Washington Opens February vs California on Sunday

Sunday, February 2

Seattle, WA

12:00 PM

University of Washington

California

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February 01, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Washington (10-10, 2-7 Pac-12) looks to open February with a win, hosting California (8-12, 0-9 Pac-12) in a Pac-12 game on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Elise Woodward and Tammy Blackburn 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 37th in the NCAA in turnovers forced, turning teams over 19.6 times per game. UW also leads the conference and ranks 19th nationally in steals per game (11.0) and has a defensive rating of 80.1 which ranks 36th 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 ninth in the conference in scoring at 14.6 points per game and sits at seventh in the Pac-12 with 16.3 ppg in conference games.
Melgoza has averaged 24.8 ppg in six games against Cal since her sophomore season–the most against a Pac-12 opponent over that stretch. Of her five 30+ point games, two have come against the Golden Bears including a 31-point performance when the teams played in Berkeley earlier this season.
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke leads the Pac-12 and is 27th in the NCAA with 52 steals (2.60 spg). She also leads the Huskies with 6.0 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 9.3 points per game.
UW has the NCAA's 25th-toughest overall schedule with opponents holding a combined .637 winning pct.
The Huskies are second in the Pac-12 and 28th in the NCAA with a 64.1% assisted shot rate (HerHoopStats.com) and rank 37th in the country with 16.1 assists per game.
Freshman Quay Miller scored 10 points vs Stanford Friday, giving her 22 in two games against the Cardinal this year. Over her last three games, she is averaging 9.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
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).

Scouting the Golden Bears
It's been rough for the California, which is in rebuild mode after losing a pair of talented players to graduation last year including All-American Kristine Anigwe, who averaged 25 points and 18 rebounds in two games against UW in 2018-19.

California had turned heads with a strong start under first-year head coach Charmin Smith, posting an 8-3 record through non-conference play including an 11-point loss at UConn. However, things have fallen apart once the Pac-12 slate began with the Golden Bears still searching for their first conference win, going winless through their first nine games. Cal has been outscored by an average of 22 points in conference play and is allowing 80.7 ppg.

Senior Jaelyn Brown is one of four seniors on the roster and leads the team with 13.9 points per game. However, in conference play, she is averaging just under 12 points per game. Redshirt senior guard Sara Anastasieska–a grad transfer from UTSA–has upped her average to 10.3 points per game in Pac-12 games including a 22-point performance against Utah last week.

All-Time Series vs California
Washington holds a 47-27 lead in the all-time series and snapped a five-game losing streak to California with a 67-64 win in Berkeley earlier this season. That kept up a trend of close games in the series as five of the last six games have come down to single-digit margins. Overall, Washington is 25-9 against Cal at Alaska Airlines Arena thought the Golden Bears have won four of the last six.

Up Next
Washington stays home next week, hosting Utah on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before closing out the homestand against Colorado on Sunday at Noon. The Huskies then head back on the road to face the Arizona schools the following week.

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 seven of the Huskies' eight conference games thus far. Melgoza is averaging 16.3 points per game in Pac-12 contests–seventh-best in the conference–and is connecting on 41.5% from the field while adding a team-best 44 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 vs Cal
Amber Melgoza has averaged 24.8 points per game in six games against Cal over the last three years–the most against any Pac-12 team over that stretch. That includes two of her five of 30+ point games. Earlier this year, Melgoza scored 31 points in Berkeley, connecting on 13-of-25 from the field in the game. She also tallied 30 in the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament game at Key Arena as a sophomore. Melgoza's lowest output against Cal over the last six meetings came in the first game of her sophomore season when she only scored 15.

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 6.0 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 9.3 points per game. Van Dyke leads the Pac-12 and ranks 27th in the NCAA in total steals (52) 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).

Miller Catching Fire
Quay Miller had another strong game against Stanford, scoring 10 points Friday to give her 22 in two games against the Cardinal this season. Miller added a career-best three blocks and had two assists. Over her last three games, Miller is averaging 9.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks. Overall, the freshman is averaging 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in nine Pac-12 games, with 11 steals and five blocks.

Lucky #60!
The number 60 has been a key one for the Huskies this season, especially on defense. Washington is 8-1 when allowing 60 or fewer points to opponents this season and is 1-1 when doing so in Pac-12 games. The lone loss came against Stanford on Friday when the Huskies limited the high-scoring Cardinal to just 58 points, but couldn't find the offense to pull off the upset. It was just the second time this season Stanford scored less than 60 points. 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 19th in the country in steals per game at 11.0 and rank 23rd in overall steals (220). In addition, Washington has forced 19.6 turnovers per game which leads the conference and ranks 37th overall in DI.

Looking at analytics from HerHoopStats.com, the Huskies rank 36th overall with an 80.1 defensive rating and have limited teams to just 81.9 points per 100 possessions: 34th-best overall. UW also has the 47th-best turnover rate (22.5%), 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 20. The Huskies have recorded double-digit steals in 14 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 322 assists on 498 field goals this season, an assisted shot rate of 64.1%. According to HerHoopStats.com, that ranks as the 28th best rate in the NCAA and second-best in the Pac-12. Overall, UW ranks 37th with 16.1 assists per game and 43rd with 322 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 74 blocks this season: an average of 3.7 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.

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.