Oregon State Women’s Basketball: Opponent Preview - Washington

The 9th ranked Oregon State Beavers Women’s Basketball team heads to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies in game 20 of the season. Tip-off is slated for 8 PM PST on Friday, January 25th. Watch it live on the PAC-12 Network or check out the team’s Twitter page for other ways to follow along live. Let’s take a closer look at the Huskies.

Washington (8-11 overall, 1-6 conference)

Last season: 7-23 overall, 1-17 in PAC-12 (12th), no postseason

Washington played tough against Oregon State in their last outing, not letting the Beavers separate very far and playing til the final buzzer in their 11-point loss. Amber Melgoza paced the Huskies with 20 points, but Alexis Griggsby had the hot hand from downtown with five three-pointers.

Since their last meeting on January 6th, Washington has gone 1-3, with those three loses coming in their last three games. Their lone win came at home against a struggling Colorado team that’s missing Kennedy Leonard, 68-58. If they can muster one more conference win, they’ll have doubled their total from a year ago, but the opportunities are running slim. They’re best chance at a second win is likely against Colorado in Boulder.

Who to watch

#4 - Amber Melgoza, Junior Guard

The former All-PAC-12 performer is coming off her third highest scoring output on the season. Against California over the weekend, Melgoza scored 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. As mentioned before, she scored 20 against the Beavers three weeks ago, so expect her to get her points.

#24 - Jenna Moser, Senior Guard

The former walk-on has remained consistent since these teams’ last matchup, averaging seven points and 2.7 rebounds per game, both above her season average. The scrappy guard had her season high six assists against the Beavers in their first meeting, but she was routinely on skates when having to guard Destiny Slocum one-on-one.

#35 - Alexis Griggsby, Sophomore Guard

Since her breakout weekend against the Oregon schools where she averaged 20.5 points and made 11-of-18 three pointers, Griggsby has cooled off. Way off. In her last four starts, she has scored 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting. We’ll see if she can capture that Oregon magic in her return to the Beaver State.

Prediction

Though this rematch will be in Seattle, I don't expect this one to appear as close as the one in Corvallis. The Huskies were able to close the gap in the last matchup largely due to the emergence of Griggsby. Since then the sophomore guard has hit a shooting slump, so most of the scoring will be placed on Melgoza's shoulders. That won't be enough for Washington. Beavers win comfortably.