Oregon State
Washington
Women's Basketball Loses Heartbreaker To Washington, 69-67
January 20, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2001
SEATTLE, Wash. - Megan Franza's off-balance 15-foot jumper with 4.5 seconds remaining on the clock lifted the University of Washington past Oregon State, 69-67 in Saturday afternoon's women's basketball showdown.
OSU falls to 10-5 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-10 while UW boosts it record to 11-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
Franza scored nine of her game-high 28 points in the final 5:33 to lead the Huskies to victory.
First half turnovers were the Beavers demise to start the game. With the score knotted 9-9 at the 14-minute mark, the Huskies full court press caught Oregon State off-guard and forced two quick turnovers to catapult an 8-0 run.
The Beavers committed 11 turnovers before the break while UW had only three miscues.
Washington held its largest lead in the half when Franza buried a 3-pointer with 5:19 on the clock to put the Huskies in front, 29-15.
The Beavers would not go away however, freshman post Hollye Holbrook hit a lay-in, Leilani Estavan buried a 3-pointer and Brina Chaney followed with a lay-up to slice the lead to seven points (29-22) with just over three-minutes remaining before the break.
OSU scored eight of the final 14 points in the half to cut the Husky lead to 35-30 heading into the locker room.
The Beavers came out aggressive to open the second half, scoring seven straight points to take a 37-35 lead just three-minutes into the frame. OSU led by as many as 10 points (57-47) in the second half, using pressure defense to disrupt the Washington offense.
UW slowly chipped away at the lead, as Franza's torrid shooting kept the Huskies in the game.
"She (Franza) was hot," commented OSU head coach Judy Spoelstra. "She's a good player and we just didn't find her enough."
Washington pulled in front 65-63 with 2:20 remaining but Holbrook buried a jumper to tie the score on OSU's next possession and then senior Syesha Thomas took the ball to the hole for a lay-up to give the Beavers a 67-65 advantage with just 1:18 left.
With the shot clock running down, Loree Payne drove for a lay-up to knot the score with 46 seconds left. Holbrook was called for a controversial player control foul on the ensuing possession which gave the ball back to the Huskies with just 20 seconds remaining and setup Franza's game-winner.
Four Beavers reached double figures in scoring on the night. Holbrook matched her career high with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting while teammates Nicole Funn and Felicia Ragland also added 12 points apiece. Ragland recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds while Funn grabbed nine boards. Junior Ericka Cook added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
Franza buried 9-of-13 shots, including 4-of-6 from 3-point land and 6-of-7 from the free throw line for 28 points. Payne added 15 points for the Huskies while post Andrea Lalum recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Huskies had 13 turnovers in the second half to finish with 16 in the game while the Beavers finished the game with 18 lost balls.
Oregon State hit 27-of-57 shots from the floor for 48-percent while Washington hit 25-of-63 field goals on the night and 8-of-25 from 3-point range.
Oregon State returns home to host UCLA next Thursday. Game-time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
