Huskies Return Home to Host Arizona Thursday

Thursday, February 7

Seattle, WA

7:00 PM

University of Washington

Arizona

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

February 06, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)Tickets

Opening Tip
• Washington begins a two-game homestand which features its lone two home games in February, this week in a rare Thursday/Saturday series. First up, the Huskies host Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena.

• 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 live stream of the game will also be available on gohuskies.com.

• Amber Melgoza scored a game-high 23 points including 20 in the second half of UW's last game at UCLA. It was her 12th 20+ point game of the year including six in Pac-12 games.

• Darcy Rees scored 30 points in two games in LA including a career-high 20 at USC. She is averaging 12.3 ppg over her last four games.

• Washington plays four of its final seven regular-season games at home, though just two of those home games during the month of February.

Scouting the Wildcats
Arizona comes into the game having won just twice over its last eight games after opening the season with a 12-1 record. The Wildcats dropped the second half of their rivalry series with Arizona State Friday, 60-47, in their only game of the week. Arizona has recorded four wins in conference, beating Arizona State in the first game, then winning at Colorado and home games against California and USC.

The Wildcats play a tough style of defense which has helped them rank second in the conference in steals per game (9.1) and the third-best scoring defense, allowing just 60.7 ppg. That number goes up a bit to 72.4 ppg in conference play, which ranks eighth in the conference. Arizona ranks low in rebounding being out-rebounded by a margin of 10.1 per game in Pac-12 play.

The offense runs mostly around sophomore guard Aari McDonald, who is averaging 25.3 ppg on the season, which leads the Pac-12 and ranks second in the NCAA. She is scoring over 42% of the team's scoring in Pac-12 play, averaging 26.6 of Arizona's 62.7 points per game. She also leads the team in assists and steals and ranks second in rebounding.

Freshman Cate Reese is having a solid collegiate debut, scoring 11.9 points per and adding 7.5 rebounds per contest. Reese has twice earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors including two weeks ago after recording her first double-double in conference play with 14 points and 10 rebounds against UCLA on Jan. 27.

All-Time Series vs Arizona
Washington leads the all-time series with Arizona by a 42-22 count. The Wildcats snapped the Huskies' 10-game series winning streak last season with a two-point victory in the desert. Overall, the Huskies hold a commanding 25-5 series advantage in games played in Seattle, having won nine of the last 11 games. Away from home, Washington and Arizona have split 34 games with the Huskies holding a 17-15 edge in Tucson while the Wildcats have won both games played at neutral sites.

Last season, the teams met just once, playing in Tucson in early February with Arizona pulling out a 72-70 victory. Washington jumped out to a quick 10-1 lead and led by as many as 15 in the first half and 35-25 at halftime. However, the Wildcats outscored the Huskies 42-16 over the first 15 minutes of the second half to take a 67-51 lead with five minutes to play. Washington would rally late, closing the game on a 19-5 run, but falling two points short in the loss. Jenna Moser led the Huskies with 17 points while Mai-Loni Henson and Amber Melgoza each added 13.

Up Next
Washington closes out its brief homestand on Saturday, hosting Arizona State at 2:00 p.m. With snow expected all day on Saturday, fans are encouraged to check gohuskies.com for updates throughout the weekend.

Last Time Out
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.

UW came out strong in the second half, scoring 41 points on 47% shooting, outscoring the Bruins 41-33 over the final 20 minutes. However, Washington struggled to overcome a large first-half deficit in the first half, shooting just 21% 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, finishing 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.

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.

Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games. She has scored 982 points during the last two seasons, averaging 18.5 ppg over that time. 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 17.9 points per game this season–seventh-best in the Pac-12. Once again, she has picked up her play in conference action, scoring 20+ points in six Pac-12 games, averaging 17.3 ppg. Overall, Melgoza has scored 20+ points in 12 games this season and 26 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 (4.5/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).

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.

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 0-15 when trailing or tied at the break. Over the last two seasons, Washington is 15-4 when leading at the half but is 0-34 when tied or trailing at halftime.

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!! Oi! Oi! Oi!!
Darcy Rees has played well as of late, averaging 12.3 ppg over the last four games including scoring a career-high 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting in at USC on Friday. She added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting at UCLA on Sunday, reaching double-figures for the third time in the last four games and fourth time in Pac-12 play.

The freshman from Adelaide, Australia, is averaging 6.7 points and 3.7 rebounds on the season, but has picked it up in Pac-12 play. Through 11 conference games, Rees is averaging 9.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 45.9% from the field. She has also started the last 10 games for the Huskies and 16 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 17.5 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 late against Oregon State.

Montana State of Mind
Sophomore guard Montana Hagstrom made the most of extra playing time over a two-game stretch against Oregon and at USC, averaging 6.0 ppg and playing 13.5 minutes per game after seeing action in 23 minutes of seven games to this point.

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.

Strength of Schedule
Once again, the Huskies are not shying away from playing a difficult schedule in 2018-19. UW plays nearly over one-third of its schedule (12 games) against seven teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 or receiving votes. The Huskies have the 16th-toughest schedule among the 351 NCAA DI programs when looking at the cumulative record of its opposition this year (402-219, .647).

The Pac-12 conference boasts five teams in the AP Top 25 including three in the Top 15: #3 Oregon, #7 Oregon State, #11 Stanford, and #17 Utah and #20 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: first in total steals (196), third in turnovers forced (16.43/game), fourth in free throw percentage (72.7%), fourth in three-pointers made (149) and first in three-point field goals attempted (560).

Individually, Amber Melgoza ranks in the top 35 in the NCAA in three categories: 12th in field goals attempted (366), 35th in field goals made (147) and 28th in total points (412). She is also 39th in free throws made (93), 65th in free throw attempts (114), seventh in the Pac-12 and 69th in the NCAA in points per game (17.9).

The Charity Stripe
The Huskies are fourth in the Pac-12 in free throw shooting at 72.7% (218-300). Melgoza ranks third in the Pac-12 and 39th in the NCAA in free throws made (93) and is fourth in the Pac-12 and 87th in the NCAA in free throw pct. at 81.6% (93-of-114).

Melgoza is one of four players on the team converting at 80% or better along with Khayla Rooks (13-15; 86.7%), Hannah Johnson (17-21; 81.0%), Missy Peterson (21-25; 84.0%). 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.

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. 11, Feb. 18, 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.