SEATTLE - Kelsey Plum scored 23 points, Mercedes Wetmore added 18 and Washington held off a late charge by No. 3 Stanford for an 87-82 upset victory Sunday.
It was the highest-ranked opponent Washington has beaten since winning against No. 2 Stanford in 1990. Mike Neighbors is in his first year as head coach for the Huskies. He is a Greenwood native and a former assistant at the University of Arkansas.
The loss snapped a 62-game road conference winning streak for Stanford (22-2, 11-1 Pac-12), as well as a 14-game run against Washington (13-10, 6-6). The Cardinal’s last loss in road or neutral conference games was Jan. 18, 2009, against California in Berkeley. Stanford’s only other loss this year came at No. 1 Connecticut.
Chiney Ogwumike, the Pac-12’s leading scorer, had 23 points but was held in check for most of the game, and her teammates were unable to pick up the slack. The Cardinal especially had trouble from long-range, shooting 9 for 41 on 3-pointers.
Mikaela Ruef set career highs with 16 points and 20 rebounds, and Bonnie Samuelson scored 14 for Stanford, which last lost to Washington Dec. 22, 2005, in Seattle.
Washington led 83-73 with less than 1 ½ minutes to go when Stanford started a desperate attempt at a rally. Several missed free throws by Washington opened the door and a three-pointer by Samuelson with 9 seconds left cut the lead to 85-81.The Huskies were called for a 5-second violation on the inbound, and with 7.8 seconds Ogwumike made one of two free throws to make it 85-82.
Stanford nearly pulled off another steal on the inbounds pass, but it turned into a tie-up and Washington had the possession arrow.
Aminah Williams sealed the victory for the Huskies, making a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining.
Sports, Pages 17 on 02/10/2014