Sunday, March 1
Eugene, OR
12:00 PM
University of Washington
at
Oregon
Huskies Close Out Regular Season Sunday at Oregon
February 29, 2020 | Women's Basketball
Washington (13-15, 5-12 Pac-12) closes out the regular season on Sunday, traveling to face No. 3 Oregon (27-2, 16-1 Pac-12) at Noon at Matthew Knight Arena. The game is being broadcast on the Pac-12 Network with Ann Schatz and Mary Murphy 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 …
Scouting the Ducks
Oregon clinched its third-straight regular-season Pac-12 title on Friday night with a loss by Stanford and a win over Washington State. The Ducks have been hot lately, winning 15-straight games including six wins over Top 10 teams during that stretch. The Ducks are a perfect 14-0 at home and boast the fifth-longest home winning streak in the country with 15-straight victories.
Oregon's offense has been impressive this season as the Ducks are averaging 85.8 points per game and are shooting 50.8% from the field on the year–the best in the country this season. Meanwhile, they are limiting teams to just 57.6 points per game and to 37.1% shooting. Oregon's scoring margin of +28.2 is the second-largest advantage in the NCAA just slightly behind Baylor.
Oregon has a senior-laden team full of players likely to be first-round selections in the upcoming WNBA draft. Senior Sabrina Ionescu leads the way, averaging 17.1 points, 9.0 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game. In addition, fellow senior Ruthy Hebard is contributing 17.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game this season. Junior Satou Sabally–who has already announced she is going pro next year–has added 16.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest.
All-Time Series vs Oregon
This will be the 100th meeting between the two teams all-time with Washington holding a slight 50-49 edge in the series. The Ducks are 30-16 in games in Eugene including having won the last two. However, those two games have been closer than expected with the Huskies within a single possession in the fourth quarter of both games. Overall Oregon has won five-straight games in the series dating back to the 2017 Pac-12 Tournament where the Ducks upset the No. 2 seeded Huskies 70-69 in the second round.
Last Time Out
Amber Melgoza scored 34 points—one shy of her season-high—but Washington was unable to pull of its second consecutive upset, as No. 17 Oregon State pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 75-61 win at Gill Coliseum on Friday night. Washington put up a valiant effort against Oregon State in a game which was much closer than the final score would indicate. The Huskies remained close throughout the game, fighting off run after run by the Beavers, trailing by just four heading into the fourth quarter. But OSU would pull away for good with a 9-2 run midway through the fourth to take the game by 14. Melgoza was nearly unstoppable in the game, pouring in 34 points on 14-of-26 shooting, adding seven rebounds and a steal in the contest.
Melgoza Red Hot in Conference
Despite being the main focus of every defense in the Pac-12 this season, Amber Melgoza still ranks second in the conference with 19.4 points per Pac-12 game. That number has shot up lately as Melgoza has averaged 22.9 ppg since Feb. 1–the best among all Pac-12 players by more than a point per game. Melgoza has led the Huskies in scoring in 16 of the team's 17 Pac-12 games and is shooting 44.5% from the field and 87.2% from the free throw line. She also leads the team with 48 assists and 77 rebounds in Pac-12 play.
The senior has been among the best performers in conference play over the last three years, scoring 19.2 points per game in Pac-12 games over that stretch. That trails just Sabrina Ionescu (19.4 ppg) over that stretch, though she has had the benefit of fellow All-Conference players surrounding her. Last season, Melgoza averaged 17.4 ppg in Pac-12 play after scoring 20.6 ppg in conference play as a sophomore.
Melgoza Eclipses 1,600 Point Mark
Amber Melgoza scored 25 points against USC on Friday to become just the 12th player in UW history to score at least 1,600 points. She now has 1,643 points and ranks 11th on UW's all-time scoring list. 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 1,590 points from her sophomore year on, averaging 17.9 ppg over that stretch. (Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games.)
Melgoza Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
Melgoza has been named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 23.5 points in two games last week including an upset win over No. 8 UCLA on Sunday. Melgoza scored 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting in the Huskies' 75-66 victory over USC. She had 11 of her points in the fourth quarter including back-to-back three-pointers to stave off a late charge by the Trojans.
Sunday, Melgoza came up huge in Washington's 74-68 win over No. 8 UCLA, scoring 22 points while adding six rebounds, five assists and a steal. She again did much of her damage in the fourth, scoring eight points including a pair of tough baskets to open the quarter and four clutch free throws to seal the upset.
Big Game Amber
Melgoza has scored 20+ points in nine games this year–seven times in Pac-12 games–including three 30+ points games. She has tallied at least 20 points in a game 40 times in her career and scored 30 or more seven times.
Melgoza From The Line
Melgoza has upped her percentage from the free throw line this year to a career-best 82.6% (100-of-121), which is third in the conference among those averaging at least three FTs per game. In Pac-12 play, she has missed just 11free throws, shooting 87.2% (75-of-86)–the highest pct among those with at least 70 free throw attempts. For her career, Melgoza has connected on 79.6% of her free throw attempts, which ranks seventh-best in program history.
More About Sunday's Upset
Sunday's win over UCLA was Washington's first win over a Top 10 team since beating No. 9 UCLA 82-70 on Jan. 8, 2017. The Huskies had lost their last 16 games against Top 10 teams between its two victories over the Bruins. In addition, UW shot 52.0% from the field in the game–its best shooting percentage in Pac-12 play and second-best of the season. The game helped erase the frustration of the Huskies' OT loss to the Bruins in Los Angeles after UW led by as many as 15 in the game.
Up Next
The Huskies then head to Las Vegas for the 2020 Pac-12 Tournament at the Mandalay Bay Arena March 5-8. Seedings for the tournament will be announced after the games on Sunday.
Injuries in the Post
The Huskies suffered a pair of tough losses in the low post last week as sophomore Darcy Rees and freshman Ali Bamberger were lost for the rest of the season due to injuries.
Rees was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her foot late in the week which forced her to miss the USC game. Rees was averaging 6.9 points per game this season, scoring 10 points in each of her last two games before the injury. She also had 4.1 rebounds per game and ranked second in the Pac-12 with 35 blocks.
Bamberger stepped up big time in Rees' absence this weekend, scoring 10 points while adding a career-high eight boards against USC. She then tallied a career-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting against UCLA with five rebounds and three assists on Sunday before going down with three minutes left in the game while going for a rebound. She was diagnosed with a torn ACL, MCL, meniscus and an injured hamstring tendon and will miss a significant amount of time. She ends her freshman campaign averaging 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
UW's HOT Shooting
The Washington offense has hit its stride over the last four games, combining to shoot 48.6% from the field. The Huskies, who were shooting 38.4% entering the game at Arizona State, have posted their four of their best five shooting games of the conference schedule including hitting 52.0% from the field in the upset win over UCLA on Sunday. The Huskies are averaging 69.5 points per game over their last four games after scoring just 62.1 points per game through their first 13 games.
Pleskevich Career-High
Junior Rita Pleskevich had a banner day against UCLA on Sunday, going 6-for-6 from the field including connecting on all three attempts from three-point range in the game. (A quick review of shows she didn't even catch the rim while making all six shots.) Pleskevich, who had struggled over her last eight games, scoring a total of nine points, also added three assists and a pair of rebounds in the upset victory.
Pleskevich has now made eight-straight shots dating back to the USC game after she made her lone shot attempt at Oregon State on Friday.
GiGi's Special Senior Day
Sunday's game against UCLA was Senior Day for the Huskies and a special day for GiGi Garcia. The senior, who was a highly touted recruit out of Sacramento's CK McClatchey High School, has suffered a total of five ACL injuries including three while at UW. However, she was able to take part in the senior day festivities in a special way. Garcia surprised the team by suiting up and starting the game, winning the opening tip before coming off for a substitute. Late in the contest, Coach Wynn called on Garcia again to play the final three seconds of the game, ending her collegiate career in action on her home court.
Home Away From Home
The Huskies have had success away from home since the end of last year, winning nine of their last 16 outside of Seattle. This season, UW is 6-6 away from home (3-6 in true road games, 3-0 at neutral sites) with two of those six losses coming in overtime at UCLA and USC.
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.
Winning at Home
The winning weekend helped the Huskies end on a strong note, winning three-straight to close out the home portion of the schedule. Washington wrapped up the 2019-20 season with a 7-9 home record–its best win total at Alaska Airlines Arena in three season. In addition, the Huskies' three-game Pac-12 home winning streak is their longest in three seasons after winning just two total over the previous two years.
Van Dyke's Defensive Prowess
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke has been impressive through her second season in purple and gold, leading the team with 2.2 steals and 5.3 rebounds per game. Van Dyke ranks second in the Pac-12 and 51st in the NCAA in total steals (61) and is 65th nationally in steals per game (2.2).
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 101 more points this season than last (137) and has over twice as many steals than she did all of last year (23).
Van Dyke's Offensive Resurgence
Haley Van Dyke has been shooting well over her last six games, but has been especially strong inside the arc. Van Dyke has connected on 48.9% of her shots over the last seven games including going 18-of-26 (69.2%) on two-point tries. She had a streak of 11-straight two-point field goals made snapped against UCLA, connecting on 1-of-3, but was 6-of-8 from inside the arc over the weekend.
Close Games
Despite a 5-12 Pac-12 record, the Huskies have been in nearly every game. Twelve of the 17 games have been decided by fewer than 10 points with the Huskies holding a 5-7 mark in those games. In addition, three of those games were OT losses.
Working Overtime
After a long stretch which saw Washington play just two overtime games over a 5-1/2 year stretch including a run of 133-straight regulation contests, the Huskies have now played a program-record four overtime games this season. The worst part is that Washington is still looking for its first win in overtime and has now lost five-straight dating back to the 2017-18 season. On its last road trip, the Huskies played back-to-back OT games against the LA schools, marking just the second time UW played back-to-back overtime games.
Lucky #60!
The number 60 has been a key one for the Huskies this season, especially on defense. Washington is 9-1 when allowing 60 or fewer points to opponents this season and is 2-1 when doing so in Pac-12 games. The lone loss came against Stanford at home 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 they scored fewer than 60 points. The number has been relatively lucky for the Huskies when the offense scores 60 or more points. UW is 13-7 record in those games including winning three of its last five.
Feeling Defensive
Washington leads the Pac-12 and is among the top teams in the NCAA by forcing 18.4 turnovers per game. That's tops in the conference and 45th among 351 DI teams The Huskies are also second in the conference and 29th nationally in steals per game at 10.1 spg and 22nd overall with 284 steals.
Looking at analytics from HerHoopStats.com, the Huskies rank 54th overall with an 83.3 defensive rating and have limited teams to just 85.4 points per 100 possessions: 60th-best overall. UW also has the 52nd-best turnover rate (22.0%), turning over teams more than once every five possessions.
Washington has forced at least 20 turnovers in 11 games this year and has at least 15 turnovers forced in 22 of 28. The Huskies have recorded double-digit steals in 16 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.
Can I Assist You With That?
Washington has been moving the ball well on offense, recording 418 assists on 696 field goals this season, an assisted shot rate of 59.6%. Overall, UW ranks 53rd in the NCAA with 15.1 assists per game and 46th with 418 total assists. Last season, UW was 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.
Huskies Nearing 850 Program Victories
Washington's win over UCLA was the 849th win in program history. The Huskies are averaging 18.4 wins per year over 46 seasons. All-time Washington is 848-529, a .616 winning percentage.
Block Party!
Thanks in large part to added height this season, the Huskies have recorded 95 blocks this season: an average of 3.4 per game. That is especially impressive considering UW had just 64 in 32 games last year. Darcy Rees recorded 35 total blocks before suffering a foot injury which will sideline her the rest of the year after recording 29 all of last year. Freshman Quay Miller has recorded 14 this year while 5-11 guard T.T. Watkins has 13 including a pair against UCLA on Sunday.
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.
Home, Non-Conference Success
Washington has had success in non-conference home games over the last few years, posting a 22-5 record in such games since the start of the 2016-17 season. Going back further, UW is 37-7 in non-conference home games since the 2013-14 season.
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.
LEADING THE BREAK …
- Washington's defense continues to lead the Pac-12 and ranks 45th in the NCAA in turnovers forced at 18.81 per game and ranks second in the conference and 22nd nationally in steals (10.3 spg). The Huskies have a defensive rating of 83.3 according to HerHoopStats.com which ranks 54th in the NCAA.
- Over the last four games, the Washington is shooting 48.6% and averaging 69.5 points per game.
- Senior Amber Melgoza scored 34 points at Oregon State on Friday to move into the Top 10 of UW's all-time scoring list with 1,677 points. She is four points away from ninth on that list and 27 points from eighth.
- Melgoza leads the Pac-12 with 22.9 ppg since Feb. 1. That's 1.6 ppg better than the next closest player. She has the two highest scoring performances (35 points vs Cal and 34 at Oregon State) in the conference since the start of February and second and third-highest in all Pac-12 games.
- Sophomore Haley Van Dyke ranks second in the Pac-12 with 61 steals (2.2 spg). She also leads the Huskies with 5.4 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 8.5 points per game.
- Washington is 9-7 in its last 16 games away from home dating back to last season including a 6-6 record in such games this year (3-6 road, 3-0 neutral site). Two of those losses this year came in OT.
- Washington is coming off a banner weekend, sweeping the LA schools–its first sweep of the season– including an upset win over No. 8 UCLA on Sunday. It was UW's first win over a Top 10 team since beating No. 9 UCLA at home on Jan. 8, 2017.
- Washington's win over UCLA Sunday was the 849th in program history. All-time, the Huskies are 849-529, a .616 winning percentage.
Scouting the Ducks
Oregon clinched its third-straight regular-season Pac-12 title on Friday night with a loss by Stanford and a win over Washington State. The Ducks have been hot lately, winning 15-straight games including six wins over Top 10 teams during that stretch. The Ducks are a perfect 14-0 at home and boast the fifth-longest home winning streak in the country with 15-straight victories.
Oregon's offense has been impressive this season as the Ducks are averaging 85.8 points per game and are shooting 50.8% from the field on the year–the best in the country this season. Meanwhile, they are limiting teams to just 57.6 points per game and to 37.1% shooting. Oregon's scoring margin of +28.2 is the second-largest advantage in the NCAA just slightly behind Baylor.
Oregon has a senior-laden team full of players likely to be first-round selections in the upcoming WNBA draft. Senior Sabrina Ionescu leads the way, averaging 17.1 points, 9.0 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game. In addition, fellow senior Ruthy Hebard is contributing 17.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game this season. Junior Satou Sabally–who has already announced she is going pro next year–has added 16.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest.
All-Time Series vs Oregon
This will be the 100th meeting between the two teams all-time with Washington holding a slight 50-49 edge in the series. The Ducks are 30-16 in games in Eugene including having won the last two. However, those two games have been closer than expected with the Huskies within a single possession in the fourth quarter of both games. Overall Oregon has won five-straight games in the series dating back to the 2017 Pac-12 Tournament where the Ducks upset the No. 2 seeded Huskies 70-69 in the second round.
Last Time Out
Amber Melgoza scored 34 points—one shy of her season-high—but Washington was unable to pull of its second consecutive upset, as No. 17 Oregon State pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 75-61 win at Gill Coliseum on Friday night. Washington put up a valiant effort against Oregon State in a game which was much closer than the final score would indicate. The Huskies remained close throughout the game, fighting off run after run by the Beavers, trailing by just four heading into the fourth quarter. But OSU would pull away for good with a 9-2 run midway through the fourth to take the game by 14. Melgoza was nearly unstoppable in the game, pouring in 34 points on 14-of-26 shooting, adding seven rebounds and a steal in the contest.
Melgoza Red Hot in Conference
Despite being the main focus of every defense in the Pac-12 this season, Amber Melgoza still ranks second in the conference with 19.4 points per Pac-12 game. That number has shot up lately as Melgoza has averaged 22.9 ppg since Feb. 1–the best among all Pac-12 players by more than a point per game. Melgoza has led the Huskies in scoring in 16 of the team's 17 Pac-12 games and is shooting 44.5% from the field and 87.2% from the free throw line. She also leads the team with 48 assists and 77 rebounds in Pac-12 play.
The senior has been among the best performers in conference play over the last three years, scoring 19.2 points per game in Pac-12 games over that stretch. That trails just Sabrina Ionescu (19.4 ppg) over that stretch, though she has had the benefit of fellow All-Conference players surrounding her. Last season, Melgoza averaged 17.4 ppg in Pac-12 play after scoring 20.6 ppg in conference play as a sophomore.
Melgoza Eclipses 1,600 Point Mark
Amber Melgoza scored 25 points against USC on Friday to become just the 12th player in UW history to score at least 1,600 points. She now has 1,643 points and ranks 11th on UW's all-time scoring list. 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 1,590 points from her sophomore year on, averaging 17.9 ppg over that stretch. (Melgoza didn't play much as a freshman, scoring just 53 total points in 25 games.)
Melgoza Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
Melgoza has been named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 23.5 points in two games last week including an upset win over No. 8 UCLA on Sunday. Melgoza scored 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting in the Huskies' 75-66 victory over USC. She had 11 of her points in the fourth quarter including back-to-back three-pointers to stave off a late charge by the Trojans.
Sunday, Melgoza came up huge in Washington's 74-68 win over No. 8 UCLA, scoring 22 points while adding six rebounds, five assists and a steal. She again did much of her damage in the fourth, scoring eight points including a pair of tough baskets to open the quarter and four clutch free throws to seal the upset.
Big Game Amber
Melgoza has scored 20+ points in nine games this year–seven times in Pac-12 games–including three 30+ points games. She has tallied at least 20 points in a game 40 times in her career and scored 30 or more seven times.
Melgoza From The Line
Melgoza has upped her percentage from the free throw line this year to a career-best 82.6% (100-of-121), which is third in the conference among those averaging at least three FTs per game. In Pac-12 play, she has missed just 11free throws, shooting 87.2% (75-of-86)–the highest pct among those with at least 70 free throw attempts. For her career, Melgoza has connected on 79.6% of her free throw attempts, which ranks seventh-best in program history.
More About Sunday's Upset
Sunday's win over UCLA was Washington's first win over a Top 10 team since beating No. 9 UCLA 82-70 on Jan. 8, 2017. The Huskies had lost their last 16 games against Top 10 teams between its two victories over the Bruins. In addition, UW shot 52.0% from the field in the game–its best shooting percentage in Pac-12 play and second-best of the season. The game helped erase the frustration of the Huskies' OT loss to the Bruins in Los Angeles after UW led by as many as 15 in the game.
Up Next
The Huskies then head to Las Vegas for the 2020 Pac-12 Tournament at the Mandalay Bay Arena March 5-8. Seedings for the tournament will be announced after the games on Sunday.
Injuries in the Post
The Huskies suffered a pair of tough losses in the low post last week as sophomore Darcy Rees and freshman Ali Bamberger were lost for the rest of the season due to injuries.
Rees was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her foot late in the week which forced her to miss the USC game. Rees was averaging 6.9 points per game this season, scoring 10 points in each of her last two games before the injury. She also had 4.1 rebounds per game and ranked second in the Pac-12 with 35 blocks.
Bamberger stepped up big time in Rees' absence this weekend, scoring 10 points while adding a career-high eight boards against USC. She then tallied a career-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting against UCLA with five rebounds and three assists on Sunday before going down with three minutes left in the game while going for a rebound. She was diagnosed with a torn ACL, MCL, meniscus and an injured hamstring tendon and will miss a significant amount of time. She ends her freshman campaign averaging 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
UW's HOT Shooting
The Washington offense has hit its stride over the last four games, combining to shoot 48.6% from the field. The Huskies, who were shooting 38.4% entering the game at Arizona State, have posted their four of their best five shooting games of the conference schedule including hitting 52.0% from the field in the upset win over UCLA on Sunday. The Huskies are averaging 69.5 points per game over their last four games after scoring just 62.1 points per game through their first 13 games.
Pleskevich Career-High
Junior Rita Pleskevich had a banner day against UCLA on Sunday, going 6-for-6 from the field including connecting on all three attempts from three-point range in the game. (A quick review of shows she didn't even catch the rim while making all six shots.) Pleskevich, who had struggled over her last eight games, scoring a total of nine points, also added three assists and a pair of rebounds in the upset victory.
Pleskevich has now made eight-straight shots dating back to the USC game after she made her lone shot attempt at Oregon State on Friday.
GiGi's Special Senior Day
Sunday's game against UCLA was Senior Day for the Huskies and a special day for GiGi Garcia. The senior, who was a highly touted recruit out of Sacramento's CK McClatchey High School, has suffered a total of five ACL injuries including three while at UW. However, she was able to take part in the senior day festivities in a special way. Garcia surprised the team by suiting up and starting the game, winning the opening tip before coming off for a substitute. Late in the contest, Coach Wynn called on Garcia again to play the final three seconds of the game, ending her collegiate career in action on her home court.
Home Away From Home
The Huskies have had success away from home since the end of last year, winning nine of their last 16 outside of Seattle. This season, UW is 6-6 away from home (3-6 in true road games, 3-0 at neutral sites) with two of those six losses coming in overtime at UCLA and USC.
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.
Winning at Home
The winning weekend helped the Huskies end on a strong note, winning three-straight to close out the home portion of the schedule. Washington wrapped up the 2019-20 season with a 7-9 home record–its best win total at Alaska Airlines Arena in three season. In addition, the Huskies' three-game Pac-12 home winning streak is their longest in three seasons after winning just two total over the previous two years.
Van Dyke's Defensive Prowess
Sophomore Haley Van Dyke has been impressive through her second season in purple and gold, leading the team with 2.2 steals and 5.3 rebounds per game. Van Dyke ranks second in the Pac-12 and 51st in the NCAA in total steals (61) and is 65th nationally in steals per game (2.2).
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 101 more points this season than last (137) and has over twice as many steals than she did all of last year (23).
Van Dyke's Offensive Resurgence
Haley Van Dyke has been shooting well over her last six games, but has been especially strong inside the arc. Van Dyke has connected on 48.9% of her shots over the last seven games including going 18-of-26 (69.2%) on two-point tries. She had a streak of 11-straight two-point field goals made snapped against UCLA, connecting on 1-of-3, but was 6-of-8 from inside the arc over the weekend.
Close Games
Despite a 5-12 Pac-12 record, the Huskies have been in nearly every game. Twelve of the 17 games have been decided by fewer than 10 points with the Huskies holding a 5-7 mark in those games. In addition, three of those games were OT losses.
Working Overtime
After a long stretch which saw Washington play just two overtime games over a 5-1/2 year stretch including a run of 133-straight regulation contests, the Huskies have now played a program-record four overtime games this season. The worst part is that Washington is still looking for its first win in overtime and has now lost five-straight dating back to the 2017-18 season. On its last road trip, the Huskies played back-to-back OT games against the LA schools, marking just the second time UW played back-to-back overtime games.
Lucky #60!
The number 60 has been a key one for the Huskies this season, especially on defense. Washington is 9-1 when allowing 60 or fewer points to opponents this season and is 2-1 when doing so in Pac-12 games. The lone loss came against Stanford at home 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 they scored fewer than 60 points. The number has been relatively lucky for the Huskies when the offense scores 60 or more points. UW is 13-7 record in those games including winning three of its last five.
Feeling Defensive
Washington leads the Pac-12 and is among the top teams in the NCAA by forcing 18.4 turnovers per game. That's tops in the conference and 45th among 351 DI teams The Huskies are also second in the conference and 29th nationally in steals per game at 10.1 spg and 22nd overall with 284 steals.
Looking at analytics from HerHoopStats.com, the Huskies rank 54th overall with an 83.3 defensive rating and have limited teams to just 85.4 points per 100 possessions: 60th-best overall. UW also has the 52nd-best turnover rate (22.0%), turning over teams more than once every five possessions.
Washington has forced at least 20 turnovers in 11 games this year and has at least 15 turnovers forced in 22 of 28. The Huskies have recorded double-digit steals in 16 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.
Can I Assist You With That?
Washington has been moving the ball well on offense, recording 418 assists on 696 field goals this season, an assisted shot rate of 59.6%. Overall, UW ranks 53rd in the NCAA with 15.1 assists per game and 46th with 418 total assists. Last season, UW was 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.
Huskies Nearing 850 Program Victories
Washington's win over UCLA was the 849th win in program history. The Huskies are averaging 18.4 wins per year over 46 seasons. All-time Washington is 848-529, a .616 winning percentage.
Block Party!
Thanks in large part to added height this season, the Huskies have recorded 95 blocks this season: an average of 3.4 per game. That is especially impressive considering UW had just 64 in 32 games last year. Darcy Rees recorded 35 total blocks before suffering a foot injury which will sideline her the rest of the year after recording 29 all of last year. Freshman Quay Miller has recorded 14 this year while 5-11 guard T.T. Watkins has 13 including a pair against UCLA on Sunday.
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.
Home, Non-Conference Success
Washington has had success in non-conference home games over the last few years, posting a 22-5 record in such games since the start of the 2016-17 season. Going back further, UW is 37-7 in non-conference home games since the 2013-14 season.
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.
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