Huskies Begin Six-Game Homestand vs George Mason on Sunday

OPENING TIP
• Washington returns home for its first home game in three weeks as the Huskies host George Mason University on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network (Washington) with Roxy Bernstein and Mary Murphy on the call. Fans can also listen to Gary Hill Jr. call the game on KKNW 1150 AM, the TuneIn App, or online at GoHuskies.com

• This will be the first-ever game between Washington and George Mason and just the Huskies' fifth game against a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. However it's the second in the last four as UW took on Fordham in Florida last week.

• UW picked up a big 69-58 victory over cross-town foe Seattle University on Friday. Junior Amber Melgoza scored a season-high 29 points including going a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. Sophomore Missy Peterson continued her hot play of late, matching her career-high with 18 points.

Scouting the Patriots
George Mason has opened the 2018-19 season with a solid 4-3 record, picking up wins in its two home games while posting a 2-3 record in five road games. Sunday's game will wrap up a four-game road trip which saw them play two games in Kansas, head back to the DC area, then head cross-country to battle UW. So far, GMU is 1-2 on the trip with its lone win at UMKC. In their last game, the Patriots dropped a tough 73-59 game at cross-town rival Howard, shooting a season-low 31.9% from the field and failing to score 60 points for just the second time on the season.

GMU posted a 24-10 overall record last season, finishing fifth in the A-10 with an 11-5 conference record. The Patriots earned a berth in the WNIT–its first postseason appearance since the 2004 season. George Mason earned its first-ever postseason victory by knocking off Stephen F. Austin in the first round before losing at Virginia Tech.

The Patriots lost one of its best players in recent program history in Natalie Butler, who averaged 19.2 points and 16.6 rebounds per game last season. However, sophomore Nicole Cardaño-Hillary has filled in nicely so far this season, averaging 21.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game this season. Junior forward Jacy Bolton is adding 9.0 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Patriots.

All-Time Series Record
This will be the first meeting all-time between Washington and George Mason. It will be the second time this season the Huskies have taken on an Atlantic-10 foe, having lost 65-57 earlier this year to Fordham. Overall, Washington is 3-1 in four all-time games against teams from the A-10.

Up Next
UW continues its longest homestand of the season, hosting Ohio State on Wed., Dec. 5 at 8:00 p.m. The Huskies are looking to avenge a close 85-76 loss to the then #9 Buckeyes in Columbus last season.

Last Time Out
Amber Melgoza scored a season-high 29 points and Missy Peterson matched her career-high with 18 as Washington closed out a long five-game road trip with a 69-58 victory over cross-town rival Seattle University at the Redhawk Center. It was UW's 12th-straight win over Seattle U. After a close first quarter, the Huskies blew the game open with a 21-0 run in the second and led 38-22 at halftime. Seattle fought back, closing to within nine in the third and then seven late in the fourth, but Washington held on for the hard-fought victory.

Magical Melgoza
Washington junior Amber Melgoza has picked up right where she left off last year, averaging 19.9 points through the first seven games of the season. She recorded her first career double-double against Northern Arizona on Nov. 11 with 20 points and 10 rebound, coming up two assists shy of a triple-double with a career-best eight helpers.

The junior has reached double-figures in each of her last 20 games dating back to last year and has scored 20+ points in 18 career contests including four this season. Melgoza's off-season goal was to become a more well-rounded player and it shows as she also leads the team in rebounds (5.9/game), assists (3.6/game) and steals (1.6/game).

Melgoza is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign where she earned All-Pac-12 honors after finishing second in the conference in scoring at 19.0 points per game. But she did her real damage in Pac-12 play, leading the conference with 20.6 ppg in Pac-12 games. She finished the season with 570 points–11th most in program history and just five points shy of the Top 10. In addition, Melgoza closed out the season with 120 points over her final four games including pouring in 40 against Stanford–the most by a Pac-12 player on the season.

Melgoza on Ann Meyers Drysdale Watch List
Amber Melgoza was one of 20 players from across the country to be named to the 2019 Ann Meyers Drysdale Watch List as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association on Oct. 23. The winner will be revealed on ESPN during the 2019 Women's Final Four in Tampa, Florida.

Productive Peterson
Sophomore Missy Peterson has been solid through the first seven games, averaging 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game including scoring 62 points (15.5 ppg) over her last four games. Against Duke, she set a career-high with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added a career-high nine rebounds. Two days later she eclipsed that with 18 points against Michigan, then matched that with 18 on Friday at Seattle U. Against the Redhawks, Peterson was 6-of-8 from the field including four three-pointers, adding five rebounds and four assists.

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 Washington State on Jan. 17.

After rehabbing this offseason, a healthy Peterson has returned with a vengeance. She has already scored more points this year (83) than all of last year (59) and is shooting 56.1% from the field (32-of-57) and 38.7% from three-point range (12-of-31).

Shooting Stars
The Huskies have been markedly better in shooting from the field this season, connecting on 44.3% through the first seven games. Last season, Washington shot just 38.3% at the end of the season. In fact, the Huskies rank 19th among 353 NCAA DI teams in 2PT FG% at 53.9%. Washington has already shot 45% of better in four games this season after do so in just five games all of last year.

The Charity Stripe
The Huskies matched a odd NCAA record earlier this year when they failed to attempt a free throw in the game. It was the first time in program history Washington did not attempt a free throw in a game. The Huskies now hold the NCAA records for fewest free throws in a game (0) and the most (69). On Nov. 30, 1991, UW attempted 69 free throws (making 51) in a 101-91 2 OT win vs. Northern Illinois.

Individually, the Huskies are fourth in the Pac-12 and 30th in the NCAA in free throw shooting percentage at 76.5% with Amber Melgoza ranking fifth in the Pac-12 and 69th in the NCAA at 87%.

Home, Non-Conference Success
The Huskies have an impressive record in home, non-conference games. After wins in its first two games this season, Washington is 16-1 in non-conference home games since the start of the 2016-17 season, having won six-straight. Going back a bit further, the Huskies are 32-3 in such games since the 2013-14 season.

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. Since Coach Wynn took over last season, Washington is 11-4 when leading at the half but is 0-22 when tied or trailing at halftime. This season, the Huskies are 4-0 when leading at halftime, but are 0-3 when trailing at the break.

RPI Check-In
Washington slipped a bit in the RPI rankings released after Friday's game, falling to #97 out of 351 NCAA D1 WBB programs. That is ninth-best among Pac-12 schools, ahead of undefeated Utah (#108), 5-1 Arizona (#137) and 3-4 Washington State (#286). Three conference teams were in the top 10, but not necessarily the ones you would expect: California (#2), Oregon (#4) and Colorado (#9). UW's three losses have come against teams ranked ahead of them in the RPI: Michigan (#23), Tulane (#29), and Fordham (#92).

Strength of Schedule
Once again, the Huskies are not shying away from playing a difficult schedule in the 2018-19. UW plays nearly half its schedule (14 games) against nine teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 or receiving votes. In fact, the Huskies have the seventh-toughest schedule among the 351 NCAA DI programs. The Pac-12 conference boasts five teams in the AP Top 25 including three in the Top 10: #3 Oregon, #8 Stanford, #9 Oregon State, #15 California and #19 Arizona State with USC and Utah receiving votes. Outside Pac-12 play, the Huskies are slated to face #6 Mississippi State on Dec. 20 and just battled Michigan (RV) on Sunday.

Last season, the Huskies played the 35th most difficult overall schedule with UW's opponents posting an overall winning percentage of .595. Eleven of the Huskies' 22 opponents in 2017-18 reached the NCAA Tournament with UW recording wins against two: Seattle U and Creighton.

Freshmen Making a Splash
Husky freshmen Haley Van Dyke, T.T. Watkins and Darcy Rees have seen quite a bit of action in Washington's first six games of the season. With the trio averaging 16.2 minutes per game through the early going. Van Dyke is averaging 5.3 ppg and has scored in double figures in two games thus far, scoring 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting vs Cal State Fullerton, and had 10 points and a team-high three steals at Tulane.

Watkins scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting against Northern Arizona and is averaging 6.2 points per game through five games this year. Rees scored in double-figures in two of the Huskies' three games in Florida, recording 10 points against Duke and Fordham to open the tournament. Overall Rees is averaging 4.0 points and 2.6 rebounds and has started each of the last two games.

Huskies in the Rankings
While still early in the season, Washington ranks among the Pac-12 leaders in a number of categories. The Huskies are currently ranked fourth in the Pac-12 and 19th in the NCAA in free throw percentage at 76.5%. Washington is also third in steals (64), fourth in turnovers forced (17.17/game), fourth in total rebounds (255), and sixth in steals per game (9.1).

Home Bodies
After spending a bulk of the 2017-18 pre-conference schedule on the road, the Huskies will spend the majority of the non-conference slate at home this season. Washington plays seven of its 12 non-conference games at home this year with one LONG road trip breaking up two home stands. The Huskies only non-conference road trip was a five-game, nine-day trip through New Orleans and Florida and back to Seattle U around Thanksgiving. After that, UW plays six-straight at home and doesn't play another road game until heading to Oregon to open its Pac-12 road slate on Jan. 4.

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. on the following dates: Dec. 3, Dec. 10, Dec. 17, Jan. 2, Jan. 8, Jan. 14, Jan. 21, Jan. 28, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 4 and March 11. The show can be streamed online at gohuskies.com or by using the TuneIn Mobile App.

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 in the country) and the top overall prospect out of Washington state.

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 a berth in the state tournament.

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.

2017-18 Recap
Washington's first season under new head coach Jody Wynn proved to be a tough one with the Huskies' new coach inheriting a team with just five returning players and one who had started a college game. Despite the inexperience and the fact that no Husky on the active roster stood taller than 6-1, Washington proved to be a gritty, gutty team which gave many of its opponents as much as they could handle. The Huskies finished the 2017-18 season with a 7-23 overall record.

Schedule

Huskies Begin Six-Game Homestand vs George Mason on Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Amber Melgoza

Missy Peterson

Darcy Rees

Natalie Romeo

Deja Strother

Haley Van Dyke

TT Watkins

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