Melgoza, Washington upset No. 8 UCLA 74-68

Sunday, February 23

Seattle, WA

12:00 PM

University of Washington

13-14,5-11Pac12

UCLA

23-4,12-4Pac12

UCLA

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

February 23, 2020 | Women's Basketball

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SEATTLE --- Amber Melgoza scored 22 points and Rita Pleskevich added a season-high 15 as Washington celebrated a special senior day with a 74-68 upset win over No. 8 UCLA on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The victory was the third-straight home win for the Huskies, who improve to 13-14 and to 5-11 in Pac-12 play while the Bruins fall to 23-4, 12-4 in the conference.

Melgoza celebrated senior day in the same fashion as many other games she has played during her time at Washington, leading the team with 22 points and adding six rebounds, five assists and a steal. The senior posted back-to-back 20+ point games this weekend after scoring 25 against USC on Friday, eclipsing the 20-point mark for the 39th time in her career and eighth time this season.

Pleskevich had a monster game, going 6-for-6 from the field including 3-of-3 from three-point range to finish with a career-best 15 points. Freshman Ali Bamberger also had another strong game, recording a career-best 12 points and adding five rebounds, three assists and a block. However, she went down with a leg injury late in the game and will be evaluated this week.

The evening started off on a special note as senior GiGi Garcia, who has been unable to play for the Huskies during her four seasons at UW due to three ACL injuries, surprised the team by making the start. Garcia and the coaches were able to keep the start a secret until opening introductions and she took part in the jump ball.

"She's been an inspiration to every single one of us since we all stepped on this campus with her," said UW Head Coach Jody Wynn. "She's a role model. She's the toughest kid I think I've ever been around. For her to be able to take the court on her senior night, to me it's an ounce of something we can give her for what she's given us. She's a strong leader, she's a strong woman and she's going to be able to fight through any kind of adversity in life because of what she went through here for four years."

Mai-Loni Henson, Washington's other senior, scored six points including four over the final three minutes to secure the win. She also came up big on the glass, matching Melgoza with six rebounds in the game.

Washington led from wire to wire in the game, leading by four at halftime before outscoring UCLA by seven in the third. The Huskies extend the lead to as many as 14 in the fourth quarter and led by 13 with 2:38 left. UCLA made a final charge and closed the gap to four with 1:42 to go, but the Huskies made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Despite being out-rebounded 39-32—including a 20-6 UCLA edge on the offensive glass—and committing 18 turnovers to UCLA's 11, Washington shot the ball well. The Huskies shot 52 percent in the game (26-of-50), their second-best shooting percentage this season and their best mark in conference play. Washington is shooting 50.3% from the field over its last three games.

Washington got going early on, breaking a 4-4 tie with an extended 11-4 run to take an 15-8 lead with 1:51 left in the quarter. Bamberger was instrumental during that run, scoring five points and pulling down a pair of rebounds while Rita Pleskevich added four points. But the Bruins would close out the quarter with a quick four-point run to trail 15-12 after one.

UW forced three-straight turnovers to start the second quarter and used them to open with a 6-0 run to stretch the lead to 21-12 at the 8:28 mark. The teams would trade buckets over the next minute with T.T. Watkins draining a corner three to put UW up 28-18 with 6:07 left in the half. After a UCLA free throw, Pleskevich hit a fadeaway and the Huskies went up 30-19 midway through the period. But UW went quiet over the final 5:28 minutes of the half and the Bruins took advantage, ending the period on a 7-0 run to make it a 30-26 game at the break.

UCLA got a quick bucket to open the third quarter, but the Huskies ended a six-minute scoreless streak with a back-door basket from Melgoza. From there the teams would exchange buckets until Bamberger hit a basket, followed by a defensive stop and a three by Pleskevich to extend the lead back to 39-32 at the 4:46 mark. One minute, Watkins recorded a pair of blocks in a two-second span to give UW the ball back and Haley Van Dyke hit a free throw line jumper to extend the run to 7-0 and put the Huskies up 41-32 with 4:11 left. The Bruins hit a pair of free throws to end the run but Pleskevich drained a three-pointer with 1:36 left and Quay Miller hit a pair of free throws to put the Huskies up 50-39 after three.

UCLA opened the fourth with a steal and bucket, but Melgoza answered with a pair of incredible, off-balance layups to key a 6-1 run to put UW up 56-42 with 7:00 to play. The Bruins got a layup on their next possession, but Bamberger drained a corner three to put the Huskies back up 14 at the 4:44 mark. After UCLA closed back to within nine with a quick 5-0 run, Missy Peterson hit a three on the next trip down to make it 65-53 with 3:36 to go.

Washington would stretch the lead back to 13 on a layup by Mai-Loni Henson with 2:38 left, but the Bruins mounted one final charge. UCLA would hit a three-pointer the next time down the court, then after a defensive stop, received the benefit of a questionable block call to hit a pair of free throws. They would add two more after another questionable no-call led to a travel whistled on Melgoza which also earned a technical foul on Wynn.

But after closing it to four with 1:42 to go and getting the ball back after a UW miss, the Bruins would miss on a three-point attempt with 1:10 left and foul on the rebound. Henson made both free throws to make it a six-point game, but UCLA came right back down and scored on a layup with 53 seconds to go. After milking the shot clock down to two seconds, Melgoza drove to the hoop and was fouled, converting both free throws to make it a six-point game. UCLA missed a three on the other end with 23 seconds left, UW secured the rebound and held on for the win.

As the game came to a close, Garcia was able to check in one final time with three seconds left, inbounding the ball to Melgoza who dribbled out the clock.

The victory was Washington's first over a ranked team this season despite coming close several times including taking UCLA to overtime earlier this year in Westwood. It was the first win for the Huskies over a Top 10 team since beating No. 9 UCLA 82-70 at home on Jan. 8, 2017.

Washington closes out the regular season on the road, traveling to Oregon next week. First up, the Huskies face No. 15 Oregon State at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. UW then heads to Eugene to face the No. 3 Ducks on Sunday at Noon.