Women's Basketball Prepares for the Cougars
March 4, 1998
This Week
at Hec Edmundson Pavilion
Game 27
Washington Huskies
(17-9 overall, 8-9 Pac-10)
vs.
Washington State Cougars
(12-14 overall, 6-11 Pac-10)
3 p.m. PST
Sat., March 7
Hec Edmundson Pavilion
The Coaches
June Daugherty (Ohio St., 78)
Record at UW: 34-20 (2nd yr.)
Career record: 157-94 (9th yr.)
Harold Rhodes (WSU, 77)
at WSU: 183-254 (16th yr.)
Career record: same
Last Week
at USC 65, UW 63
at UCLA 96, UW 72
at UCLA 80, WSU 74
WSU 68, at USC 65
NCAA Tournament
Selection Show
The championship bracket will be announced on ESPN Sunday, March 8 at 4:30 p.m. PST (6:30 p.m. CST).
This Week: Washington wraps up the 1997-98 regular season with a final home game against rival Washington State in a 3 p.m. tip, Sat., March 7 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. A victory would give the Huskies 18 wins for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
The Huskies, who dropped out of the Associated Press rankings after 13 straight weeks, are looking to rebound from a two-game road sweep suffered in Los Angeles. The Dawgs fell first to USC, 65-63, and then to UCLA, 96-72. They remain alone in fifth place in the Pac-10 standings.
WSU split its last weekend, falling first to UCLA, 80-74, and then defeating USC, 68-65. The Cougars, who have won three of their last five games, are in eighth place in the conference standings.
Washington won the first meeting with WSU this season, 73-58, in the conference opener for both teams Jan. 3 in Pullman. A UW victory Saturday would the Huskies a third straight series sweep. The last WSU win in the series came in 1995, a 72-67 game in Pullman. The last time WSU won in Seattle was in 1993, when the Cougars came away with a 75-72 overtime victory.
Radio/Television: All Husky games are carried live on KEZX Radio (1150 AM). Bill Swartz calls the action. There is no television for the game this week.
Probable Husky Starters
23 - Amber Hall F 6-1 Jr. 17.5 ppg, 10.9 rpg 22 - Gena Pelz C 6-2 Sr. 6.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg 11 - Jamie Redd G 5-10 Jr. 18.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.3 apg 14 - Megan Franza G 5-10 Fr. 7.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg 24 - Molly Hills G 5-9 Jr. 5.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Husky Note: UW owns a 15-6 record using the above lineup. This was the starting lineup for the first 12 games of the season, a run which included a 10-0 startart and No. 7 ranking. Hall and Pelz have started every game this year.
Looking Back: No. 8 Washington improved its record to 10-0, the best start for a Husky squad since going 11-0 in 1976, with a 73-58 victory over Washington State in its Pac-10 Conference opener Jan. 3 in Pullman. The Huskies also jumped to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll the following week, for UWs highest ranking since 1994.
All five Husky starters were key factors in the victory, led by Jamie Redds 17 points and five assists. Amber Hall added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Molly Hills had a then-career-best 11 points, including three of four three pointers. Megan Franza sparked the Huskies in the second half as she scored eight points in the first five minutes of the second stanza. Gena Pelz added seven boards in the effort.
For the Cougars, freshman Alke Dietel had a game-high 22 points and Yvonne Kunze added 18 points and 11 boards.
The game can also be remembered for having just one official, Mary Whatford, call the game. The other two could not make it to Pullman because of bad weather.
Huskies in the Polls: After two road losses, the Huskies dropped out of the Associated Press Poll after 13 straight weeks in the rankings. After not being ranked in the preseason polls, UW moved into the AP Poll the week of Dec. 1 and into the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll the week of Dec. 14.
The No. 7 ranking in the AP Poll the week of Jan. 4 marked the Huskies highest showing since Nov. 30, 1994, when UW stood at No. 8 after winning the preseason WNIT and games over No. 22 Seton Hall and No. 6 Texas Tech. Washingtons highest ever ranking in the AP poll was its final standing in 1990 when the Huskies were No. 3. Here is a look at the UWs rankings through the season: AP USA Today
Preseason votes votes Nov. 17 votes votes Nov. 24 votes votes Dec. 1 24 votes Dec. 8 19 votes Dec. 14 14 20 Dec. 21 9 11 Dec. 28 8 11 Jan. 4 7 8 Jan. 11 13 13 Jan. 19 15 16 Jan. 25 18 19 Feb. 1 21 20 Feb. 9 17 17 Feb. 15 21 21 Feb. 23 23 25
March 2 Votes
Amber Hall ~ All-America Candidate: After another double-double at USC, Amber Hall now has 18 on the season, giving her 11 more than the next league player, Stanfords Kristin Folkl with seven. She has 284 rebounds this year and needs 16 more to become the 13th player in Pac-10 history to grab 300 in a season.
After two straight games in which she was held without double-doubles, Hall had a career game against Cal, Feb. 21. She notched a career-best 32 points (12-24 fg) along with 13 rebounds.
She has led the Pac-10 in rebounding all season, currently averages 10.9 boards per game, and is ranked ninth in the country with that mark. The next closest player, UCLAs Maylana Martin, brings down 7.8 rpg.
Hall, from Vancouver, B.C., enters this weekend with 692 career rebounds in her two and one-half years. She moved into 10th place on the UW career chart against Stanford and after the LA roadtrip, moved into eighth place. She needs 19 more to move into seventh place. Often called Denise Rodman by her teammates, Hall is the second-leading scorer for the Huskies and has increased her point average to 17.5 per game. Her scoring average puts her fifth in the conference standings. She had a career-high 21 rebounds at ASU this year. She has started every game and has scored over 20 points in 10 games. She is a two-time Pac-10 Player of the Week selection this year.
Amber Hall has the ability to take the whole team on her back and carry them to a win. She ate up the glass today. ~California coach Marianne Stanley
Sweeps Week: A victory over WSU would give the Huskies their second series sweep of the season. The OSU series was the first, with an 84-74 victory in Corvallis and a 78-64 win in Seattle, Jan. 17. UW garnered its first weekend sweep of the season when they had home victories over Arizona and Arizona State the week of Feb. 5. Off the Bench: Junior Malinda Lynch has been a steady performer for the Huskies this season, playing off the bench in all 26 games. She averages 15 minutes per game and is shooting a team-best 46 percent from the field (59-128). She had a career-high 17 points versus Loyola Marymount earlier in the season and has scored in double figures in six games.
Last year Lynch started the last five games for the Huskies, a span which included the season-ending road trip in Los Angeles that propelled the Huskies to an NCAA Tournament berth. She pulled down a career-best 15 rebounds in the final game at USC.
Lynch, called Utah by her teammates, was named Most Inspirational Husky last year and is likely to be a repeat winner. It was her inspirational story that led the team to adopt the slogan HTR for the season. It means hold the rope and can be seen written on the players legs and arms on game days. Lynch is also an avid volunteer at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Strong and Steady: Though she often gets overlooked behind teammate Amber Halls consistently high rebounding numbers, senior Gena Pelz has quietly moved onto and up the UW career rebounding chart this season. She entered the season with 619 boards and has added 187 this year, vaulting her to No. 3 on the all-time chart with 806 behind such familiar names as leader Carlin McClary (982) and current ABL player Karen Deden (912). She moved past Rhonda Smith (803) last weekend at USC. Pelz also became the 16th player in Pac-10 history to reach the 800 rebound mark.
Pelz currently ranks fifth in the Pac-10 in rebounding with a 7.2 average. She grabbed her second double-double of the year in the upset of Arizona, with 15 points and 11 boards. She opened the season with a career-high 19 boards at Boise State.
Pelz, one of two players to start every game this season, has played in every UW contest since her freshman year, making that 116 games since 1994-95. She has started 52 of the last 54 games and 74 of the last 77.
Gena is our garbage player, says UW coach June Daugherty. She gets overlooked a lot because she doesnt always have the gaudy numbers, but she comes to play every single night. Gena does all the dirty work down low and is an outstanding senior leader on this team.
Red-Handed: The Huskies remain third in the Pac-10 in steals per game with an 11.42 average, behind Arizonas 12.20 and UCLAs 11.68 spg. Amber Hall leads UW with 63 thefts this season and is third in the Pac-10 with 2.42 spg. Jamie Redd has 45 and Gena Pelz 41. As a team, UW has 296 steals while UW opponents have 247.
The Competition: UWs Feb. 19 game with No. 5 Stanford was the fourth time this season the Huskies played a team ranked in The A P Top 10. UW has a 2-2 record in those games, with victories over No. 5 Vanderbilt (Dec. 6) and No. 8 Arizona (Feb. 5) as well as losses to Arizona (Jan.10) when the Wildcats were ranked No. 10 and the most recent loss to No. 5 Stanford (2/19).
Overall, the Huskies are 4-3 versus top 25 teams this season. They had been ranked in the top 25 since the week of Dec. 1 and spent three weeks in the top 10 (Dec. 21-Jan. 4). UW also defeated Kansas, Nov. 29, when the Jayhawks were ranked 26th.
All-America Candidate ~ Jamie Redd: Jamie Redd has had three double-doubles in the last four games (Stanford, Cal, UCLA) and now has 12 in her career. This past week at UCLA, she had 12 points and 11 rebounds along with 21 points and five boards at USC.
She is averaging 18.8 points per game, third in the Pac-10. In the Stanford game (Feb. 19), her 13 boards tied the career-high she set against Vanderbilt last year. She also broke the single-game school record she shared with Megan Franza for three point attempts with 14, topping the old mark of 13 set earlier this year versus North Carolina St. (12/21). Redd matched the mark two days later against Cal.
Redd, who is seventh on the UW career scoring chart, joined the Pac-10 1500 club last week and now has 1,503 career points.
She has scored 20 or more points in 13 games this season with a high of 33 at Gonzaga (12/9/97). Redd has equalled the school record for three pointers in a game twice this season, with six versus Montana St. and NC St. She has made at least one three-pointer in all but three games this year and when she did not connect against Oregon St., it broke a string of 20 straight games in which she had made at least one. Redd earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for her efforts in UWs victories over Montana St. and No. 5 Vanderbilt. Redd plays both the point and two-guard. Jamie Redd is a gamer. She wants the ball when the game is on the line. When as a team you need a basket, she can create a shot on her own. There are very few players who have the talent to do that. She also does a good job of getting the crowd into the game with her enthusiasm. ~California coach Marianne Stanley
Here is where Redd stands on the UW career scoring list: UW Career Scoring
Name Yrs. Games Points 1. Rhonda Smith 1992-95 116 1801 2. Karen Murray 1981-84 107 1745 3. Leteia Hughley 1982-85 106 1704 4. Yvette Cole 1986-89 123 1681 5. Karen Deden 1988-91 116 1596 6. Carlin McClary 1979-82 112 1508 7. Jamie Redd 1995-83 1503
OT Note: UW played its first overtime game of the season when it defeated Cal, 83-78, last week. It was the first overtime game since the Huskies lost to No. 15 Penn State (11/30/97) in the second game of the season last year. UWs all-time record in overtime games is 6-6. It was just the second home overtime victory for the Huskies, who are now 2-4 all-time in Edmundson Pavilion OT contests.
Check the Numbers: Washington was undefeated in non-conference play this season, for the first time in the Pac-10 era (1986-present). Here is a look at opponents Associated Press rankings when they played UW and this week:
Opponent Vs. UW This Week Kansas 26 votes Iowa 18 24 Vanderbilt 5 19 North Carolina St. 20 10
Molly Hills - Then and Now: Junior guard/forward Molly Hills has received accolades as the Huskies most improved player this season. She has started all but two games and is averaging 22 minutes per contest. Hills had a career-best 14 points versus USC, Jan. 31. It marked the first time she had ever led the Huskies in scoring. At home against California last week, she calmly sank two free throws to put the Huskies ahead by one point with 14 seconds left in the game. She also matched her career-high of six rebounds in the game. Here is a look at her numbers over the last two years and her numbers this season:
G/S fg/a 3fg ft/a rb a-to st pts av
95-96 25/1 10-38 0-5 17-22 34 9-15 8 37 1.5
96-97 19/0 2-11 0-0 10-14 6 2-8 5 14 0.7
97-98 24/22 46-133 28-80 19-33 76 35-60 27 139 5.8
Looking at UW: Washington opened the 1997-98 season with a 10-game winning streak and vaulted to a No. 7 ranking by the week of Jan. 5, gathering wins over formidable competition including No. 26 Kansas, No. 18 Iowa, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 20 North Carolina State. The streak was snapped with a pair of losses on the first Pac-10 road trip of the season, a buzzer beater at Arizona State and a 31-point drubbing at then-No. 10 Arizona. The losses prevented UW from matching its best start in school history, an 11-0 run in 1976-77. The road games were followed by a loss to Oregon which snapped an eight-game home win streak dating back to last season.
UW got back on the winning track with a 78-64 victory over Oregon State in which all three Husky post players scored in double figures. A 72-51 road win at California put the Huskies back at .500 in conference play but it was followed by a 90-70 loss at No. 13 Stanford.
An 80-59 home loss to UCLA gave the Huskies back-to-back losses for the second time this season but they halted the skid against USC, gaining a 67-60 victory in a game that marked the return of former UW coach Chris Gobrecht to Edmundson Pavilion.
Against No. 8 Arizona, the 21st-ranked Huskies exacted revenge for a 31-point loss earlier in the season as they downed the Wildcats 77-73 in Seattle and hit the .500 mark from the field for the first time all season. They avenged another loss, their first of the season, by dropping ASU, 62-39, and holding the Sun Devils to a Pac-10 season-low 20 percent shooting.
Bombs Away: The Huskies havent been shy about shooting from behind the arc this season ... they have a season-high of 13 made vs. Vanderbilt and have hit nine two other times (MSU/LMU) ... the Huskies did not connect on a three-pointer against UCLA, the first time they have been shut out this season ... however, they still attempted 18 ... UW has attempted a league-high 473 threes in its 24 games, 57 more than the next closest team (WSU, 416) ... 132-of-473 figures out to 28 percent for the Huskies ... opponents are hitting 28 percent (75-267) ... as a team, the Huskies have attempted over 20 treys in 12 games with a high of 27 versus North Carolina St. (12/21) and Stanford (2/19) ... here is a look at UW three point records the Huskies have tied or broken this season: Team
27 - 3 pt. FG attempted vs. NC State (12/21/) and Stanford (2/19) (old - 25 vs. Vanderbilt, 3/15/97) 13 - 3 pt. FG made vs. NC State, Dec. 21 (old - 11 vs. Oregon St., 1/20/94)
Individual
6 - 3 pt. FG made/game - Jamie Redd tied twice vs. MSU (12/4) and NC St. (12/21)
(old - Jocelyn McIntire, 6 at Arizona, 1/3/91)
14 - 3 pt. FG attempted/game - J. Redd vs. Stan (2/19), vs. Cal (2/21) (old -13 - Jamie Redd vs. NC State (12/21) and Megan Franza vs. Vanderbilt (12/6). (previous - Jamie Redd, 12 vs. Penn St., 11/30/96)
Husky Quick Note ...
* After starting the season 10-0, the Huskies were stopped just short of matching the best ever start in school history, 11-0 in 1976-77, with the loss at Arizona State (1/8/98).
