Melgoza Leads Huskies Past Ohio State, 69-59

Wednesday, December 5

Seattle, WA

8:00 PM

University of Washington

6-3

Ohio State

3-3

Ohio State

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

December 05, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

SEATTLE --- Amber Melgoza scored a game-high 28 points on 8-of-16 shooting, adding seven rebounds to lead Washington to a big 69-59 non-conference win over Ohio State on Wednesday night at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The Huskies picked up their third-straight win to improve to 6-3 on the season, winning three-straight for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The Buckeyes fall to 3-3 overall as Washington defeats Ohio State for the first time in four tries all-time. UW also improves to 18-1 in non-conference home games since 2016-17, having won eight-straight.

Melgoza was the lone player in double-figures for Washington, but all 10 Huskies to see court time netted at least three points. Freshmen Darcy Rees and Haley Van Dyke each added seven points with Missy Peterson adding six.

But the real story was the Husky defense which forced Ohio State to turn the ball over 21 times—matching its season high set in a loss to UConn in November. The Buckeyes also shot just 36% from the field and connected on just 4-of-19 from three-point range.

Washington led by 10 points early in the game but could not seem to pull away from Ohio State in the first half, leading by just six at halftime. The Huskies would take its biggest lead at 49-35 late in the third only to see the Buckeyes use a 9-0 run to close back to within five early in the fourth. But Washington quickly stretched the lead back to 10 and didn't look back.

Melgoza took over the game in the second half, scoring 17 of her 28 points over the final 20 minutes of the game. She was 8-of-16 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. She also matched a season-high with four three-pointers and added seven rebounds and a team-high three steals.

The game got off to a slow start for both teams as the Huskies turned the ball over on four of its first five possessions while Ohio State missed three shots in its first four. After trading buckets, the Huskies took an early lead with an 11-0 run as the Buckeyes missed nine-straight shots from the field after an early score. Ohio State snapped the run with three free throws, then hit its first field goal in six minutes on a fast break layup to cut the lead to five at 13-8 with one minute left. After a Haley Van Dyke steal and a fast break bucket of her own, the Buckeyes would drain a three at the end of the quarter to make it a 15-11 game after one.

The teams exchanged buckets to start the second quarter before Jenna Moser hit a three-pointer followed by a Van Dyke layup to stretch the UW lead back to nine at 22-13 at the 6:53 mark. Just under two minutes later a free throw by Mai-Loni Henson made it a 10-point game at 25-15. The Huskies would go cold, committing three-straight turnovers which the Buckeyes turned into a quick 4-0 run to cut the deficit to six at 25-19 with 2:35 left. But Henson ended the drought with a three and the teams went back and forth the rest of the way as the Huskies led 32-26 at the intermission.

Melgoza opened the third with a three-pointer as the Huskies, keying a 6-2 run to take a 38-28 lead at the 6:39 mark. Ohio State snapped the run with a three-pointer which keyed a 7-2 run, cut the lead back to five at 40-35 with 4:27 left. But Washington answered with a long 9-0 run to take a commanding 14-point lead with 1:41 left. Missy Peterson started the run by hitting a pair of free throws with 3:21 left followed by a three-pointer by Van Dyke in transition to stretch it back to a 10-point lead at 45-35 and force an OSU timeout with 2:28 left. Out of the timeout, Melgoza drained a step-back three and Johnson hit one of two from the free-throw line to make it a 49-35 game with 1:41 to go in the quarter.

The Buckeyes would score the final three points of the third and then opened the fourth with a three-point play and a three-pointer, to cut the lead to just five at 49-44 at the 8:35 mark. Alexis Griggsby ended the 9-0 run with a three-pointer and Rees followed with a tough runner in the lane as the Huskies went back up 10 at 54-44. Ohio State got a steal and layup coming out of the media timeout to cut the lead to seven, but Melgoza stayed hot, hitting a tough fadeaway followed by a Peterson drive and layup as the Huskies went back up 11 at 62-51 with 2:44 left.

Washington had a tough time taking care of the ball, too, committing 21 turnovers, though just eight in the second half. The Huskies shot 39 percent in the game but were able to out-rebound the Buckeyes 43-35 including a 10-7 edge on the offensive glass. Hannah Johnson was a key part of that success on the boards, pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds, giving her 21 in her last two games.

The Huskies take a week off for finals, returning to action Dec. 15-16 to host the Husky Classic. Washington battles Montana in the first game of the Classic while Boise State takes on St. Francis (Pa.) in the second game.