Washington’s Season Ends In First Round Of Pac-12 Tournament

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- In a battle to the end in the First Round of the Pac-12 Tournament, the Washington women's basketball team fell to Colorado 64-52 in Las Vegas.
 
The Huskies (7-16, 2-12) came out playing lock-down defense. They held the Buffalos (21-7, 9-7) to only 12 points in the first quarter. Going into period two, the Dawgs were down by just four. 
 
In the second quarter, it continued to be a back-and-forth contest. Nancy Mulkey, the leading shot blocker in the conference, added to her season total with four blocks in the first half. Colorado had the 21-17 lead going into the break. 
 
In the start of the second half, Washington capitalized on the backdoor cut, scoring a pair of quick buckets. 
 
Lauren Schwartz hit an and-one reverse layup to cut the Colorado lead to three with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. On the following play, Mulkey got fouled and was awarded a pair of free throws. She drained both to put the Huskies down by only a point. 
 
Mulkey then hit a three to take the lead, sparking a three-point contest to end the third quarter. Trinity Oliver, who finished with seven points, followed up with a three, and Missy Peterson hit her second three of the game with seconds left in the third. The three shots from beyond the arc were all drained in under two minutes. 
 
"I think that this team's always been a team that really shares the ball and is very unselfish and I felt that when it was someone's time to step up and take the shot, we did that," head coach Tina Langley said. "I liked our aggressiveness very much."
 
Washington was down by one going into the final 10 minutes. It continued to be a close game with both teams hot on the offensive end. 
 
With 3:44 left in the game, Schwartz hit a shot-clock beating three to put the Dawgs within one. In the end, Colorado was able to pull away and secure the win. 
 
"We were just ready to play…We've been playing great," Mulkey said. "We came in ready to play Colorado, just fighting until the end."
 
Schwartz and Mulkey contributed 11 a piece for Washington to be the leading scorers. Van Dyke and Peterson both scored eight for a well-balanced Husky offense. 
 
Washington's season concludes in Las Vegas. 
 
"We're a growing team," Oliver said. "We knew that from the beginning. We knew what we were getting into, as far as being a new team, new players, new coach, everything coming together. So, you have to grow with each other and e