By virtue of Thursday’s 61-46 win over San Francisco, the Huskies extended their season at least three more days and advanced to the second round of the Postseason Women’s Invitation Tournament.
Washington (16-14) ponied up financially to secure a second straight WNIT game and will host New Mexico (21-12) 5 p.m. Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Long before tournament organizers announced the time and date of the second-round matchup, the Huskies were preparing for their next game.
Immediately following their blowout win over San Francisco, which snapped UW’s three-game losing streak, a few Huskies spent several minutes in freezing cold ice baths to help soothe sore and aching muscles.
Coach Tina Langley, who won the 2021 WNIT with Rice, has preached a ‘one game at a time’ approach that’s permeated throughout the team.
“Our philosophy is to trust the process,” Langley said. “The next practice will be the most important thing that we do this season. Just coming ready for practice and ready to scout.
“This is our first time in the postseason in a while and so understanding the turnaround time (and) the recovery. They’re going to go to ice baths and that’s really important. That’s the next thing and not skipping steps. I think we’ve learned this season that we’ve gotten a little excited about how we’re playing or something that’s going on and skipping a step really does hurt you in the next phase. That really does hurt you physically and mentally.”
Next up for Washington is a short-handed Lobos team that finished tied for third in the Mountain West and has won seven of their last eight games.
On Thursday, New Mexico beat Northern Arizona 72-64 despite the absence of senior guards LaTascya and LaTora Duff, a pair of twin sisters who decided to opt out of the WNIT and end their collegiate career hours before tipoff.
The Duff sisters started 31 of 33 games this season and were second and third in scoring among the Lobos while averaging a combined 24.1 points, 6.8 rebound and 7.2 assists.
Senior forward Shaiquel McGruder led New Mexico in the WNIT opener with 18 points and 10 rebounds while senior guard Amaya Brown had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore forward Paula Reus and guard Aniyah Augmon started in place of the Duff sisters and combined for 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
This is the just the second matchup between Washington and New Mexico. The Lobos beat the Huskies 68-63 in Albuquerque, N.M. on March 14, 2009 in the second round of the WNIT.
The UW-UNM winner advances to the third round to face either Kansas State, Wyoming or Texas A&M Corpus Christie.
On Thursday, Washington shook off a sluggish start and outscored San Francisco 42-27 in the second half.
The Huskies relied on a nine-player rotation in which the bench tallied 27 points. Freshman guards Hannah Stines and Elle Ladine led the reserves with 10 and eight points, respectively.
“Through the last week and a half, you could see the growth of each individual player,” Langley said. “So, when each person got an opportunity, they were ready because of how hard they worked the last week and a half.”