No, it isn’t the tournament kids dream about while shooting jumpers in their driveways. There aren’t brackets being passed around the office for this one, nor is there a selection show on national television.
But in postal terms, the Washington women’s basketball team has chosen to put its stamp on the Women’s National Invitational Tournament rather than mail it in. The Huskies have owned their position in the postseason and, in turn, have made this tourney their own.
Three days after thumping San Francisco in the first round of the WNIT, UW hosted New Mexico Sunday in the Round of 32. And though the game wasn’t featured on ESPN’s home page, it did manage to draw Huskies legend Isaiah Thomas, who sat courtside at Hec Ed.
What followed were 40 minutes of basketball that might spark some intrigue among locals while MLB opening day and the Stanley Cup Playoffs await. Top-tier competition or not, this team can entertain.
“You just want to keep playing — you don’t ever want it to end,” said Huskies forward Lauren Schwartz. “Survive and advance.”
Didn’t appear as if much survival would be necessary after Washington (17-14) took a 20-9 lead after the first quarter. The run looked like a prelude to a thrashing that might serve as the last home game of the season.
Remember, this is a team that beat Stanford — an NCAA tournament No. 1 seed — earlier in the season, and has already added 10 wins to its total from last season. But when New Mexico led 31-29 at halftime, and then 48-41 after the third quarter, it looked as if the Huskies were going to be sent home in front of their home crowd.
A little context for UW’s current standing in the women’s college basketball world. From 1985 to 2007, UW made the NCAA tournament 16 times — reaching the Elite Eight twice. A preeminent program in the country? Not quite. But certainly one of the more consistent ones.
A lull ensued, followed by a stunning surge in which the Huskies made the Final Four in 2016 and watched Kelsey Plum break the NCAA’s all-time and single-season scoring record the next year. That was a near-impossible act to follow, and coach Jody Wynn couldn’t do it, as she went 6-45 in Pac-12 play over four years after taking over the program in 2017.
So now here’s new coach Tina Langley two years into her tenure with a group that’s already improved mightily and is back in the postseason for the first time in six years. And though a loss wouldn’t have been welcome, the season would have been a considered a success regardless of Sunday night’s outcome.
Then came a fourth-quarter in which UW outscored the Lobos 26-8 and featured freshman Elle Ladine scoring 11 of her 15 points off the bench en route to a 67-56 victory. The crowd of 1,455 may not have been voluminous, but it produced a lot of volume as the Huskies played one of their best stretches of the year.
The fans want more. No idea if they’ll get it in Seattle, as it won’t be decided whether the Huskies host their third-round game until later in the week, but it didn’t feel like a second-tier tournament Sunday.
“I think it’s just basketball, we all love doing it no matter where, when,” said Ladine when asked about making the most of the WNIT. “We just love basketball. I think that’s why we can make the most of it, no matter what.”
There are usually only a handful of teams capable of winning the national championship in women’s basketball each season. But the WNIT? That’s far more open. Not saying the Huskies are likely to bring home the banner, but it’s certainly possible with them being one of 16 teams remaining.
It’s clear that this team doesn’t look down on this event, as some might be tempted to do if they felt snubbed for the Big Dance. This is a program-builder, and Langley is acutely aware.
“We’re so excited for the future for this program,” she said. “Of course we’re in this year right now … but it is pretty neat to imagine when you look ahead to what these young women will become.”
Sunday, they became elite in the fourth quarter. Might they become champions? Not something to rule out.