Huskies Unable To Overcome First Half Deficit vs UCLA

Sunday, February 3

Los Angeles, CA

12:30 PM

University of Washington

8-15, 1-10Pac12

UCLA

13-9, 6-4Pac-12

Washington

UCLA

Photo by: Brian Morse / Washington Athletics

February 03, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

LOS ANGELES --- Amber Melgoza scored a game-high 23 points including 20 in the second half while Missy Peterson and Darcy Rees each added 10, but despite a big second half Washington was unable to overcome a poor-shooting first half in a 76-60 loss at UCLA on Sunday afternoon.

The Huskies (8-15, 1-10 Pac-12) came out firing in the second half, scoring 41 points on 47 percent shooting, outscoring the Bruins (13-9, 6-4 Pac-12) 41-33 over the final 20 minutes. However, Washington struggled to overcome a large first-half deficit in the first half, shooting just 21 percent and scoring 19 first-half to UCLA's 43.

Melgoza was coming off just her sixth single-digit scoring game over the last two years, responding in a big way with 23 points, hitting her scoring average of 22.5 ppg in the game following the single-digit output. She finished the game 8-of-18 from the field but 3-of-5 from three-point range with four rebounds and three assists.

Peterson added 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Huskies with Rees adding 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, adding four rebounds and two blocks.

UCLA got the drop on the Huskies, jumping out to a quick 10-2 just three minutes into the game. After trading buckets, the Bruins would keep the early run going, using a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 17-4 with 5:42 to go in the quarter. Washington rallied a bit, but still trailed 30-11 after one.

The Bruins would score the first seven points of the second quarter to stretch the lead to 26 early on. After the initial push, the Huskies were able to clamp down on defense, limiting UCLA to just six points over the final eight minutes of the quarter. However, the shots just weren't falling for Washington, which connected on just 2-of-15 from the field in the second quarter and were only able to score eight points over that same stretch.

UCLA would open the second half with four points from the free throw line, but the Huskies came alive after that. Missy Peterson got the run going offensively for Washington, hitting a nice floater in the lane, then following with a mid-range jumper. That would ignite a 12-3 run by the Huskies, who closed the gap 50-31 with 6:41 to go. UCLA scored on back-to-back possessions, but Peterson drained a three to close it to within 20 with 4:51 left. The teams would trade buckets over the next two minutes, but the Huskies closed the quarter on a 4-2 run to make it 62-40 after three.

The shots just weren't falling for the Huskies to start the fourth as UCLA opened with a 5-0 run while the Huskies missed their first six shots of the quarter. Melgoza ended the run with a nice mid-range jumper which triggered a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to make it a 69-54 game with 2:50 to go. The junior scored eight of those points including hitting a pair of three-pointers and finished the quarter with 10 points, but despite outscoring UCLA 20-14 in the fourth, the Huskies could not get closer than the final margin of 76-60.

All five UCLA starters were in double-figures, led by 14 from Lindsey Corsaro. The Bruins shot 56.6% in the game including 66.7% in the pivotal first half.

Washington returns home this week for a rare Thursday night game, hosting Arizona in a Pac-12 contest beginning at 7:00 p.m.