University of Washington
Washington State
On The Ropes' Huskies Respond With Gritty Effort At WSU
January 14, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2012
PULLMAN - Kevin McGuff didn't want to place unneeded emotion on the Apple Cup rivalry.
Yes, the Huskies limped onto the Palouse reeling from injuries and a soul-crushing loss to Utah. And yes, Washington State was in prime position to end a winning steak that has tilted the Huskies' way since the 1995-96 season.
None of this mattered to Washington. Despite not having Regina Rogers (hamstring) and Marjorie Heard (ACL), the Huskies imposed their will on the cross-state rival Cougars in a 60-51 victory at Friel Court on Saturday night.
Jazmine Davis led all scorers with 25 point, shouldering the Huskies load on offense with Rogers and her 16.2 ppg anchoring the interior. The jitterbug Husky point guard was unconscious from the floor, never shy about putting up a shot if the Cougars afforded her space. Davis was a robust 8-for-20 from the floor in 36 minutes of action, including four treys.
Rosie Tarnowski paced WSU - which rotated 12 players into the game - with 14 points. With the win, the Huskies improved to 10-5, 2-3 in the Pac-12 Conference. The team is now just win victory shy of last year's total, heading into next weekend's trip to the Bay Area schools. Washington State, off to one of its best starts in school history, fell to 9-8, 3-2.
Washington State opened the game hot from distance, staking a 6-2 lead on the strength of back-to-back Tarnowski three pointers. But the Huskies crawled back into the game utilizing two McGuff principles - defense and rebounding. The Cougars cooled off from the field and the combination of Mackenzie Argens and Mollie Williams allowed the Huskies to patrol the glass. As a team, Washington outrebounded WSU 48-38, including 17 on the offensive end.
On offense, the Huskies were able to exploit the Cougars zone with crisp ball movement and by limiting turnovers. The Huskies had just 15 giveaways, with just two coming from Davis.
Following the game, McGuff steered the conversation around the 33-game Husky winning streak and more towards the program's development. All week long, McGuff noted how his philosophy isn't to place too much importance on one game in expense of the Pac-12 season.
