By Lauren Kirschman
The News Tribune
SEATTLE — It felt like watching a replay. The uniforms on the opponent were different, and the circumstances changed some — Washington’s lead didn’t quite reach double digits in the second half this time — but the feeling was the same.
The mistakes were the same, too.
The events that led to the Huskies’ 75-72 loss to Arizona were predictable. And as the dominoes fell one by one, the end result seemed inevitable.
It started with 12:55 remaining. Freshman Jaden McDaniels had just given the Huskies a 57-48 lead on a dunk over two Wildcat defenders. But it was what he yelled at them afterward that caused him to pick up his fifth technical of the season.
That shifted the momentum, and Arizona put together a 7-0 that started with the two foul shots. With 11:37 left, the Wildcats trimmed UW’s lead to 57-55. The Huskies never led by more than five points after that.
With 4:17 remaining, Arizona took a 70-69 lead on a three-pointer from Jermarl Baker Jr. UW freshman RaeQuan Battle put UW back out front, 72-70, on a deep three-pointer with 1:45 remaining. After Ira Lee went 1-for-2 at the foul line for Arizona, UW led 72-71 with 1:22 on the clock.
Nahziah Carter then missed a three, and what happened next was something the Huskies have seen before — against UCLA and then Cal and then Oregon. A game-winning deep three-pointer, launched with less than a minute left on clock. This time, the part was played by Baker.
UW still had chances after that. After Baker’s three with 44 seconds left, the Huskies got the ball back. But the play broke down, leading to a contested, off-balance three-point attempt Battle.
Arizona rebounded his miss, and UW sent Dylan Smith to the free throw-line. He made the first, but missed the second. With 19 seconds left, the Huskies were clinging to a 75-72 lead and still had a chance to tie the score.
And then Jaden McDaniels turned the ball over after grabbing the defensive rebound. Stewart fouled Smith, who missed the front-end of a one-and-one. With 13 seconds left, the Huskies had their final chance. But once again, they didn’t get the shot they were looking for. With 3 seconds left, Marcus Tsohonis launched a three from the top of the key that fell way short. Arizona got the rebound, and the clock ran out from there.
UW has now lost four straight games and eight out of their last 10.
