There were tears in Haley Van Dyke’s eyes as she stood in the lower concourse of Alaska Airlines Arena. The Washington women’s senior basketball player had just played her final home game in a Huskies uniform, and her emotions had clearly ensnared her.
Presumably, the memories of everything she and her teammates had experienced at Hec Ed — including an upset of then-No. 2 Stanford two weeks earlier — were flooding her mind. But you have to wonder if part of the reason for the eye-welling was that she and the other seniors won’t be along for what’s coming next.
The UW women’s hoops program appears to be rising like cream in a Starbucks cup of joe. After finishing 2-12 last season — and failing to win more than five conference games in its previous four seasons — the Huskies earned Pac-12 win No. 7 Sunday via a 68-60 victory over Oregon. This came 14 days after stunning the aforementioned Cardinal.
Doesn’t mean this program has returned to the Kelsey Plum/Chantel Osahor days of the mid-2010s (Washington is 15-11 overall and 7-9 in conference) — nor does it mean it will get back to that level anytime soon. But there are signs that prominent days are in the Huskies’ not-so-distant future.
Second-year head coach Tina Langley has already posted two dominant offseasons in the recruiting wars. Within months of her arrival at UW, she landed what ESPN ranked as the 14th best freshman class in the country for 2022. One year later, she signed the No. 16 class — which included three top-100 prospects.
Top-tier talent doesn’t always translate into championship contention. The Washington men’s program has brought in future first-round draft picks recently only to fall flat between the lines. Still, it’s an encouraging sign.
Plus, most of the Huskies’ best players will return next season. Leading scorer and rebounder Dalayah Daniels from Garfield is a sophomore. No. 3 scorer Lauren Schwartz is a junior, No. 4 scorer Hannah Stines is a freshman, and assists leader Jayda Noble is a sophomore. The gains younger players make on the college stage are often seismic; and though improvement isn’t guaranteed, it’s more likely than not.
So what do the players think of the strides the program has made in just one season, and what do they envision for this team going forward?
“I attribute it to our culture. I think our culture is the biggest thing that’s shifted this year. We’ve really dedicated ourselves to the process and our values,” Van Dyke said. “It’s gotten us very far because we’re a very unselfish team and play for each other and get better every game.”
Added fellow senior Darcy Rees: “I agree with that. Just because we’re not results-based, it’s easy to get better each day no matter what the day comes and what the day brings. I just think it’s our dedication to the culture that’s grown over the past two years, and you can see that in our program and in us as individuals. It’s really exciting to be a part of and it’s going to take us really far.”
Just under seven years ago, the Huskies reached the Final Four for the first time in program history — doing so as a No. 7 seed. They were probably even better the next season despite losing in the Sweet 16, as Plum broke the all-time and single-season NCAA scoring records.
Getting back to that level might seem far-fetched. But remember, the Washington women were regulars in the NCAA tournament under former coach June Daugherty, reaching the Big Dance six times between 1997-2007. Reattaining that level of consistency doesn’t seem out of the question.
Coach Tina Langley isn’t about to go there with the media yet, though. In fact, she isn’t about to go past tomorrow. Asked what’s on the horizon for the Huskies, she opted to stay in the here and now.
“I can only see the present right now, just to be honest — it’s very hard for me. I love these young women and today’s celebration of our seniors and our current team,” Langley said. “I’m just joyful for the way that they fought for one another tonight. And I’m very appreciative to the young women that have already signed with us. They’re having tremendous high-school careers … I think the biggest thing that our staff would say is that we’re super grateful for the type of young women we get to coach every day.”
These Huskies — who still have two conference games (at USC and UCLA) and the Pac-12 Tournament — have plenty to be proud of this year. They got much better. Don’t be surprised if that becomes a theme.