Huskies Open Langley Era By Hosting San Diego

SEATTLE - The highly anticipated Tina Langley era as women's basketball coach at Washington starts on Friday when the Huskies host San Diego at Alaska Airlines Arena at 7:00 p.m. It also marks the return of playing in front of fans for the Huskies. The last time the Huskies played in front of a home crowd was March 3, 2020 vs. Stanford.  

San Diego was picked to finish third in the WCC this season. They are coming off a win, 86-53, over Hawai'i in their home opener.

All the action Friday (and the entire season) will be carried on KKNW AM 1150 with Gary Hill and Elise Woodward calling all the action.

• Coach Langley (0-0 at UW/126-61 Overall, 7th season): Langley enters her first year at Washington after leading Rice through its most successful stretch in program history. Langley was 126-61 in six seasons with the Owls, a tenure that was capped by winning the 2021 WNIT Championship. Her winning percentage of .674 is the best in program history and includes a 44-4 (.916) record in Conference USA action over the last three seasons, and a 2018-19 Conference USA Coach of the Year honor. Langley led the Owls to three-straight C-USA titles (2019, 2020, 2021) and five-straight 20-win seasons. During the last five years, the Owls have made post-season appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2019), WNIT (2018, 2021-champions) and WBI (2017-champions). 

• The Returners: The Huskies return two starters from last season's squad, including forward Haley Van Dyke (12.0 ppg and 5.8 rpg), who earned honorable mention on both the All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 Defensive teams, and shooting guard Alexis Griggsby (5.7 ppg and team-high 27 3-pt makes). Other upper-classmen returners include Darcy Rees (8.3 ppg and 2.5 rpg), T.T. Watkins (opt out) and Missy Peterson (injury), plus four players who saw action as freshmen (Nia Lowery, Jess Finney, Jayda Noble and Alexis Whitfield). 

• Experienced Transfers: The Huskies will count on three transfers to provide proven experience and leadership from programs that had high-level success in 2021. Nancy Mulkey and Lauren Schwartz followed Langley from Rice, where they were the No. 1 and 2 scorers for the WNIT Champion Owls. Mulkey provides an elite defensive presence, standing 6-foot-9, and impressive offensive skills. She is preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and on the Lisa Leslie Watch List. Schwartz provides another deep threat with a versatile offensive arsenal. Trinity Oliver was a starting guard for Baylor, which was a No. 2 seed in the 2021 NCAA Championship, and brings a winning pedigree to the Huskies' lineup. 

• Freshman Additions: UW also welcomes in three freshmen, who also bring unique talents and potential to the table: Olivia Pollerd (Australia U-19 Silver Medalist at FIBA World Cup), Marisa Davis-Jones and Avery Vansickle. Davis-Jones was the Gatorade Arizona State Player of the Year after leading Valley Vista HS to the state title.

• Top-10 Recruiting Class Signed: Tina Langley and her staff amassed an impressive signing day class as announced on Nov. 10. She adds a trio of top-100 rated guards from California: Teagan Brown, Elle Ladine and Hannah Stines. Brown is rated 78th in the ESPNW 100 rankings after averaging 18.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.9 spg and 3.3 apg at Oak Ridge HS in El Dorado Hills, Calif. Stines is rated 39th by ESPNW and was All-CIF Southern Section, All-State FIrst Team and San Joaquin League POY at Troy HS. Ladine is ranked 52nd by ESPN and helped Pinewood HS to the 2021 CCS Open Division Championship.