Washington Huskies Edged Out by Golden Bears in a Nail-Biter at Alaska Airlines Arena

In a closely contested matchup, the Washington Huskies fell just short against the California Golden Bears with a final score of 82-80. The game, which saw numerous lead changes and ties, was held at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. The Huskies now stand with an overall record of 0-1 following this conference game.

The home team displayed commendable effort throughout the contest. Despite trailing by four points at halftime, they managed to outscore their opponents in the second half but couldn't quite close the gap entirely. The Huskies' offense was led by their ability to score inside, tallying 40 points in the paint and pushing hard on fast breaks for an additional 16 points.

Defensively, Washington showed tenacity with seven steals and one block but struggled to contain California's shooters who made 58 percent of their two-point attempts. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for California either; they turned over the ball twelve times which allowed Washington to score sixteen points off turnovers.

The standout statistic for Washington was their assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.67 compared to California's 1.08 – a testament to better ball handling and distribution under pressure despite having fewer assists overall (15 against California's 13). Yet free throws proved costly for Washington as they only converted nine out of sixteen attempts (56 percent), while California capitalized on such opportunities making fifteen out of twenty (75 percent).

The crowd at Alaska Airlines Arena witnessed an intense battle where neither side could maintain dominance for long – there were ten times when scores were tied and as many lead changes throughout the game.

Looking ahead, fans can catch the next game featuring Washington Huskies as they face off against Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on February 22nd at 7:00 PM Mountain Standard Time. This upcoming encounter will be broadcasted nationally on ESPN2 channel number two hundred nine.