SAN FRANCISCO – A year ago, Tina Langley attempted to control the narrative and perhaps mitigate expectations when she said her first year as coach of the Washington women’s basketball team would not be defined by wins and losses.
“If we become result (driven) as a new program with a new staff and new chemistry and new players, then that can be very difficult because you can be discouraged at times if maybe you’re not playing the way you would like to play,” Langley said at her first Pac-12 women’s basketball media day. “But if we stay focused on the process and growth, I think we’re going to really enjoy who we can become throughout this season.”
On Tuesday, Langley was reminded of that comment and says the messaging has changed following a difficult debut in which the Huskies were beset with a COVID outbreak, injuries and an 11-game losing streak that led to a 7-16 record and last-place Pac-12 finish at 2-12.
“We want to be competitive,” Langley said. “Every game last year we were competitive, but you have to learn how to finish it. Competitive goes to the very end. Competitive is not always just the play you run and the shot you take, but it’s the mental decisions. Are you executing right? Are people in the right positions?
“I think we’ve seen a lot of growth in that. We have new players who are going to contribute a lot in those moments. I just want to see a team that’s confident, competitive and hungry to win.”
For the second straight year, Washington was picked 10th in the Pac-12 preseason coaches and media poll.
Once again, the Huskies are saddled with skepticism that the second year under Langley will end up like so many forgettable seasons for UW recently.
In the past five years Washington finished 12th, 11th, 9th, 11th and 12th in the Pac-12.
Langley, who compiled a 126-61 record during six seasons during her previous stop at Rice, was brought in to resurrect a tradition rich Husky program that had been among the conference’s elite during a three-year run (2014-17), which included three NCAA tournament appearances, highlighted by former star Kelsey Plum.
Last season, the Huskies posted an encouraging 5-3 nonconference record before the team shutdown for two weeks due to COVID, which forced them to cancel four games.
Washington was never the same again.
The Huskies began Pac-12 play with 11 straight losses and captured just two league wins, which tied for the second fewest in school history.
Fifth-year senior forward Haley Van Dyke, who led UW in scoring (11.0 points per game and rebounding (7.7) last season, and junior forward Lauren Schwartz (10.6 ppg.) are two of eight returners for Washington.
The priority for Langley is integrating the veterans with five newcomers, including California transfer Dalayah Daniels, the 2020 McDonald’s All-American at Garfield High, Lehigh transfer Emma Grothaus and a trio of incoming freshman guards (Hannah Stiles, Elle Ladine and Teagan Brown) who comprise a highly touted recruiting class ranked 14th nationally by ESPN.
“We’re just coming together and learning one another and learning our systems,” Langley said. “The first year, no one knows anything about the offensive and defensive systems so you can’t help one another as much. This year you have a core group of returners that have a little bit of insight and that’s going to help.”
However, Langley’s biggest challenge is improving an offense devoid of a plethora of proven scorers that averaged just 55.5 points in Pac-12 games and ranked last in the league in scoring last season.
The Huskies topped 70 points three times game and was held to fewer 66 or fewer points in 20 games. The conference scoring average was 66.4 points.
Langley is tweaking the offense that ranked last in the Pac-12 in three-point attempts and was second in the league in three-point shooting at 35%.
“We’re encouraging them to play faster, but the faster we learn one another, the more aggressive we’ll be,” Langley said. “For us right now, we’ve got to learn how to blend pace and efficiency.
“We’ve got to learn, is this a shot that you can make efficiently? If you can make that shot on the first pass, then you should take that shot. It’s not about how many passes you make, but is this a good shot or not for you?”
However, increasing the pace is bound to lead to more turnovers, which is troublesome for the Huskies considering they led the league with 18 turnovers per game.
Langley hasn’t settled on a starting lineup before Monday’s exhibition against Division II Warner Pacific and has rotated Stines, Ladine, Schwartz, Jayda Noble and Trinity Oliver at point guard.
“This group has gotten off to a great start with our culture and their work ethic and they care about each other,” Langley said. “If we can stay on that work ethic, pace and desire to be the best we can be and go to work every day, I’m excited to see what we can become.”
Regardless of what happens this season, the Huskies are expected to notch a big win on Nov. 9 – the first day of the NCAA early-signing period – when they ink a top-15 ranked 2023 class that includes three top-100 prospects in guards Sayvia Sellers, Ari Long and Chloe Briggs.
“More than anything it shows how many people are pouring into the program,” Langley said. “Our alumni has been amazing. Our administration has been unreal. The excitement around the program is real and you have to look back sometime to realize the specialness of a place.
“Washington has been really special in the women’s basketball world for a long time and we want to continue to build back to that.”