Thursday, March 7
Las Vegas, NV
8:30 PM
University of Washington
10-20
64
vs
54
Utah
20-10
1
2
3
4
F
Washington
18
16
18
12
64
Utah
17
9
10
18
54
Photo by: Brian Morse / Washington Athletics
#11 Seed Washington Upsets #6 Utah 64-54 in First Round of Pac-12 Tournament
March 07, 2019 | Women's Basketball
LAS VEGAS --- Missy Peterson matched her career high of 23 points while Darcy Rees added 10 as No. 11 seeded Washington upset the No. 6 Utah 64-54 in the first round of the 2019 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament Thursday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The Huskies, improve to 10-20 on the season with the victory, becoming just the second team with two or fewer conference victories to pull off a win in the Pac-12 Tournament (Oregon State, 2010). The Utes season ends at 20-10. Washington advances to play the No. 3 seed Oregon State on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
Peterson equaled her career-best of 23 points set just two games ago against California. She had a career-high six three-pointers and scored 11 points in the second quarter alone and came through with a clutch bucket late in the game to stave off a Utah run.
Rees also matched a career-high in rebounds with eight and scored 10 points—all in the second half—to pace the Huskies down low in the upset.
Washington, which had lost by 32 at Utah just two weeks ago, came out firing on defense, holding the Utes to just 54 points including a nearly 11 minutes stretch spanning the half without a field goal. The Huskies also forced 22 turnovers, turning those into 29 points—its best production in that category in Pac-12 play.
Washington led by as many as 19 points late in the third quarter after a three-pointer my Peterson made it 51-32 at the 1:47 mark. Utah would mount a comeback attempt in the fourth, using a long 10-0 run to cut to within seven on a Fastbreak layup with 3:30 to go. But Peterson ended the run with a tough jumper as the shot clock expired and the Huskies made five of six free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.
"It took all of us to believe, and it starts with the belief that we can do something that maybe nobody else thinks we can do," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We talked about the character of our women and the perseverance that we've had. You know, it's easy to quit on each other and ourselves when the going is tough, and it's been a tough year."
Washington got off to a strong start, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead. Mai-Loni Henson got the Huskies on the board with a nice bucket on the first play of the game, followed by a three-pointer from Missy Peterson and a steal and layup for Jenna Moser. However, Utah responded just as quickly with a 7-0 run of its own to tie it at 7-7 at the 7:35 mark. The teams battled back and forth over the next five minutes until the Utes took their first lead of the game on a deep three which made it 15-14 with 2:25 to go in the quarter. Melgoza got a great bucket to put the Huskies back up with just over a minute to go and Washington would lead 18-17 after one quarter.
The Huskies forced seven turnovers in the first quarter and turned those into 14 points. That figured was more than UW had tallied off turnovers in each of the previous two meetings with Utah this season.
Missy Peterson opened the secon quarter with a three pointer to stretch the UW lead to four early on. But the Huskies went cold over the next three minutes as Utah used a 7-0 run to go up 24-21 at the 6:13 mark. Hannah Johnson ended the run with a three-pointer to tie it back up, but Utah went back on top with a bucket on the next possession. But it was all Washington the rest of the half as Peterson caught fire, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to ignite a 10-0 run to end the half. The Huskies would lead 34-26 after the first half as Peterson scored 11 points in the quarter including eight of the points over the final run.
The Huskies kept the run going to start the third quarter as it was Darcy Rees' time to take over. The freshman post hit a tough runner in the paint to start a personal 6-0 run as the Huskies went up 40-26 at the 7:09 mark. Utah broke a nearly eight-minute scoreless streak with a pair of free throws at the 6:29 mark. But Rees kept her run going, drawing a foul at the 5:51 mark and hitting two from the line to stretch the lead back to 42-28. The Rees run ended a minute later as Alexis Griggsby got into the act with a bucket followed shortly there after by a tough layup by Johnson. The Utes would end a 10+ minute stretch without a field goal, hitting a layup at the 4:25 mark which made it 46-30. The two teams traded buckets the rest of the way with the Huskies holding a 52-36 lead after three.
Utah got a bucket on an in-bounds play to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, but Peterson again was there, draining her career-high sixth three of the game to stretch the lead back up to 17 at 55-38 with 7:51 left. Utah made a final push beginning with seven minutes left, using a 10-0 run to close to within seven at 57-50 at the 3:30 mark. Peterson ended the run with a tough jumper from the elbow as the shot clock expired to make it 59-50 with 2:19 left. Utah made a pair of free throws with 1:51 left to again make it a seven-point game, but after a forced turnover by the Utes, Peterson came up with a big steal with 53 seconds left. Melgoza stepped up and drained a big free throw with :42.9 left to make it an eight-point game. Washington made a big defensive stop on the other end and Rees clinched it with two free throws at the :25.9 mark.
Utah's Megan Huff, who came into the game averaging 20 points per game, was held to just 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting, though she did pull down a season-high 17 rebounds. Overall, the Utes were held to just 34% shooting—its second-lowest output of the season.
Melgoza finished with nine points and three steals for Washington while Johnson added seven points as 10 of 11 Huskies scored in the game.
"Winning in this conference—in Division I women's basketball—is huge, period," said Peterson. "Nobody you play, especially in the Pac-12, is an easy game. We knew it was going to be hard. We had what we got and laid it on the floor tonight. We weren't ready for it to be our last game. We wanted one more. So, when the buzzer went off and we won that game, we were so excited. Nothing feels better than a win, and especially with the people you love. So it was great, we love it."
Washington advances to face the No. 3 seed Oregon State on Friday night at 8:30 p.m.
The Huskies, improve to 10-20 on the season with the victory, becoming just the second team with two or fewer conference victories to pull off a win in the Pac-12 Tournament (Oregon State, 2010). The Utes season ends at 20-10. Washington advances to play the No. 3 seed Oregon State on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
Peterson equaled her career-best of 23 points set just two games ago against California. She had a career-high six three-pointers and scored 11 points in the second quarter alone and came through with a clutch bucket late in the game to stave off a Utah run.
Rees also matched a career-high in rebounds with eight and scored 10 points—all in the second half—to pace the Huskies down low in the upset.
Washington, which had lost by 32 at Utah just two weeks ago, came out firing on defense, holding the Utes to just 54 points including a nearly 11 minutes stretch spanning the half without a field goal. The Huskies also forced 22 turnovers, turning those into 29 points—its best production in that category in Pac-12 play.
Washington led by as many as 19 points late in the third quarter after a three-pointer my Peterson made it 51-32 at the 1:47 mark. Utah would mount a comeback attempt in the fourth, using a long 10-0 run to cut to within seven on a Fastbreak layup with 3:30 to go. But Peterson ended the run with a tough jumper as the shot clock expired and the Huskies made five of six free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.
"It took all of us to believe, and it starts with the belief that we can do something that maybe nobody else thinks we can do," said Head Coach Jody Wynn. "We talked about the character of our women and the perseverance that we've had. You know, it's easy to quit on each other and ourselves when the going is tough, and it's been a tough year."
Washington got off to a strong start, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead. Mai-Loni Henson got the Huskies on the board with a nice bucket on the first play of the game, followed by a three-pointer from Missy Peterson and a steal and layup for Jenna Moser. However, Utah responded just as quickly with a 7-0 run of its own to tie it at 7-7 at the 7:35 mark. The teams battled back and forth over the next five minutes until the Utes took their first lead of the game on a deep three which made it 15-14 with 2:25 to go in the quarter. Melgoza got a great bucket to put the Huskies back up with just over a minute to go and Washington would lead 18-17 after one quarter.
The Huskies forced seven turnovers in the first quarter and turned those into 14 points. That figured was more than UW had tallied off turnovers in each of the previous two meetings with Utah this season.
Missy Peterson opened the secon quarter with a three pointer to stretch the UW lead to four early on. But the Huskies went cold over the next three minutes as Utah used a 7-0 run to go up 24-21 at the 6:13 mark. Hannah Johnson ended the run with a three-pointer to tie it back up, but Utah went back on top with a bucket on the next possession. But it was all Washington the rest of the half as Peterson caught fire, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to ignite a 10-0 run to end the half. The Huskies would lead 34-26 after the first half as Peterson scored 11 points in the quarter including eight of the points over the final run.
The Huskies kept the run going to start the third quarter as it was Darcy Rees' time to take over. The freshman post hit a tough runner in the paint to start a personal 6-0 run as the Huskies went up 40-26 at the 7:09 mark. Utah broke a nearly eight-minute scoreless streak with a pair of free throws at the 6:29 mark. But Rees kept her run going, drawing a foul at the 5:51 mark and hitting two from the line to stretch the lead back to 42-28. The Rees run ended a minute later as Alexis Griggsby got into the act with a bucket followed shortly there after by a tough layup by Johnson. The Utes would end a 10+ minute stretch without a field goal, hitting a layup at the 4:25 mark which made it 46-30. The two teams traded buckets the rest of the way with the Huskies holding a 52-36 lead after three.
Utah got a bucket on an in-bounds play to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, but Peterson again was there, draining her career-high sixth three of the game to stretch the lead back up to 17 at 55-38 with 7:51 left. Utah made a final push beginning with seven minutes left, using a 10-0 run to close to within seven at 57-50 at the 3:30 mark. Peterson ended the run with a tough jumper from the elbow as the shot clock expired to make it 59-50 with 2:19 left. Utah made a pair of free throws with 1:51 left to again make it a seven-point game, but after a forced turnover by the Utes, Peterson came up with a big steal with 53 seconds left. Melgoza stepped up and drained a big free throw with :42.9 left to make it an eight-point game. Washington made a big defensive stop on the other end and Rees clinched it with two free throws at the :25.9 mark.
Utah's Megan Huff, who came into the game averaging 20 points per game, was held to just 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting, though she did pull down a season-high 17 rebounds. Overall, the Utes were held to just 34% shooting—its second-lowest output of the season.
Melgoza finished with nine points and three steals for Washington while Johnson added seven points as 10 of 11 Huskies scored in the game.
"Winning in this conference—in Division I women's basketball—is huge, period," said Peterson. "Nobody you play, especially in the Pac-12, is an easy game. We knew it was going to be hard. We had what we got and laid it on the floor tonight. We weren't ready for it to be our last game. We wanted one more. So, when the buzzer went off and we won that game, we were so excited. Nothing feels better than a win, and especially with the people you love. So it was great, we love it."
Washington advances to face the No. 3 seed Oregon State on Friday night at 8:30 p.m.
Team Stats
WASH
UTAH
FG%
.418
.340
3FG%
.421
.200
FT%
.769
.850
RB
27
39
TO
14
22
STL
14
7
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballWashington Women's Basketball Postgame Press Conference: UCSD
Saturday, November 29
Washington 67, UC San Diego 50 | Huskies Highlights
Saturday, November 29
Washington Women's Basketball Postgame Press Conference: Vermont
Monday, November 24
No. 25 Washington 71, Vermont 39 | Huskies Highlights
Monday, November 24
