannah Johnson each added eight points.

After a close first half, Washington State used a big third quarter to pull away, scoring the first 11 points of the second half and outscoring the Huskies 23-13 in the period.

But Washington struggled offensively in the game, hitting just 37.1% in the game while the Cougars connected on a season-high 60.7% in the game.

Melgoza Reaches 1,000
Junior Amber Melgoza became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with her first basket against Oregon on Jan. 27. The junior has averaged 13.4 points per game through her first three seasons–the 14th-highest per game average of any of the Huskies' 1,000-point scorers.

Against Arizona, Melgoza became just the ninth player in program history to score 1,000 combined points over a two-year span. She has amassed 1,021 over the last two seasons for an 18.6 ppg average. (Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games.) If she keeps up her current pace, Melgoza should end up in the UW Top 10 by the end of her career.

Amber Alert
Melgoza continues to pace the Huskies, averaging 18.0 points per game this season–seventh-best in the Pac-12. She has been red-hot lately, scoring 62 points over her last three games (20.7 ppg). Once again, she has picked up her play in conference action, scoring 20+ points in seven Pac-12 games, averaging 17.6 ppg. Overall, Melgoza has scored 20+ points in 13 games this season and 27 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 (4.4/game) and is second in steals (1.3/game). If she leads the team in all four categories, she would become the second player in program history to lead the team in all four categories (Giuliana Mendiola 2x, 2002-03, 2003-04).

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 0-17 when trailing or tied at the break. Over the last two seasons, Washington is 15-4 when leading at the half but is 0-36 when tied or trailing at halftime.

Rees Among Pac-12's Best Freshmen
Darcy Rees has scored 51 points in her last four games (12.8 ppg) including a career-high 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting at USC on Feb. 1. She has reached double-figures in four of her last six games after doing so just three times in the previous 19. She is averaging 4.2 rebounds per game over that stretch and shooting 50% against some of the best post players in the conference.

The freshman from Adelaide, Australia, is averaging 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds on the season, but has picked it up in Pac-12 play. Through 13 conference games, Rees is averaging 9.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 43.8% from the field. She has also started the last 12 games for the Huskies and 18 total on the season.

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 17.6 minutes/game so far with Rees and Watkins combining for 19 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. Despite wearing the mask, Peterson missed the game at WSU after suffering a shot to the side of the head, causing a concussion. Alexis Griggsby suffered a break after an inadvertent elbow late against Oregon State and will wear the mask the rest of the year.

Montana State of Mind
Sophomore guard Montana Hagstrom has made the most of her time in the lineup this season, including playing a season-high 25 minutes in the game at Washington State last week. In that game, she hit a pair of three-pointers to match her season-high of six points in a game.

Hagstrom, who walked-on with the team after playing one season at Bellevue College, missed last year due to injury. She played limited minutes in mop-up roles earlier this season until a pair of injuries to teammates against Oregon gave her more time. She responded with a three-pointer to give the Huskies a lead over No. 5 Oregon in the first half and finished with six points. The early triple was her first basket of UW career. She followed that up with six points at USC on Friday on a pair of three-pointers, adding two assists.

Productive Peterson
After an injury-plagued freshman campaign, Missy Peterson has been solid during her sophomore season, averaging 9.0 points, 3.7 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. In addition, Peterson suffered a concussion after getting hit around the eye in early in the game against Arizona.

Strength of Schedule
Once again, the Huskies are not shying away from playing a difficult schedule in 2018-19. UW plays nearly one-third of its schedule (10 games) against seven teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 or receiving votes. The Huskies have the 19th-toughest schedule among the 351 NCAA DI programs when looking at the cumulative record of its opposition this year (456-271, .627).

The Pac-12 conference boasts four teams in the AP Top 25 including three in the Top 15: #2 Oregon, #7 Stanford, #12 Oregon State, and #17 Arizona State with UCLA receiving votes.

Huskies in the Rankings
UW ranks among the Pac-12 leaders in a number of categories: third in total steals (212) and steals per game (8.5), second in turnovers forced (16.64/game), fifth in free throw percentage (71.9%), third in three-pointers attempted (606) and sixth in three-pointers made (180) and three-pointers/game (7.2).

Individually, Amber Melgoza ranks among the NCAA leaders in seven categories: 30th in field goals attempted (403), 57th in total points (451), 57th in points per game (18.0), 65th in field goals made (162), 68th in free throws made (98), and 85th in free throw percentage (81.7%).

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

Husky Pen Pals
Washington has adopted a class of fourth graders at Terrace Elementary School in Riverside, Calif. The Huskies have been sending letters back and forth with the 30 kids in Ms. Ditta's class and had a chance to meet their pen pals while on their trip to LA in early February. More information on the program can be found on the UW Athletics website at https://uwathletics.exposure.co/winwin.

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.