By John Sleeper
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Nothing extraordinary was in the Washington Huskies’ favor coming into Saturday’s game against the Oregon women’s team.
The Huskies were without center Andrea Lalum, their best rebounder, who sprained an ankle Thursday night against Oregon State. They lost a key reserve, Cheryl Sorenson, to a concussion nine minutes into Saturday’s game. And don’t forget the 12-game losing streak to the Ducks, which Oregon fans love to bring up at any available opportunity.
All of the above made Washington’s 88-80 victory over the Ducks before 5,229 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion the most important and inspiring win of the season, not only because of what the Huskies overcame, but also because of what they earned. The UW win, coupled with Arizona’s 72-66 victory over Arizona State, gave the Huskies the No. 2 seed in next week’s Pacific-10 Conference Tournament in Eugene, Ore.
Although Washington and the Sun Devils finished the regular season 12-6 in conference play, the Huskies won the tiebreaker over ASU because they swept USC. Why USC? The Women of Troy are the common opponent occupying the highest position in the standings. The Sun Devils and USC split two games.
Washington opens the tournament noon Saturday, playing the winner of Washington State-Oregon.
“We’re just going in with the mentality of taking it step by step,” said UW guard Loree Payne, who finished with 22 points Saturday. “Our goal is to play Monday night (in the finals).”
The Huskies (17-10 overall) are in this position thanks largely to guard Giuliana Mendiola, whose career-high 31 points told only some of the story.
On a team whose individuals made great strides to compensate for Lalum’s loss, Mendiola did the most. She also led the Huskies with eight rebounds and six assists. A first-half behind-the-back pass in traffic that led to a layup by forward Emily Autrey was a Rembrandt.
“I was trying to be more aggressive,” Mendiola said. “They have great defenders all around the perimeter. I knew we needed to take it to them. And we got them in foul trouble, which helped us.”
In another sequence late in the game, Mendiola brought the ball upcourt under heavy pressure and again fed Autrey for a short baseline jumper. On the other end, she hustled after a rebound, found herself surrounded and bounced the ball off a Duck, out of bounds. Seconds later, she sank a pair of free throws (two of the 15 she made in 17 attempts) to give the Huskies an 85-73 lead with 1:21 remaining.
“When we get a little bit down, she has been able to put this team on her back,” UW coach June Daugherty said. “She’s really stepping up, saying, ‘I’m the one. Give me the ball. Just let me take care of business.’ “
The hot-shooting Huskies took a 45-33 lead behind 14 points by Payne and 12 by Mendiola. Washington hit six of nine attempts from beyond the 3-point line, led by Payne (3-for-4) and Kellie O’Neill (2-for-3), who had eight points at the half.
“You could sense the heat from the bench,” UO coach Bev Smith said.
Although the Ducks made a minor run to briefly take a 15-12 lead, they couldn’t sustain momentum, mostly because of cold shooting and turnovers.
Oregon went on a 12-0 run when the Huskies appeared to briefly lose focus. Daugherty was slapped with a technical foul in that span when she vigorously protested two apparent traveling violations that went uncalled.
Soon after, the Huskies went on a 15-3 tear, sparked by O’Neill’s eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Mendiola hit a pair of free throws to give Washington its biggest lead of the half, 44-28, with 1:16 remaining.
Washington shot 57 percent (16-for-28) from the floor, while Oregon managed just 39 percent (11-for-28). The Ducks also had 12 first-half turnovers.
Autrey scored 16 points for the game, while O’Neill finished with 12. Shaquala Williams and Andrea Bills led the Ducks (15-12) with 16 apiece.
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