Huskies Drop OT Contest To Cougars
PULLMAN, Wash. -- The Washington women's basketball team visited Washington State on Friday night in the first of two matchups in the Boeing Apple Cup Series.
UW was able to battle through adversity against an NCAA Tournament-caliber team on the road, but ultimately dropped a close game in overtime, 60-56.
It was a balanced effort early for the Huskies, with five different players combining for the opening 10 points of the game. After WSU took a 6-5 lead, Darcy Rees drained her first three-pointer of the season before a Missy Peterson layup made it a 10-6 advantage for UW.
With 30 seconds left in the quarter, T.T. Watkins hit a three-pointer to round out an 8-2 run for the Huskies and give them a 13-8 lead after one quarter. It marked the 13th time this season that UW has held a team to single digit points in a quarter.
Washington came out shooting hot in the second half, spearheaded by a Nancy Mulkey triple to open the scoring. One minute later, Trinity Oliver hit a three to tie the game at 27-27 before Lauren Schwartz would make a three of her own to give UW a 31-29 advantage.
The Huskies would hang 23 points in the third quarter and outscore WSU by 10 points to come back and take a 42-37 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
From the 1:56 mark in the third to the 4:42 mark in the fourth quarter, the UW defense completely locked down WSU, holding the Cougars scoreless for over seven minutes and helping the Huskies build a 46-37 lead.
Basketball is a game of runs, however, and WSU used a quick 7-0 spurt to get back in the game before eventually tying the game on a three-pointer with 14 seconds left and sending the game into overtime.
The two teams traded scores in overtime, finding themselves locked up at 56-56 with under a minute left. WSU would close out the game with 4 made free throws to hold on for a 60-56 win.
Haley Van Dyke registered her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Peterson added another 10 points, while dishing out five assists with zero turnovers. Schwartz was the third Husky in double figures with 11 points.
Darcy Rees gave UW a big boost off the bench on her birthday, hitting a three-pointer and finishing with 8 points in 11 minutes of action.
As a team, Washington had its best rebounding performance of the season, out-rebounding WSU 50-34 for a season-best +16 margin. The 18 offensive rebounds by the Huskies were also a season high.
Washington will now welcome the Cougars to Alaska Airlines Arena on Sunday afternoon for a 12:00 p.m. tip in the second round of the Boeing Apple Cup Series.