University of Washington
Cal State Northridge
Second-Half Rally Lifts Huskies Past Northridge, 73-67
November 19, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2011
Final Stats | Notes | VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference
SEATTLE - At first, nothing seemed to go right for Washington. But the lessons hammered home by first-year coach Kevin McGuff are continuing to teach the Huskies his brand of toughness and resiliency.
Trailing by 17 in the first half, the Washington women's basketball team rallied for a 73-67 win over Cal State Northridge at Alaska Airlines Arena on Saturday afternoon. Regina Rogers and Mercedes Wetmore scored 17 apiece to spearhead the comeback, which allowed the Huskies to edge back over .500 at 2-1 on the young season.
For the Huskies, it was their biggest deficit overcome since climbing back from an 18-point hold against Oregon on Feb. 3, 2011.
But as thrilled as McGuff was with the outcome, he still knows there is ample opportunity for improvement with his young program.
"To our team's credit, we got things together after the first half," McGuff said. "I was proud of our effort in the second half."
Throughout the first 10 minutes the game, the Huskies biggest obstacle was themselves. Missed shots on offense were coupled with poor defensive assignments. A lack of a presence on the boards led to second-chance points for the Matadors.
Turnovers were perhaps the biggest culprit, allowing Northridge turn Husky mistakes into easy points.
"Northridge played much harder than us in the first half and really took it to us," McGuff said.
The Huskies rebounded in the final 20 minutes with a flurry of defensive changes, at one point rotating five different looks at the confused Matadors, who fell to 2-2 with the loss. What helped spur the comeback was UW's quality free-throw shooting.
Washington made 25-of-30 free throws, a remarkable 83 percent effort. Wetmore was the team's ice-in-the-veins closer at the end, making 9-of-10 to seal the win.
"We were able to get to the line with a lot of aggressive play," McGuff said. "It was nice to see a lot of people step up and make good free throws."
Jasmine Erving led the Matadors with 21 points. She had success on CSUN's pick-and-pop plays, making 8-of-18 shots from the floor. Another catalyst for the early Northridge run was the quick hands of Ashlee Guay, who finished with seven steals.
After the game, Rogers told media members that her group is still jittery at times trying to learn all of McGuff's system, which they have to digest on the fly.
"This is a new defense, new coaches, and we're still learning different things every day," said Rogers, who made 7-of-10 from the floor.
Once again, the Huskies bench was a solid contributor in the victory. Mackenzie Argens added 10 points and six boards, while Kellie McCann-Smith hit a critical 3-pointer late in the second half. This helped the Huskies absorb a season-high 25 turnovers.
Northridge traveled to Seattle on the tail end of a four-game road trip. But there were no heavy legs for the Matadors as the team jumped to a 9-2 lead right from the onset. Washington didn't effectively respond until the midway point of the half, when the team chipped away at the lead from the line
Quick Dribbles: The Huskies held a brief moment of silence before the game for the Oklahoma State coaches who perished in a tragic accident ... Wetmore set a new career-high with 17 points and nine free throws made.
