SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Amber Melgoza poured in a season-high 22 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists to lead Washington to a 75-58 win over Howard University in the second game at the Puerto Rico Clasico on Friday.
The Huskies (5-1) pick up their fourth consecutive win.
The Husky defense held Howard (4-4) to 31% shooting, forcing 21 turnovers and recording 15 steals. Washington outscored Howard 48-18 in the paint, shooting 52% inside the arc.
“It was our first real physical battle from start to finish, and we were able to withstand their runs and the intensity and proud that we finished the game the way we should,” UW coach Jody Wynn said. “Our kids were talking about how physical the game was, and we kept telling them that we need to just keep playing through it.”
Melgoza was an economical 9 of 14 from the field in 27 minutes. Darcy Rees picked up her first double-double of the season, pouring in 12 points and adding 10 rebounds, a career-best six blocks and three steals.
Howard made one final push as the fourth quarter started, getting back-to-back buckets in the first minute to close to within seven at 55-48. Melgoza used an old-fashioned three-point play to ignite what turned out to be a 14-2 run over the next three minutes to go up 69-50 with 6:20 remaining.
Howard was led by Jayla Thorton, who scored a team-high 21 points thanks to five three-pointers. UW limited the Bison’s leading scorer Sarah Edmond to just seven points, well below her season average of 15 points per game.
Washington closes out the trip Saturday against Iowa (5-1).
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