Dawgs Win Home Opener Over South Dakota, 96-82
Box Score
SEATTLE – Washington improved to 1-1 on the season, defeating South Dakota, 96-82, on Thursday night at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Dawgs got another big scoring performance from Kelsey Plum, who netted 37 points, but this time coming in a victory.
Plum was already the only Husky to ever score 35-plus more than once, but she has now done it in back-to-back games and four times in her career. She wasn’t the only Dawg with a scoring touch, however, as four Huskies finished in double figures.
Among those in double figures was Jazmine Davis, who finished with 16 points, including 6-8 from the foul line. The six makes from the charity stripe gave Davis 435 made free throws for her career, a new Washington record.
Aminah Williams chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds as she earned her first double-double of the season. Katie Collier finished with 10 points, making her first start of the season.
Washington jumped out to an early lead this time, after falling behind early in the season-opening loss at Oklahoma. The Dawgs led 9-3 just 3:49 into the game as they played an NCAA Tournament team from a year ago for the second time in as many games.
Plum had it going early on, making her first three field goals and four free throws to help the Dawgs take control in the first half. Washington led 42-33 at the break as Plum finished with 21 points in the period. The Huskies also had it going from beyond the 3-point arc four different player made 3-point shots. Talia Walton continued her hot shooting from 3-point range early in the year, while Brianna Ruiz and Kelli Kingma came off the bench to provide shooting from distance as well.
The Dawgs extended the margin in the second half, leading by as many as 23. Davis had 10 after the break and added six assists as the Coyotes had no answer for keeping the senior guard out of the lane. The Huskies finished with 11 3-pointers on the night as Plum made 5-9, while Ruiz finished 3-5 from beyond the arc for a career-best nine points.
The Dawgs also forced South Dakota into 17 turnovers, led by three steals apiece from Plum and Davis. Collier led the Dawgs with three blocked shots, provided a much needed presence in the middle.
Washington finished 30-69 (43.5 percent), while holding South Dakota to 24-65 (36.9 percent). The Dawgs were also 25-33 from the foul line as Plum finished 12-15, making 12 free throw for the second-straight game.
The Dawgs will finish up their November home slate this Sunday with an evening game against Yale. Washington will welcome back Chris Gobrecht, now the coach of the Bulldogs and the all-time winningest coach at UW for a 7:30 p.m. tip.