What a shot that was. It all came down to the last play and with it Moses Wood knocked down the three to put the Huskies up 77-75 against Cal. The Huskies and Golden Bears played a back and forth battle in Berkeley and it all came down to the last play. Here’s what we can take away from the Huskies inspiring victory.

Finding a Way: It’s pretty hard to look at the box score and think the Huskies won this game, but somehow they did. The shooting percentages so heavily favored the Golden Bears that the Huskies were even in the game was impressive. Washington shot 28-percent from three, one of their lowest marks of the year and shot just 37-percentfrom the field. Yet in the final score the Huskies edged it out. It came down to the little things.

Not the prettiest of games. But UW found a way. The Huskies out rebounded Cal by nine boards, with almost all of that advantage on the offensive glass. Those extra possessions made up for the poor efficiency allowing the Huskies offense to keep up. Rebounding was a team effort with no one exceeding seven or with less than two.

Spread the Rock: If the last play of the game was an example of anything it was getting the open guy the ball. Keion Brooks Jr. was the Huskies leading scorer on the night, something we’ve become accustomed to, but his points were lopsided.

Of his 21 points, 15 were in the first half, meaning the Huskies leading scorer only had 6 in the entire second half. Moses Wood, Sahvir Wheeler, and Anthony Holland all found their opportunities to get get going and hit big shots when needed. While Keion Brooks has been doing it all for the

Huskies as a scorer, they need more consistent contributions from all of the lineup if they are going to win games when it matters.

Hitting Big Shots: If there is one thing the Huskies did it was hit the big shots. Moses Wood knocked down the go ahead three as time expired despite being 1 for 7 before that point.

It was just one of those games, hitting the shots when they needed to to get the job done. The free throw line was the Huskies friend all night long.  The Huskies went an impressive 15 for 16 from the free throw line, making up points on the Golden Bears despite the fewer opportunities. Cal had an awful night from the stripe shooting 13 for 22 leaving much needed points on the floor.

Executing in details like this is going to be something the Huskies excel at if they are going to make any push for March Madness. It’s little things like this that make all the difference in close games.

Much like their football counterpart, this game didn’t have to be this close.    Up by nine points at 59-50 late in the game, the buzzer beater shouldn’t have been necessary.

However, on the way to the National Championship Game, and the football team have been tested so much that they knew how to handle tight games late in the season— maybe there’s a whole lot of value to be gained from this victory.