Washington shook off a ragged first-half performance and pulled away from San Francisco in the third period for a comfortable 61-46 win Thursday night in the first round of the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
Sophomore forward Dalayah Daniels led the way for UW with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks while senior forward Haley Van Dyke finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
And freshman guard Hannah Stines chipped in 10 points and five rebounds for the Huskies, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Washington (16-14) advances to the WNIT second round to face New Mexico (21-12), which beat Northern Arizona 72-64 Thursday night in its opener. The date and time are expected to be announced Friday by tournament organizers.
Washington didn’t stray far from its staunch defensive identity while holding a San Francisco team that averages 68.8 points to a season low in scoring.
Not surprisingly, both teams were rusty at the start considering the 15-day layoff for UW while USF had a 12-day break. Both teams combined to miss the first eight shots before Husky senior guard Trinity Oliver sank a midrange jumper with 7:07 left in the first quarter.
Washington led 13-12 at the end of the period, but the offensive futility continued for both squads.
Huskies coach Tina Langley pushed several buttons and attempted to exploit UW’s size advantage with a big lineup that included 6-foot-4 center Emma Grothaus and 6-4 Daniels in the second period.
However, nothing worked and far too often the Huskies passed up shots early in the offensive possession only to launch contested jumpers in desperation to avoid a shot-clock violation.
Washington converted 3 of 11 field goals in the second period, but San Francisco was 2 of 13 and UW went into halftime tied 19-19.
A blocking foul on forward Lauren Schwartz seemingly energized the Huskies, particularly Langley who barked at officials from the sideline.
At the time, the Dons were ahead, but momentum quickly shifted to the Huskies who finished the third period with a 17-4 run.
Minutes later, freshman guard Elle Ladine buried a three-pointer that put Washington on top 31-27 with 3:06 left in the third. Senior center Darcy Rees converted a putback in traffic and a free throw on a three-point play that gave UW a 36-29 lead.
Stines finished the spurt in the quarter with a driving layup to go up 41-31.
After shooting 32.1% (9 of 28) in the first half, Washington converted 8 of 15 field goals (53.3%), including 4 of 5 on three-pointers in the third. Meanwhile, San Francisco was 5 of 16 from the field, including 1 of 7 from long range.
The Huskies pushed their advantage in the fourth, outscoring San Francisco 20-15.
It’s the first nonconference postseason appearance for Washington since 2017 and its first trip to the WNIT since advancing to the quarterfinals in 2014.
The Huskies are in the lower left quadrant in the 64-team bracket along with Wyoming (22-10) and Kansas State (17-16). The home teams won all eight of the 16 first-round WNIT games played.