Women's Basketball Ready For Huskies In Pac-12 Tournament

Thursday, March 7

Las Vegas, NV

9:30 PM

University of Utah

Washington

Photo by: Steve C. Wilson

Women's Basketball Ready For Huskies In Pac-12 Tournament

3/4/2019 2:50 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Game 30 vs. Washington | Pac-12 Tournament First Round
Date: Thursday, March 7
Time: 9:30 p.m. MT
Location: Las Vegas, Nev. (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
Radio: ESPN 700
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Stats: Pac-12.com

The Basics: The Utah women's basketball program will open the 2019 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament against the Washington Huskies in the first round on Thursday, March 7. The game is set for an 9:30 p.m. MT tip.

How to Tune In: The game against Washington will air on Pac-12 Networks. Fans can also catch the game in action on the radio with Tyson Ewing calling the shots on ESPN 700.

In the Tournament: Utah is 2-7 in the Pac-12 Tournament since 2011, beating Arizona in 2013 and Washington in 2014, both in the first round of the tournament.

The Opponent: The Washington Huskies enter the game against the Utes 9-20 overall, finishing Pac-12 play 2-15 as the No. 11 seed in the tournament. Their only two Pac-12 wins came against Colorado, beating them on Jan. 11 (68-58) and Feb. 24 (60-46). Despite the struggles they have had on offense, the Huskies have been quick on defense, ranking third in the Pac-12 in steals per game, averaging 8.2. They are led in scoring by Amber Melgoza, who is averaging 17.8 points per game which ranks eighth in the Pac-12. She also ranks sixth in the league in free throw percentage (.814) and is tied for third in 20-point games (15).

Next Up: With a win on Thursday, the Utes would advance to the quarterfinal game against Oregon State on Friday at 9:30 p.m. MT.

Three Pointers:
• It was a year of firsts and highs in Lynne Roberts's fourth season, claiming its first 20-win season under her direction, winning the most conference games in a season since joining the Pac-12 (nine) and finishing sixth in the league, the highest finish since joining the conference in 2011.
• Utah's nine Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors set a Pac-12 record for most freshman of the week honors by a program in a season, passing Cal who had eight in 2015-16. Edwards's six awards is the third most by a player in a season (Kristine Anigwe - Cal, 8; Kelsey Plum - Washington, 7).
• Utah is shooting 38-percent from the arc this season, ranking ninth nationally and second in the Pac-12. The Utes currently have three players ranked in the top-15 in the Pac-12 in three-point percentage (Sarah Porter – 3^rd| Kiana Moore – 13^th| Megan Huff – 14^th).

Last Time Out: The Utes were once again plagued by turnovers for the second straight game, committing a season-high 23 against USC on Sunday afternoon. Utah held a six-point lead with 24 seconds remaining in the game, but the Utes gave up a three-pointer and some untimely fouls in the remaining seconds of regulation that allowed USC to send the game into overtime. The Trojans would go on to win the game 83-77 in the extra period, giving Utah its eighth loss in the last 10 games. Megan Huff put up 30 points for the Utes, her second 30-point game of the season with Kiana Moore adding 13 points and Dru Gylten chipping in 12.

Utah vs. The Pac-12: The Utes are 114-157 against the current members of the Pac-12. Since joining the Pac-12 in 2011-12, Utah is 53-91 in conference play.

Quick 1,000: With her 30 points against USC on Sunday, Megan Huff became Utah's 29^th1,000-point scorer in program history and just the third to do it in two seasons (Kim Smith, Michelle Plouffe). She now has 1,019 points through 59 games in a Utah uniform. Throw in her 455 points during her time at Hawaii, and the Federal Way, Wash. native has 1,474 points as a Division I women's basketball player.

Power Points: Megan Huff has 579 points this season through 29 games, ranking fifth in the Pac-12 in total points and fourth in points per game (20.0). Her 579 points also ranks No. 7 all-time at Utah in single-season scoring.

Huff and 30: Megan Huff scored her second-career 30-point game against USC on Friday, shooting 8-of-20 from the floor and 13-of-13 from the free throw line. She is one of just nine players in the Pac-12 to score multiple 30-point games this season, also throwing down a career-best 38 against Oregon.

Shining from the Stripe: Megan Huff knocked down a career-best 13 free throws against USC, going a perfect 13-of-13 from the line. Her 13 made free throws is the most by a Pac-12 player in conference games only and a career-high for the senior. The school record for free throws made is 16, set by Morgan Warburton in 2008 against USC.

Balanced Attack: Of the 10 players Utah started with this season, seven have led the Utes in scoring on at least one occasion with all eight of its players scoring in double digits at least once. Utah has had seven different players reach the 20-point mark this season as well, the most players on one team to reach the 20-point mark in the Pac-12.