SEATTLE – They were languid and slow. No intensity. They needed a kick-start.
Defensively, the Washington Huskies women’s team lacked for 30 minutes against Gonzaga in the first round of the Husky Classic and trailed by as many as five points in the second half.
A kick-start? UW coach June Daugherty supplied a kick in the hind-end area.
“June screamed at us on the bench to pick up our defense and our intensity,” said guard Giuliana Mendiola, who scored half of her 22 points in the last six minutes of Washington’s 70-56 victory before 4,141 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion Friday night.
“I definitely think our team prevailed in that area.”
The Husky defense held Gonzaga to a mere point in a late 7 1/2-minute stretch and outscored the Bulldogs 18-1 in that span. Washington forced five turnovers in that run and Gonzaga missed six straight shots.
But that was the second of two superb extended defensive efforts. The first came earlier in the second half, when stout Husky pressure kept Gonzaga to just one field goal and six points in 16:10.
Defense earned Washington (3-0) a spot in the championship game against Oklahoma State, set for 7 p.m. today at Hec Ed. The Cowgirls beat Yale 74-51 in the opener. Gonzaga plays Yale in the consolation game at 5 p.m.
This is a different UW team than the one that went 22-8 and to the NCAA Tournament last season. While last year’s team would blow opponents away with one or two decisive offensive blizzards, this one will do it with defense.
On Friday, Daugherty commanded her guards to extend the defense, to pick up GU’s guards as they crossed the half-court line. It worked. Unaccustomed to increased pressure, the Bulldogs collapsed faster than a K-mart beach chair.
“We wanted them to run their offense a little farther out to disrupt their penetration and kickbacks they were doing in the first half,” Daugherty said. “We wanted to get more in the passing lanes.”
The more they did, the more turnovers they caused. The Bulldogs finished with 21 turnovers, 11 in the second half.
The Bulldogs wiped out an 11-point deficit in the last 5 1/2 minutes of the first half to tie the score at 38 at intermission. Sophomore forward Ashley Anderson scored seven of her team-high 13 points in the string, including a 10-foot jump shot at the buzzer for the tie.
Anne Bailey, a Snohomish High School grad, chipped in four points in the Bulldogs’ run, including an impressive layup while bumping with Giuliana Mendiola, to cut the UW lead to 28-20 with 6:55 to play.
Bailey finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
UW post Andrea Lalum led all scorers with 25 points, 15 in the first half. Most came in the first 10 minutes, when the Huskies pushed out gradually to an 11-point lead.
“I think my teammates have gotten me the ball and I think I’m more aggressive down low,” said Lalum, who averages 24.7 points a game in the young season.
The advantage reached 31-20 with 5:41 to play on a free throw by Giuliana Mendiola.
But Gonzaga strapped on more defensive pressure and forced four UW turnovers in the last five minutes. The Bulldogs scored 18 of the first half’s final 25 points, as Washington went the last four minutes without a field goal.
Oklahoma State 74, Yale 51: Forward Trisha Skibbe finished with a game-high 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the floor and added eight rebounds to lead the Cowgirls (1-2) to a first-round win over the Elis (0-3). Skibbe also added a team-high eight rebounds.
Center Eliz Gomes added 14 points and five rebounds.
Homegrown: Forward Lindsey Page, 6-1 junior from Kamiak High School, finished with two points, two assists and two rebounds for Yale. Page averaged six points and 3 1/2 rebounds going into Friday’s game.
The Elis also have guard Morgan Richards, a 5-10 junior from Lakeside High School. Going into Friday, Richards averaged eight points and 31/2 rebounds. She finished with a team-high 11 points against Oklahoma State.
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