Huskies open Pac-12 Tournament vs Utah Thursday Night

Thursday, March 7

Las Vegas, NV

8:30 PM

University of Washington

Utah

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

March 05, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

OPENING TIP
• Washington Opens the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday night as the No. 11 seed, taking on the No. 6 seed Utah at 8:30 p.m. The games are being played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

• The Pac-12 Network will carry all 11 games of the tournament live this week. Talent includes Ann Schatz and Tammy Blackburn for the AM session games with Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy in the evening session. Jill Savage will serve as the sideline reporter with Kate Scott handing off-the court interviews.

• Fans can also listen on the UW/Learfield IMG College broadcast with Gary Hill Jr. and Mia Fisher-Augustavo on KKNW 1150 AM, on the TuneIn App on GoHuskies.com.

• Washington holds a 9-17 all-time record at the Pac-12 Tournament and are 3-4 over the last four seasons. The Huskies have faced Utah twice before at the Pac-12 Tournament, beating the Utes 75-64 in the first round of the 2015 tourney after being upset 65-53 the year before.

Scouting the Utes
The Utes got off to a hot start, 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, Utah has really struggled down the stretch, dropping eight of its last 10 games coming into the tournament. That includes getting swept in Los Angeles last week, falling 76-60 at UCLA on Friday and 83-77 in overtime at USC. The Utes only two wins in their last five came against the Washington schools in Utah's final home series of the year two weeks ago.

The Utes have been hit hard by injuries this year, losing three players to knee injuries including freshman standout Dre'Una Edwards when the Huskies played in Salt Lake City two weeks ago. Edwards had been averaging 11.6 points and 7.6 rebounds prior to the injury. Earlier in the year, Utah also lost senior Daneesha Provo for the season. Provo had averaged 13.5 ppg through the first 13 games before the injury.

Senior forward Megan Huff has paced Utah throughout the year, averaging 20.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Huff, who prepped at Beamer HS in Federal Way, has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season, including 15 games with 20+ points. She enters the tournament 76 points over her last three games including 30 at USC on Sunday.

All-Time Series vs Utah
The all-time series is knotted at 13-13 with the Utes having won four-straight games to even the record. That streak comes on the heels of the Huskies winning three-straight prior to that.

Utah swept the season series this year, including an 88-56 victory in Salt Lake City. The Huskies jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the game, but the Utes fought back and took a 25-20 lead after one, then led 44-31 at the half and cruised from there. Amber Melgoza scored 21 points for the Huskies, but Washington's defense just couldn't stop the Utes in the game as they shot 55.0% to end a six-game losing streak.

Earlier in the season, 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. Melgoza had 14 in the game and was the lone Husky in double-figures.

Up Next
The winner of Thursday's first round game advances to the Pac-12 Quarterfinals to face No. 3 Oregon State at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.

Last Time Out
Senior Hannah Johnson and freshman Haley Van Dyke scored 10 points each while junior Mai-Loni Henson added eight but Washington was unable to pull off the upset, falling 72-53 to No. 7 Stanford in the final regular season game for both teams.

Johnson who was wearing Deja Strother's No. 34 in the game to honor her fellow senior who was medically retired earlier in the year, reached double-figures for the first time since December, draining two three-pointers in the game. Fellow senior Jenna Moser added five points, six rebounds and three assists.

Van Dyke saved her best for last, scoring all 10 points in the fourth quarter, also reaching double-figures for the first time since December. She set a career-high with a pair of three pointers and hit an impressive reverse lay-up late in the game.

Washington at the Pac-12 Tournament
The Huskies head to the Pac-12 Tournament with a 9-17 all-time record in tournament play including a 3-4 mark over the last four years. Washington was 4-6 six over the previous six seasons when the tournament was contested at Key Arena in Seattle.

UW has faced Utah twice in the tournament, facing the Utes in back-to-back seasons in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, the 11th-seeded Utes upset No. 6 Washington 65-53 in the first round of the tournament. The next year, the No. 5 seed Huskies defeated No. 12 Utah 75-64.

Last season, Washington entered as the No. 12 seed and nearly pulled off the upset of the tournament, falling three points shy in a 71-68 loss to No. 5 California.

The game was a thrilling back-and-forth affair with 10 lead changes and seven ties. Washington used a 21-4 run in the second half to take a six-point lead into the fourth quarter, but after a Cal run put the Bears back on top, UW rallied late to pull within two with 20 seconds left. Down four with 10 seconds left, Melgoza hit one of two free throws and the Huskies got the rebound off a jump ball tie-up. Melgoza had one more chance, taking a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot rattled off as time expired. Melgoza finished the game with 30 points to lead all scorers.

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 13.6 points per game through her first three seasons–the 14th-highest per game average of any of the Huskies' 1,000-point scorers. With 1,140 career points, Melgoza needs five points to move into UW's Top 25 scorers list.

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 1,087 points over the last two years, becoming just the seven players in program history to score at least 1,000 points in consecutive seasons. (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 17.8 points per game this season–eighth-best in the Pac-12. Once again, she has picked up her play in conference action, scoring 20+ points in nine Pac-12 games, averaging 17.4 ppg. Overall, Melgoza has scored 20+ points in 15 games this season and 29 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 (2.9/game), rebounds (4.4/game) and is second in steals (1.2/game). If she leads the team in all four categories, she would become the second player in program history to do so (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 9-0 when leading at halftime, but are 0-20 when trailing or tied at the break. Over the last two seasons, Washington is 16-4 when leading at the half but is 0-39 when tied or trailing at halftime.

Productive Peterson
Missy Peterson scored a career-high 23 points in a tough loss to Cal on Friday. The sophomore connected on 9-of-12 from the field in the game, matching the best shooting percentage by a Husky with at least 12 field goal attempts in at least 10 years (Kelsey Plum, 9-of-12 at BYU 12/22/16 and Jazmine Davis, 9-of-12 vs Furman, 11/29/14). It was her 11th game in double figures this season and fifth game scoring 17+ points.

After an injury-plagued freshman year, Missy Peterson has been solid during her sophomore season, despite battling a broken nose and having to wear a protective mask through much of the season. This year, Peterson is averaging 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

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 WSU on Jan. 17. She rehabbed during the off-season and returned strong only to deal with a nose injury much of this season. She had been wearing a mask for the majority of the year, but played without it this past weekend.

Have a Game Henson
Junior Mai-Loni Henson had her best all-around game of the year in the victory at Colorado. Henson matched career-highs with 17 points and four steals, connecting on 6-of-11 from the field including three three-pointers. She also had eight rebounds–including four offensive boards–and added three assists.

Henson is averaging 5.4 points per game this season and is second on the team with 4.1 rebounds per game.

Rees Among Pac-12's Best Freshmen
Freshman Darcy Rees is proving her own among some of the top post players in the best conference in the NCAA. Rees is averaging 6.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game on the season, but has picked it up in Pac-12 play. With one game remaining, Rees is averaging 9.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 44.9% from the field.

The freshman from Adelaide, Australia, had a solid stretch in February, reaching double-figures four times over a five-game stretch including scoring a career-high 20 points at USC.

Fear the Mask
Washington has had a pair of players don a protective face mask this season. Missy Peterson has suffered a pair of knocks to the nose throughout the early part of the season. She had been wearing it consistently since December, but was able to play without it on Friday. 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 has also been wearing a mask after suffering a break after an inadvertent elbow late against Oregon State.

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 two weeks ago. 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.

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 (nine games) against six teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 including seven games against four teams in the Top 11.

The Huskies have the 19th-toughest schedule among the 351 NCAA DI programs when looking at the cumulative record of its opposition this year (516-323, .615).
The Pac-12 conference boasts five teams in the AP Top 25 including three in the Top 11: #6 Oregon, #7 Stanford, #11 Oregon State, #21 Arizona State, and #25 UCLA.

Huskies in the Rankings
Coming into the tournament, UW ranks among the Pac-12 leaders in a number of categories:
               •   2nd in Turnovers Forced (16.38)
               •   3rd in Steals (236) and Steals/Game (8.1)
               •   3rd in Three PT FG attempts (694)
               •   5th in Three PT FGs Made (210)
               •   5th in Three PT FGs Made/Game (7.2)
               •   6th in Free Throw Pct. (71.5)

Individually, Amber Melgoza ranks among the NCAA leaders in seven categories:
               •   13th in Field Goal Attempts (489)
               •   53rd in Field Goals Made (189)
               •   55th in Total Points (517)
               •   66th in Points Per Game (17.8)
               •   81st in Free Throws Made (105)
               •   90th in Free Throw Percentage (81.4)

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) and the top overall prospect out of Washington.

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 berth in the state tournament.

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, averaging a combined 17.6 minutes/game so far with Rees and Watkins combining for 24 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 and Rees scored eight.

Medical Retirements
Jody Wynn announced a pair of roster changes heading into the 2018-19 season, as Deja Strother and Natalie Romeo will be medically retired, ending their UW careers. Strother, a redshirt-junior center, suffered a leg injury prior to the start of the 2017-18 season. Despite rehabbing over the last season, she has not been able to return from the injury. Romeo, a senior guard, has battled an undisclosed medical issue which kept her off the court last season. She attempted to make a comeback this season, joining the team for summer workouts, but the condition kept her from returning.

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.

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. every Monday through March 18. The show can be heard online at GoHuskies.com or via the TuneIn App, available in the App Stores.

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.