Huskies Succumb to Late Run in 69-59 Loss

Thursday, February 7

Seattle, WA

7:00 PM

University of Washington

8-16, 1-11Pac12

Arizona

15-7, 5-6Pac12

Arizona

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

February 07, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SEATTLE --- Amber Melgoza had 24 points and Darcy Rees added 13 points but Washington was unable to knock off Arizona in a game much closer than the final score indicated, falling 69-59 on Thursday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.

In a game which saw eight ties and 14 lead changes, neither team held a lead of more than five points until the Wildcats converted free throws in the final two minutes of the game to put it out of reach.

Washington (8-16, 1-11 Pac-12) held a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter and the teams went back and forth with Arizona (15-7, 5-6 Pac-12) holding a two-point lead after a Melgoza bucket at the 2:17 mark. But Arizona would answer with a basket, then after a defensive stop, hit a pair of free throws to make it a 61-55 game with 1:43 left and pulled away late.

Melgoza recorded her second-straight 20+ point game, 13th of the season and seventh in 12 Pac-12 games this season. She connected on 3-of-6 from three-point range, adding four rebounds as well. Rees reached double-figures for the fourth time in the last five games after doing so just three times in the previous 19. She is averaging 12.4 points per game over her last five.

The Huskies got their first six points from three-pointers as Darcy Rees and Amber Melgoza hit from beyond the arc to give Washington an early 6-4 lead two minutes in. Rees added another bucket from Melgoza to expand the lead to 8-4. After the Wildcats closed the gap to one, Griggsby got into the three-point act with a triple from the top to make it 11-7 at the 6:20 mark. But Arizona would slowly work back into the game, using a 4-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the game at 11-11. The Huskies ended the run with an acrobatic, fallaway bank shot by T.T. Watkins as the shot clock expired. Arizona would close out the quarter on a 7-2 run to take an 18-15 lead after one.

Washington scored the first seven points of the second quarter as Rees hit a turnaround jumper in the lane followed by a three-pointer and runner by Melgoza to put UW up 22-18 three minutes in. Arizona snapped the run with a fastbreak bucket, but Melgoza answered back with a three-pointer to stretch the Husky lead to five at 25-20 with 5:43 left. The Huskies would go cold from the field the rest of the way as Arizona scored back-to-back three-pointers on their next two possessions and closed the half on a long 8-0 run to take a 28-25 lead at the break.

The Huskies broke the long scoreless streak with a three-pointer by Mai-Loni Henson one minute into the period, followed by a steal and layup by Jenna Moser to put the Huskies up 30-28 at the 7:47 mark. After the Wildcats answered with a basket and a three-pointer over the next two minutes to go back up three, the teams would trade buckets for a bit with the Huskies tying the game with a three-point play to tie the game at 39-39 with 1:53 left. Arizona responded with a three-pointer but the Huskies got a three from Hannah Johnson with 55 seconds left in the quarter to tie the game at 44-44. But the Wildcats would get a bucket on their final possession with just over 30 seconds left to take a 46-44 lead after three quarters.

Washington took back the lead early in the fourth quarter as Rees hit a free throw followed by a steal and two free throws by Melgoza to put the Huskies up 47-46 at the 8:22 mark. After a Wildcat bucket, Melgoza got a nice lob off an in-bound play to put the Huskies back on top at the 8:00 mark. Just over a minute later, Washington forced a turnover and stretched the lead to three as Hannah Johnson made a pair of free throws to make it 51-48 with 6:35 to play. But again, the Wildcats had the answer, hitting a three-pointer on the next possession to start a 7-0 run over the next 3:29 to put Arizona up four with 4:19 to play. Rees ended the run with a bucket with 2:54 to go to cut it to two but after the teams exchanged buckets, Arizona scored six-straight to stretch the lead up to eight with 1:13 left. But the Huskies could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Washington did a good job of holding Aari McDonald to just 11 shots from the field in the game, well below her average of 21. She scored just 13 of her 24 points from the field, adding 11 from the free throw line. Sam Thomas added 15 points with Dominique McBryde scoring 10.

T.T. Watkins was solid on defense against McDonald and added six points before she ran into a hard screen in transition, which sent her hard to the ground and ended her night. Sophomore guard Missy Peterson also saw her night cut short after just 12 minutes, suffering a hit the head which resulted in a concussion. Updates on both players were not available immediately following the game.

After the game, it was announced that due to inclement weather expected in the Seattle area on Saturday, the game against Arizona State has been canceled and will not be made up. Fans wishing to exchange their tickets for a future event can contact tickets@uw.edu or call the Husky Ticket Office at 206-543-2200.

The Huskies next game is now the conclusion of the Boeing Apple Cup Series against Washington State in Pullman on Friday, February 15, at 7:00 p.m.