University of Washington
Cal State Northridge
Huskies Carve Up Matadors, 73-55, In Third Straight Victory
December 08, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2010
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - One week after a heart-thumping road victory, the Huskies finally had a chance to exhale.
Kristi Kingma scored 21 points to lead the Washington women's basketball team to a 73-55 win over Cal State-Northridge on Wednesday night, capping the team's five-game swing away from Hec Edmundson Pavilion in a dominant fashion at the Matadome. In a far cry from the thriller last week at Utah, the Huskies were rarely tested by the 0-10 Matadors.
The third straight win for the Huskies (4-2) gives them a surge of momentum heading into an upcoming five-game home stand, which begins on Sunday with another Big West Conference foe in UC Riverside, an NCAA Tournament team last season.
"Most enjoyable thing is going 3-0 in the last three games," said Coach Tia Jackson. "That's what I told the kids coming out of the locker room. Really, really proud of their effort, especially since we had to go on the road to do it."
Against the Matadors, it was the Huskies' pressure defense that set the tone early. Utilizing their athletic advantage, the Huskies rattled the cages of the Matador guards, leading to a conga line of backcourt turnovers. In the first half alone, the Huskies scored 24 of their 38 points off CSUN giveaways. Overall, the Huskies forced 26 Matador turnovers while committing just 14 of their own.
Offensively, the Huskies came through with their best performance of the season. In her second game back in the starting lineup, Sarah Morton tallied 13 points and a game-high four assists. Mercedes Wetmore was a key contributor in the first half with 10 points, while walk-on Kassia Fortier was the crucial sub in the second, tallying nine points. Wetmore and Kingma hooked up for the highlight of the night, a slick 2-and-1 fast break off a turnover that led to a layup.
Kingma wasn't particularly satisfied with her game overall (made just 7-of-18 shots), but noted the W trumps anything laid out on the stat sheet.
"A road win is a road win," Kingma said. "Obviously there are so many things we could work on, but it feels good to come away from here with a win."
Cal State-Northridge made several runs in the first half, buoyed by a small but feisty crowd at the Matadome. At one point, the Matadors whittled the UW lead to 16, leading to a timeout from Jackson. Kingma responded with a three-pointer from the corner, and the Huskies began to salt the game away.
After the game, Jackson made it a point to credit Fortier for her hard work in the second half. She liked the "attack mode" the guard displayed in making aggressive moves to basket. When the Huskies rolled out five freshmen on the floor, it was Fortier who asserted herself as the leader in the huddle and during plays.
Because of the Southern California location, several Huskies had the opportunity to play in front of family and friends. Mollie Williams - who scored nine points to go along with nine rebounds - had a troupe of relatives make the trip up the highway from nearby Cerritos. Same with Amanda Johnson, whose parents live near the coast in Manhattan Beach. Even former student manager McCall Hall, who lives in Los Angeles, made it to the game.
Before the game, Jackson set a goal of 65 points and 40 rebounds, meaning she came away pleased from the performance. Like all coaches, she'll always savor a road victory, especially one that comes at the end of a long trip.
"It instills a lot of confidence too," Jackson said. "We're going to enjoy it, but going forward it should help us down the road as well."
