Washington Huskies
Pac-12 (23-9, 11-7)
The Washington Huskies came into the 2014-15 season as a team on a mission since they have been on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament the past few seasons. The Huskies have taken the confidence gained from non-conference wins against Florida State and Texas A&M and held their own nicely in conference play. They knocked off Oregon State and California at home and are ready to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 11/27 vs Florida State (80-68), 12/29 Texas A&M (70-49), 2/6 Oregon State (76-67)
Bad Losses: 11/14 at Oklahoma (80-90), 2/13 at Utah (61-69), 2/20 Washington State (72-83)
Coach: Mike Neighbors
Why They Can Surprise:
Washington has an outstanding backcourt combination in Kelsey Plum and Jazmine Davis that can take a team on its back and go a long way in the NCAA Tournament. Plum scored a career high 45 points at Oklahoma to start the season and that set the tone for the rest of the season as she has been very consistent offensively. Davis brings that senior leadership that will help the Huskies when their backs are against the wall in the postseason. It will be important for Davis to keep that balance of attacking offensively and creating havoc at the defensive end of the court. Aminah Williams and Talia Walton bring enough scoring and rebounding to the table down low that they can keep defenses honest and that will also help Washington offensively cause problems in the NCAA Tournament.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Depth is an issue for this team, so they are going to have to be disciplined as far as staying out of major foul trouble throughout the postseason. If they can do that, it will help increase their chances of avoiding an early upset. Washington has also had some very inconsistent play at times as a whole, such as a loss at Utah back on February 13th, which was a team that finished dead last in the Pac-12. Then there was the two game series with Washington State that involved an 83-72 loss at home followed up two days later by an 83-43 win over the Cougars in Pullman. Thus, it is going to be critical for fast starts and 40 minutes of consistent play in the NCAA Tournament.
Probable Starters:
Jazmine Davis, Senior, Guard. 15.9 ppg, 4.2 apg
Kelsey Plum, Sophomore, Guard, 22.8 ppg, 3.3 apg
Brianna Ruiz, Redshirt Freshman, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 1.3 apg
Aminah Williams, Senior, Forward, 8.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg
Talia Walton, Redshirt Junior, Forward, 12.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Chantel Osahor, Sophomore, Forward/Center, 4.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg
Katie Collier, Redshirt Sophomore, Forward/Center, 2.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Kelli Kingma, Freshman, Guard, 1.5 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 75.6 (23rd in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.5 (213, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.3 (51, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.5 (129, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.9 (20, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.8 (32, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 78.0 (3, 1)
Rebound Margin: -1.3 (216, 10)
Assists Per Game: 12.5 (195, 7)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.5 (6, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 NIT First Round win over Hawaii
2014 NIT Second Round win over Oregon
2014 NIT Third Round win over San Diego
2014 NIT Quarterfinal loss to UTEP
2013 NIT First Round win over Eastern Washington
2013 NIT Second Round loss to Pacific
2012 NIT First Round win over Cal Poly
2012 NIT Second Round win over Utah
2012 NIT Third Round win over Oregon State
2012 NIT Quarterfinal loss to San Diego
2010 WBI First Round win over Portland
2010 WBI Second won loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Iowa State
2006 NCAA Round of 64 win over Minnesota
2006 NCAA Round of 32 Loss to LSU
2004 NIT First Round win over Pepperdine
2004 NIT Second Round loss to Creighton
2003 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Green Bay
*all team stats through 3/5
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
