Huskies Return Home to Face No. 6 Stanford on Friday Night

Friday, January 31

Seattle, WA

7:00 PM

University of Washington

Stanford

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Photo by: Red Box Pictures

Huskies Return Home to Face No. 6 Stanford on Friday Night

January 29, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Washington (10-9, 2-6 Pac-12) returns home to begin a four-game home stand against No. 6 Stanford (18-2, 7-1 Pac-12) on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Elise Woodward and Eldridge Recasner 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 leads the Pac-12 and ranks 36th in the NCAA in turnovers forced, turning teams over 19.9 times per game. UW also leads the conference and ranks 18th nationally in steals per game (11.1) and has a defensive rating of 80.5 which ranks 40th in the NCAA according to HerHoopStats.com.
Senior Amber Melgoza needs six points to become the 14th Husky to score 1,500 career points. She currently has 1,494 points and is also 14 points away from moving into 14th on UW's all-time scoring list.
Melgoza ranks seventh in the conference in scoring at 15.4 points per game and sits at fourth in the Pac-12 with 18.4 ppg in conference games.
Melgoza has scored 30+ points five times with four coming against either Cal or Stanford (2x vs each).
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke leads the Pac-12 and is 25th in the NCAA with 50 steals (2.63 spg). She also leads the Huskies with 6.1 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 9.3 points per game.
UW has the NCAA's 26th-toughest overall schedule with opponents holding a combined .641 winning pct.
The Huskies are second in the Pac-12 and 28th in the NCAA with a 64.4% assisted shot rate (HerHoopStats.com) and rank 30th in the country with 16.5 assists per game.
Senior Mai-Loni Henson has averaged 11.3 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game over the last four games including a career-high 16 points at USC on Sunday.
UW played back-to-back overtime games last week for the second time in program history. The last time was almost exactly 10 years ago: a win at WSU (1/29/10) followed by a loss at Arizona State, (2/4/10).

Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford comes into the weekend ranked No. 6 in the NCAA and riding a three-game winning streak coming. The Cardinal have lost just twice this season including a tough one against Oregon two weeks ago. Stanford received a scare last week, needing overtime to beat Colorado 76-68 at home.

Stanford was without the services of freshman standout Haley Jones in its two games against the mountain schools last week as the freshman suffered an injury the previous week at Oregon State. Jones, who was the No. 1 recruit in last year's class, had 11 points and three blocks when the Huskies faced Stanford in Palo Alto earlier this year and is averaging 11.4 points per game.

Sophomore guard Lexie Hull leads the team with 13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game with senior guard Kiana Williams close behind at 12.3 points per game. Williams had a game-high 20 points and nine assists against UW when the teams met earlier this month including 15 points and six assists in the pivotal second half.

All-Time Series vs Stanford
Stanford holds a commanding 52-17 lead in the all-time series and has won the last seven dating back to the 2016 season. The Cardinal have also won four-straight in Seattle with the Huskies last holding court in an 87-82 win on Feb. 9, 2014. Overall, Washington is 10-19 against Stanford at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Earlier this season, Washington played a strong first half and was tied at 32 with Stanford at halftime. The Huskies trailed by just four midway through the third, but the Cardinal pulled away from there for a 77-56 win.

Up Next
Washington hosts California on Sunday at Noon, then stays home next week, welcoming the Mountain schools to Alaska Airlines Arena.

Melgoza Nearing Milestone
Amber Melgoza's 17 points at USC on Sunday brought her to within six points of becoming the 14th Husky to score 1,500 career points. The senior enters Friday's game with 1,494 points as she sits in 14th on UW's all-time scoring list–just 14 points shy of moving into 13th place.

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 1,441 points from her sophomore year on, averaging 17.8 ppg over that stretch. (Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games.)

Melgoza Catching Fire
Amber Melgoza has once again caught fire in Pac-12 play, leading the team in scoring in each of the Huskies seven conference games thus far. Melgoza is averaging 18.4 points per game in Pac-12 contests–fourth-best in the conference–and is connecting on 44.3% from the field while adding a team-best 40 rebounds and 23 assists. 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). She poured in 24 against Arizona on Sunday, marking the 35th time she has scored 20 or more points in a game in her career and fourth time this season.

Offensive Barrage in Los Angeles
Washington's offense was clicking last week in Los Angeles as the Huskies averaged 79.0 points over the two games. Against UCLA, UW scored 70 points in regulation for the first time in conference play, then followed that up with 78 points including a 28-point second quarter vs USC.

The Huskies were especially hot from three-point range, hitting 20-of-50 form long distance, making nine against UCLA and 11 against USC. It marked the fourth and fifth times this season UW made 9+ threes in a game. Nine different Huskies connected from three-point range last week led by Mai-Loni Henson and Missy Peterson each hitting four.

In the UCLA game, the Huskies shot 48.3% from the field–their second-best mark of the season. Washington closed out the game by connecting on 12-of-18 from the field in the fourth quarter and overtime periods.

Van Dyke Opens Strong
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke has been impressive through her second season in purple and gold, leading the team with 2.6 steals and 6.1 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 9.3 points per game. Van Dyke leads the Pac-12 and ranks 25th in the NCAA in total steals (50) and is tops in the Pac-12 and is 29th nationally in steals per game (2.6).

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 already has scored 40 more points this season than last (137) and has over twice as many steals at this point than she did all of last season (23).

Lucky #60!
The number 60 has been a key one for the Huskies this season, especially on defense. Washington is a perfect 8-0 when allowing 60 or fewer points to opponents this season and is 1-0 when doing so in Pac-12 games. The number has been relatively lucky when the offense scores 60 or more points, posting a 10-5 record in those games.

Feeling Defensive
Washington leads the Pac-12 and is among the top teams in the NCAA in a pair of key defensive categories: steals and turnovers forced. The Huskies lead the Pac-12 and are 18th in the country in steals per game at 11.1 and rank 23rd in overall steals (210). In addition, Washington has forced 17.1 turnovers per game which leads the conference and ranks 36th overall among 348 NCAA Division I programs.

Looking at analytics from HerHoopStats.com, the Huskies rank 40th overall with an 80.5 defensive rating and have limited teams to just 81.6 points per 100 possessions: 33rd-best overall. UW also has the 43rd-best turnover rate (22.8%), turning over teams over once every five possessions.

Washington has forced at least 20 turnovers in nine games this year and has at least 15 turnovers forced in 17 of 19. The Huskies have recorded double-digit steals in 13 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. It was the second time in the first three games the Huskies forced 30+ turnovers after forcing 31 against Cal State Bakersfield to open the year.

Home Away From Home
The Huskies have had impressive success away from home since the end of last year, winning nine of their last 13 outside of Seattle. So far this season, Washington is 6-3 away from home (3-3 in true road games, 3-0 record on neutral court). 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 six Pac-12 road games dating back to last year after losing its previous 17.

Can I Assist You With That?
Washington has been moving the ball well on offense, recording 314 assists on 483 field goals this season, an assisted shot rate of 64.4%. According to HerHoopStats.com, that ranks as the 28th best rate in the NCAA and second-best in the Pac-12. Overall, UW ranks 30th with 16.5 assists per game and 39th with 314 total assists. Last season, the Huskies were 187th in assisted shot rate at 54.9%.

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. This past week, Washington recorded 17 assists at UCLA, then followed it up with 19 at USC–its two highest totals in Pac-12 play this season.

Huskies in The National Rankings
Entering the weekend, Washington finds itself in the Top 50 in the NCAA in numerous categories through 19 games (updated through games 1/28/20):

Team:
               •             18th - Steals Per Game (11.1)
               •             23rd - Steals (210)
               •             36th - Turnovers Forced (19.9/game)
               •             30th - Assists Per Game (16.5)
               •             39th - Assists (314)
               •             47th - Three-Point FG Defense (27.9%)

Huskies in the NCAA Top 100:
               •             25th - Haley Van Dyke Total Steals (50)
               •             29th - Haley Van Dyke Steals Per Game (2.63)
               •             98th - Darcy Rees Total Blocks (28)

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).

RPI Check
The Huskies' losses last week dropped them just a bit to #106 in the NCAA's RPI list and to #107 with RealTimeRPI. UW already has a big win over Iowa (RPI #5) on its resume and has a chance to move up higher, facing seven teams in the RPI Top 50 the rest of the way. Earlier this year, the Huskies had been ranked as low as #322 in the RealTimeRPI rankings early in the year, and rose as high as #70 after their Bay area trip.

Block Party!
Thanks in large part to added height this season, the Huskies have already recorded 68 blocks this season: an average of 3.6 per game. That is especially impressive considering UW had just 64 in 32 games last year. Darcy Rees is third in the Pac-12 with 1.7 blocks per game and 28 total blocks after recording 29 all of 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 solid showing at UCLA, scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting including hitting a pair of three-pointers. Earlier this season, she 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.

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.

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.