Washington Defense Suffocates Colorado in 60-46 Win

Sunday, February 24

Boulder, CO

12:00 PM

University of Washington

9-18, 2-13Pac12

Colorado

12-15,2-14Pac12

Washington

Colorado

Photo by: Brian Morse / Washington Athletics

February 24, 2019 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BOULDER, Colo. --- The Washington defense put on a show while Mai-Loni Henson matched a career-high with 17 points as the Huskies picked up a big 60-46 road win at Colorado on Sunday afternoon.

The Huskies improve to 9-18 on the season and move to 2-13 in Pac-12 play while dropping the Buffaloes to 12-15 and to 2-14 in the conference.

Henson was solid on both sides of the ball, matching a career-high with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting including three from beyond the arc. She added eight rebounds—including four offensive boards, three assists and matched a career-high with four steals in the game.

Melgoza had similar numbers in the game, scoring 17 points and adding eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. She poured in 11 in the second half including a pair of three-pointers.

But the story was the defense as the Huskies limited Colorado to just 46 points in the contest—the fewest opposing points allowed since the 2016-18 season. Washington forced 22 turnovers, converting them into 28 points. The Huskies shot just under 40% in the game, but limited Colorado to just 32.7% shooting and just 21.7% from beyond the arc.

Colorado jumped out to a 5-0 lead three minutes into the game as the Huskies missed their first four shots from the field. But Washington ended that drought with a 9-0 run, hitting four-straight from the field including a pair from Melgoza to take a 9-5 lead midway through the quarter. Colorado ended the run with a bucket, but the Huskies closed out the quarter strong, scoring 12-straight to take a 21-7 lead after one. Washington would force 10 turnovers in the first quarter which the Huskies turned into 14 points, shooting 57.1% overall in the first.

In the second quarter, Henson got the Huskies to a strong start with an acrobatic three-point play to give UW a 24-7 lead. The teams went back and forth until back-to-back three-pointers by the Buffs keyed a 10-2 run as Colorado cut the lead to single digits at 31-22 with 1:04 to go in the half. Washington would answer with a three from Henson and led 34-24 after one.

The Huskies opened the third quarter strong, with a defensive stop and pullup jumper in transition by Melgoza. After a Colorado bucket, Washington's offense erupted, hitting four-straight shots to ignite an 8-0 run with a Henson three capping the run with the Huskies up 44-26. But the Buffaloes weren't done and closed out the quarter with a long 13-3 run to close the gap to 47-39 after three.

Washington clamped down in the fourth quarter, though, and pulled away. Melgoza opened the period with a three, then after a bucket by Colorado, the Huskies scored eight-straight to go up 58-41 with 5:20 to play. Colorado came out of the final media timeout with a quick 5-0 run to close back within 12. But the Buffs bucket at 3:55 would be their final points of the game as the Huskies pulled down a number of offensive rebounds in the final minutes and ran out the clock for the win.

Emma Clarke, who came into the game averaging 4.0 points per game, came up big for Colorado, scoring a career-high 15 points including 11 in the first half.

Washington closes out the regular season at home in a busy week of events. On Friday, the Huskies welcome California to Alaska Airlines Arena at 7:00 p.m. in the rescheduled Play 4 Kay Pink Game. Washington then closes out the regular season on Sunday, hosting Stanford at 2:00 p.m. The Huskies will honor their seniors prior to the start of the game.