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Seattle • No one in the history of Washington Huskies women's basketball has scored as many points as Jazmine Davis, and no Husky has scored as many points in a single season as Kelsey Plum.
The Utah Utes didn't need to see a record book to realize Davis and Plum are good players. The two all-conference guards combined for 52 points to carry Washington to a 75-64 victory Thursday night in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament.
Davis scored a season-high 29 points, and Plum matched her conference-leading average of 23 points per game. Davis scored Washington's last four points of the first half and the first six points of the second half, racking up 16 points after halftime.
Freshman center Joeseta Fatuesi tied her season high of 16 points to lead Utah. Tanaeya Boclair added 14 points, and Danielle Rodriguez scored 12.
Taryn Wicijowski, one of the Utes' all-time greats, had seven points and 11 rebounds in her final collegiate game. The Huskies focused their defense on Wicijowski, and she had no points and just two shots in the first half.
The Huskies came into the game averaging a league-leading 70.6 points, and the Utes were last in scoring at 51.9. However, the 12th-seeded Utes (9-21) shot the ball well much of the way to push the fifth-seeded Huskies (23-8).
Utah jumped out to 7-0 and 14-7 leads and was up 34-28 at the half. Washington responded with a 12-0 run between 3-pointers from Utah's Cheyenne Wilson, a senior guard from Seattle.
Utah led the final six minutes of the half after Paige Crozon buried a 3-pointer to push Utah out front 23-22. The score remained close until the Huskies began pulling away after a Davis basket gave Washington the lead for good at 53-50 with eight minutes left to play.
An estimated 2,000 spectators, many clad in Huskies purple, formed the largest crowd of the tournament's first day. Another four games are scheduled Friday, including a quarterfinal between Washington and fourth-seeded California (21-8). —
Storylines
• The Utes finished the season on a four-game losing streak. They scored 41 or 42 points in each of the previous three games.
• The Huskies rank among the national leaders in free throws made and attempted as well as free-throw shooting percentage. Plum ranks among the individual leaders in all three categories as well as points per game. The Huskies sank 19 of 23 free throws Thursday (82.6 percent), and Plum went 9-for-10 at the line.
• Washington would have to win four games in four days to win the Pac-12 tournament for the first time. The Huskies, who appear to be headed to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007, have never won more than one game at the Pac-12 tourney.