Washington Hosts No. 18 Arizona State Friday

Friday, January 17

Seattle, WA

7:00 PM

University of Washington

Arizona State

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Photo by: Red Box Pictures

January 15, 2020 | Women's Basketball

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Washington (10-5, 2-2 Pac-12) looks to get back in the win column on Friday, hosting No. 18 Arizona State (13-4, 3-2 Pac-12) in a Pac-12 game at 7:00 p.m. in Alaska Airlines Arena. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Guy Haberman and Kelsey Plum--who is making her broadcast debut--on the call. Fans can also listen to Gary Hill Jr. on the UW/IMG College Network on KKNW 1150 AM, on the TuneIn App, or GoHuskies.com.

LEADING THE BREAK…

Washington has held eight of its 15 opponents under 60 points (including five under 50 points) and ranks 38th in the NCAA in scoring defense, allowing just 57.1 points per game.
The Huskies rank ninth in the NCAA and second in the Pac-12, allowing just 76.8 points to opponents per 100 possessions according to HerHoopStats.com.
Washington leads the Pac-12 and ranks 18th in the NCAA in turnovers forced, turning teams over 21.4 times per game. The Huskies also lead the conference and rank 14th nationally in steals per game (11.8) and UW's opposing turnover rate of 24.7% is 13th best in the NCAA according to HerHoopStats.com.
Washington has the NCAA's 24th-toughest overall schedule with opponents holding a .675 winning pct.
The Huskies are tied for 2nd in the Pac-12 and 25th in the NCAA with a 65.4% assisted shot rate (according to HerHoopStats.com) and rank 26th in the country with 17.1 assists per game.
Senior Amber Melgoza scored 31 points at Cal, marking the fifth time she has scored 30+ points in a game in her career. Melgoza leads the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game, averaging 19.8 points per game through four Pac-12 contests. She currently ranks 16th on UW's all-time scoring list with 1,426 points.
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke leads the Pac-12 and is 23rd in the NCAA with 2.9 steals per game. She also leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game and is third in scoring at 9.1 points per game.
Friday marks the first time Washington has hosted Arizona State in three years. UW beat the Sun Devils 70-57 in 2016-17 (with Friday's Pac-12 Network color commentator Kelsey Plum scoring a game-high 19 points) and only played at ASU in 2017-18. Last year's game in Seattle was canceled due to snow.

Scouting the Sun Devils
Arizona State is coming off its best weekend series in program history, beating No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Oregon State in back-to-back home games last week. The Sun Devils handed each of the teams their first Pac-12 losses of the season and dropped them out of the AP Top 5 while moving back into the Top 25 for since the second week of the season.

Arizona State seemed to be off to a mediocre start in conference play, losing at home to in-state rival Arizona for the first time in 19 years before falling to UCLA to start Pac-12 play at 0-2. However, after a convincing win at USC and the big wins over the Oregon schools, the Sun Devils are back in the mix at 3-2 in conference play.

ASU's Ja'Tavia Tapley–a transfer from USC–earned just about every Player of the Week honor out there, after averaging 15 points and six rebounds in the two upsets last week. The senior forward is leading the team with 11.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season while shooting 49.1% from the field.

All-Time Series vs Arizona State
Arizona State holds a slim 33-31 lead in the all-time series, though the Sun Devils have won 20 of the last 25 games between two. Washington does lead the series with a 20-10 edge in games in Seattle. Oddly enough, Friday's game will be the first time Arizona State has played in Seattle in three years. Due to Pac-12 scheduling, the two teams only played in Tempe in 2017-18 and last year's game in Seattle was canceled due to snow.

Up Next
The Huskies close out their three-game homestand on Sunday, hosting No. 21 Arizona at 2:00 p.m. Washington then hits the road again, traveling to Los Angeles for a games against USC on January 24 and UCLA on January 26.

Feeling Defensive
Washington's defense has been among the best in the conference and the country this season. The Huskies lead the Pac-12 and rank 18th of 351 teams in NCAA DI in turnovers forced, averaging 21.4 turnovers per game. UW also ranks 14th in the country in steals per game (11.8), 38th in scoring defense (57.1 ppg) and sit at 64th in the NCAA in opposing field goal percentage (36.6%).

Looking at analytics from HerHoopStats.com, the Huskies rank 26th overall with a 77.5 defensive rating and have limited teams to just 76.8 points per 100 possessions: 9th-best in NCAA DI. UW also has the 13th-best turnover rate (24.7%), turning over teams once every four possessions.

Washington has forced at least 20 turnovers in nine games this year and has at least 15 turnovers forced in 14 of 15 games. The Huskies have recorded double-digit steals in 11 games including 15 or more in three games. Earlier this season, the Huskies forced 38 turnovers against Weber State, the most by a UW team since turning over Gonzaga 38 times in 1998.

Melgoza Catching Fire
Senior Amber Melgoza has once again caught fire as Pac-12 play begins, ranking third in the conference with 19.8 points per game in Pac-12 games. The senior has scored at least 17 in three of four games including a 31-point performance on Friday at Cal. Last season, Melgoza averaged 17.4 points per game in Pac-12 play and poured in 20.6 points a conference game as a sophomore.

Melgoza's 31-point performance at Cal marked the fifth time she has scored 30 points or more in a game with four of those coming against either Cal or Stanford (two against each). It was also the 34th time she has scored 20 or more points in a game in her career and third time this season.

Can I Assist You With That?
Washington has been moving the ball well on offense, recording 256 assists on 387 field goals this season, which–according to HerHoopStats.com–ranks the Huskies 25th in the NCAA with a 65.4% assisted shot rate. Overall, UW ranks 26th with 17.1 assists per game. Last season, the Huskies were 187th in assisted shot rate at 54.9% and averaged just 15.8 assists per game.

Washington has at least 20 assists in five games this year including recording 25 assists on 29 made field goals against San Francisco–the most in a game by the Huskies since recording 25 against Portland in 2017.

Huskies in The National Rankings
Washington finds itself in the Top 50 in the NCAA in numerous categories through 15 games (updated through games 1/13/20):

Team:
               •             14th - Steals Per Game (11.8)
               •             18th - Steals (177)
               •             18th - Turnovers Forced (21.4/game)
               •             26th - Assists Per Game (17.1)
               •             29th - Turnover Margin (+5.0)
               •             38th - Scoring Defense (57.1 oppg)
               •             40th - Assists (256)
               •             50th - Scoring Margin (+11.7)

Huskies in the NCAA Top 100:
               •             23rd - Haley Van Dyke Steals Per Game (2.9)
               •             24th - Haley Van Dyke Total Steals (43)
               •             72nd - Missy Peterson Ast-TO Ratio (+2.0)
               •             73th - Darcy Rees Blocks Per Game (1.67)
               •             76th - Darcy Rees Total Blocks (25)

Put 'em in The 49er Club
Head Coach Jody Wynn has a defensive goal for each game: put the opponent in the "49er Club" by holding them to 49 points or less in a game. So far, the Huskies have done that five times this season including allowing just 34 points to Iona on Nov. 28–the fewest points allowed by UW since holding San Jose State to 27 points in 2010. The Huskies are 5-0 this season when holding teams under 50 points.

Washington entered the season having put just two other teams in the 49er club since Wynn took over: one in each of the past two seasons (WSU, 56-49 UW win - 1/21/18; COLO, 60-46 UW win - 2/24/19).

Overall, Washington is holding opponents to 57.1 ppg game this year–the 38th-best scoring defense in the NCAA. Only four teams have managed to shoot better than 40% against the Huskies this year and UW has held eight teams to under 60 points, posting a perfect 8-0 record in those games. Last season, Washington held teams under 60 just nine times all season, going 8-1 in those games.

Melgoza Moving On Up
Senior Amber Melgoza moved up to 16th on the UW scoring list with her 31-point performance at Cal and now has 1,426 career points. She needs just 36 points to reach Andrea Lalum for 15th and 46 to catch Cameo Hicks for 14th on the UW scoring list.

Last year, Melgoza became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with her first basket against Oregon on Jan. 27. She has amassed 1,254 points over the last two years, averaging 17.9 ppg over that stretch. (Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games.)

RPI Check In
The Huskies' loss Saturday dropped them back down in the RPI charts as they fell to #83 in the NCAA's RPI list and to #89 according to RealTimeRPI. UW already has a big win over Iowa (RPI #10) on its resume and faces just three teams with RPIs over 100 the rest of the year. The Huskies had been ranked as low as #302 in the RealTimeRPI rankings early in the year, but have steadily risen over the last few months. Arizona State comes in at #36 according to RealTimeRPI with Arizona at #51.

Van Dyke Opens Strong
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke has been impressive through her second season in purple and gold, leading the team with 2.9 steals and 6.2 rebounds per game while ranking third in scoring at 9.1 points per game. Van Dyke currently ranks 23rd in the NCAA in steals per game (2.9) and 24th in total steals (43)–leading the Pac-12 in both categories.

Van Dyke played in all 32 games last year, but averaged just 4.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game. She is already just one point away from her season total from last year (137) and has nearly three times as many steals at this point than she did all of last season.

Peterson Power!
Junior guard Missy Peterson had a solid shooting game against WSU, scoring 13 points while connecting on 3-of-4 from three-point range. Peterson leads the team in three-point shooting percentage at 42.4% (25-of-59) and is second in free throw percentage as well (86.4% - 19-of-22).

For her career, Peterson has made 38.7% of her shots from three-point range (87-of-225), which currently ranks as the fourth-best three-point field goal percentage in program history and the second-best with at least 225 attempts.

Block Party!
Thanks in large part to added height this season, the Huskies have already recorded 59 blocks this season: an average of 3.9 per game. That ranks 94th in the NCAA to this point, but is especially impressive considering UW had just 64 in 32 games last year. Darcy Rees is third in the Pac-12 and ranks 73rd in the NCAA with 1.7 blocks per game and is third in the Pac-12 with 25 total blocks after recording just 29 last year.

Double-Double Your Pleasure
The Huskies had a pair of players record a double-double against Seattle, something which hadn't been done in three seasons. Mai-Loni Henson picked up her third career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, adding two steals, a block and an assist. Haley Van Dyke recorded her first double-double with 14 points and a career-best 12 rebounds, adding three steals and two assists. Overall, UW players have recorded three double-doubles this year after recording just two last year.

Pleskevich Breaks Out
Junior transfer Rita Pleskevich had a breakout game against Washington State, scoring a season-high 12 points and adding four assists and a pair of rebounds. The Broward College (Fla.) transfer helped keep the Huskies in the game early on, scoring all 12 points in the first half while the rest of the team got going. In addition, her 31 minutes played were a season-high as well.

Home Away From Home
The Huskies have had impressive success away from home since the end of last year, winning nine of their last 11 outside of Seattle. So far this season, Washington is 3-1 in true road games to go along with a 3-0 record in neutral site games. The Huskies closed out last year with an impressive run, winning at Colorado in their final road game, then winning two of three in the Pac-12 Tournament in Vegas. Prior to the Colorado game, UW had won just four games away from home over the last two years–a stretch of 29 games. Washington also has won three of its last four Pac-12 road games dating back to last year after losing its previous 17 prior to that.

Huskies Nearing 850 Program Victories
Washington's win over Cal was the 846th win in program history. The Huskies are averaging just over 18 wins per year over 46 seasons. All-time Washington is 846-518, a .620 winning percentage.

Turnover Machine
Earlier this season, the Huskies forced 38 turnovers against Weber State, the most by a UW team since turning over Gonzaga 38 times in 1998. It is also the most by a Pac-12 team in nearly six years. Overall, UW has forced at least 20 turnovers in nine of 14 games this season and forced 30 or more twice.

Melgoza Again on Meyers-Drysdale Watch List
Senior guard Amber Melgoza has once again been named as one of 20 candidates on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List awarded annually to the best shooting guard in NCAA DI women's basketball. The winner of the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in LA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five.

Huskies Add to Active Roster
Washington added a player to its active roster on Nov. 20, elevating Callie Lind from the practice squad. Lind, from nearby Sammamish, Wash., was the starting point guard on the Eastlake HS team which won the WIAA 4A State Championship last year. She averaged 10.0 points 4.0 assists and 2.6 steals on the season and scored 12 points with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in the championship game. Lind made her Husky debut against Seattle U on Nov. 23 and scored her first collegiate points with a three-pointer against San Francisco on Dec. 20.

Radio Show
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 16. It can also be heard at GoHuskies.com or via the TuneIn App, available in the App Stores.