Huskies Face NAU In Sunday Tilt At Alaska Airlines Arena
SEATTLE -- The Husky women (1-0) are back on the court on Sunday against Northern Arizona (0-1) after a successful opening night on Friday. The Huskies and Lumberjacks tip it off at 2:00 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena with Gary Hill and Elise Woodward on the call (KKNW AM-1150). The game will be streamed live on the Pac-12 streaming platform.
The Huskies beat San Diego, 57-51, on Friday night to start the Tina Langley era with a victory. It marked the first time since Chris Gobrecht in 1985 that a coach won in their UW debut. Missy Peterson scored a team-high 13 points in her return to game action for the first time in over a year. The Huskies
NAU dropped its opener, 62-54, at WSU on Friday. They were picked to finish fourth in the pre-season Big Sky poll.
• Coach Langley (1-0 at UW/127-61 Overall, 7th season): Langley is in her first year at Washington after leading Rice through its most successful stretch in program history. She became the first Husky coach to win in their debut since UW Hall of Famer Chris Gobrecht did so in 1985. 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.