Defense, Redmon’s clutch shot help UW beat Purdue

Published 11:32 pm Friday, December 21, 2007

SEATTLE — Katelan Redmon’s shot fell, Sara Mosiman intercepted the inbound pass and, once the last couple of seconds ticked away, the Huskies celebrated, jumping up and down in front of their bench.

It may have been the only time every player on Washington’s roster was on her feet at the same time Friday night.

On an evening when shots weren’t falling and passes were sometimes off the mark and out of bounds, the Husky women still managed to pull off an emotional 66-65 victory over Purdue thanks to a gritty defensive effort.

UW players sacrificed their bodies with reckless abandon for two halves, diving for loose balls and taking charges while playing swarming pressure defense.

“It was all purely defense,” Washington coach Tia Jackson said. “As you can see we shot (39.7 percent) from the floor. We couldn’t buy a basket, but we got opportunities created by our defense that was just absolutely phenomenal. Right now we have the right attitude. It starts on defense and we are just going to continue to build on that momentum.”

And while defense, which harassed the Boilermakers into 30 turnovers, got the job done most of the night, a shot had to go in for the Huskies to cap a comeback from a 12-point deficit in the final 10 minutes.

Leading 65-64 with 23 seconds left, Purdue broke free of Washington’s pressure defense in the backcourt, but in a move typifying the Huskies’ blue-collar effort on this night, Emily Florence chased down Kalika France and fouled the Boilermakers forward before she could convert an easy layin.

Florence’s hustle paid off as France missed both free throws with 14 seconds remaining. Andrea Plouffe secured the rebound and passed to Redmon, who brought the ball down court looking to find Mosiman. When Plan A wasn’t available, Redmon drove to her left, pulled up and buried a 12-footer that gave the Huskies their first lead since they led 8-7 eight minutes into the game.

“It was supposed to go to ‘Mo’ and I couldn’t get her the ball, so I took it and it went in,” said Redmon, who made just four of 11 shots prior to the game winner. “Probably one of the only shots I hit all night.”

And when the horn sounded, and the Hec Edmundson Pavilion scoreboard read “Washington 66, Purdue 65,” the players and coaches celebrated in a manner rarely seen after a non-conference win over a sub-.500 team.

“It felt like a step towards something greater,” said Mosiman, who like the rest of her teammates was relieved to end a three-game losing streak. “We knew how much potential we have and we practice so hard. We were just waiting for the game (when) the practice (would) transfer over into a game and it just happened tonight. I think a lot of us are just relieved to know that we can do it. Now we are just going to keep building on it.”

While Redmon tallied the final points, it was Sami Whitcomb and Mosiman who brought the Huskies back on the offensive end. After making one of six shots for two points in the first half, Whitcomb scored 16 in the second, including 14 of her team’s 18 points during an 18-8 run that cut a 12-point lead to two. Mosiman, meanwhile, scored a career high 14 points, including a pair of baskets in the final 1:30 that cut a five-point lead to one.

After Washington built an early advantage, Purdue took the lead, then stretched it to nine points by halftime, thanks in large part to a late surge by Lakisha Freeman, who scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the final 3:06 of the first half. That lead hit double digits several times in the second half, and maxed out at 12 points before Washington started to chip away.

“We know how good we can be now,” said Florence, who finished with nine rebounds, five steals, five assists and countless floor burns. “It’s all going to come from hard work and defense and we can’t just rely on our athletic ability, because sometimes there are teams that are way more athletic than us, so we have to rely on our defense and outworking people.”

Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington athletics, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog