Washington learned from losses to make it back to NCAA Tournament

Speaking for the first time since Selection Sunday, Washington head coach Tina Langley expressed immense gratitude to the university, student athletes, administration and everyone who contributed over the years to get the Huskies to this moment.

“That night was really special because we had an opportunity to reflect, but we also got to think about the journey we’ve been on together,” Langley said. “You just immediately think of the unseen. Everyone has what they see on game day, but it’s the unseen is the reason that we’re here. So grateful for all the unseen hours that went into team building, the travel, the preparation of the staff, the players’ commitment to how they sleep, how they eat, from everything that they did in the unseen hours.”

Unlike the Plum era, in which she was the team’s true star, the Huskies are powered fairly evenly by a four-headed monster that is clicking at the right time. This season, Washington is led by the quartet of senior forward Dalayah Daniels, sophomore guard Sayvia Sellers, and junior guards Elle Ladine and Hannah Stines.

Ladine told the media ahead of the monumental matchup that, while the focus is solely on the game ahead, they are generally proud of the larger achievement of getting this far. “Just really excited and grateful, and so blessed to see all our work behind the scenes kind of get shown, and hopefully we can display it on Thursday,” Ladine said.

Despite only being in her second year with the program Sellers also expressed excitement in being part of the team that has been building towards this moment for several years. “We put in a lot of work, and we worked hard for it, so I feel like we deserve to be in it,” she said. “So we’re just excited to play basketball.”

“I think it’s just a really special moment for us,” Daniels said. “I think a lot of those unseen hours are what’s going to be on display tomorrow. So I think just enjoying the moment, enjoying each other, but also recognizing how far we’ve come but not being content with where we are. So I think just trying to reach to be the best version of ourselves and with each other.”

The key for Washington will be to continue to play to their strengths and not let the historic moment overwhelm them.

“Coach Langley had told me something a couple years back about never letting the moment shine brighter than the light that’s within you,” Daniels said. “So I think just understanding that we’re here for a reason, and not letting the moment dictate how we’re going to perform on the court. This is just like any other stage that we’ve been playing on. So I think just being our best self … and just showing up every single day with intention to detail, and just winning the moment.”

Sellers emphasized playing hard and bringing their true selves to the tournament.

“I feel like, since it’s March Madness, people think that they have to play different, but I think just playing how we always play, I feel like we’ve been playing our best basketball the past couple of games, and we were able to fix things,” Sellers said. “So just be confident in what we worked on, and I think it’ll show in the game.” 

Langley often talks about her team’s focus on progress through process. To Langley, being process-focused means highlighting game-to-game improvement and areas to work on, rather than focus on wins and losses, it is all about always getting better. That doesn’t make the accomplishment of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament any less worthy of celebration, though.

“We are a process driven team, but you have a process to get to a goal, right?,” Langley told media after a home win over Rutgers on Feb. 20. “And so we have a goal, and our goal is obviously to play in the NCAA Tournament, make deep runs. … We’ve got to continue to do our job day in and day out. We have to win the day … and I think we have to let then that result take care of itself.”

Big Ten coaches throughout the season heralded Langley and the way she has built this program.

“I have so much respect for Tina Langley and the way she’s building her program here, the way their kids compete,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said. “She’s one of my most respected and closest friends in the business, and she’s going to get this team to a really high level.” 

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Maryland head coach Brenda Freese, under whom Langley served as associate head coach at Maryland from 2008-2015, and helped lead the Terrapins on Final Four runs in 2014 and 2015, pointed to the jump the program has made since her hiring.

“You know, what is the difference with Tina? She’s just in with her team, just a connector,” Freese said after Maryland faced Washington in Seattle. “She’s all about others, her ability to build people up and be there. And she’s just a selfless giver for anyone and everyone … and she’s built it the right way.”

Despite the team’s inexperience with tournament play, it is the values the program was built on that Langley feels can carry them through.

“I think it’s a very level-headed group of people that are grateful for moments,” Langley said. “So you can see new opportunities as something that could be scary or different, or you could see them as something exciting. It will bring out the best in you. We always want to provide an environment that would allow the best in our young people, and they do that for each other as well.”

The ethos that Langley has instilled in her program was evident in Daniels’ mindset around ending her college basketball career playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

“I think we’re just really focusing on the journey, and not just the results,” Daniels said. “Just spending every single day with our teammates, trying to get the most out of every single day, and just trying to pour love into everyone. Just trying to have a good time at the end of the day.”

Saving the best for last

The Huskies finished the season with a 19-13 record overall, 9-9 in conference play, and a 12th place finish in the 18-team Big Ten.

Washington got its first Big Ten conference wins on a road trip to Illinois, where the team defeated Northwestern 90-71 and then Illinois, a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament, 84-75. The Huskies followed that up with a 79-58 home victory over Wisconsin. After a losing trip to Michigan, Washington returned to Alaska Airlines Arena for Plum’s jersey retirement celebration and defeated Purdue 87-58. Three losses in a row followed, before a reassuring 82-71 win at Penn State.

The Huskies went on another three-game losing skid before ending conference play with four wins in a row, and it was followed with their first conference tournament victory since 2017.

On Feb. 20, Washington defeated Rutgers 83-65, behind some impressively balanced stat lines. The team then went on their last road trip of the regular season, starting with a contest against Nebraska, a 10 seed in the NCAA tournament, on the Husker’s senior night. Washington went off for 83 points for the second game in a row and held the Huskers to only 62. Then, Washington defeated Minnesota at Williams Arena 72-62, once again on senior night. On their own senior night, Washington defeated Oregon, also a 10 seed in the tournament, 64-56 in Seattle.

Washington’s first conference tournament win since 2017 and first Big Ten Tournament win came against Minnesota in the first round. The strong 79-65 victory moved the Huskies onto the second round, where they narrowly lost 58-66 to Michigan, a six seed in the upcoming tournament.

There are several aspects of Washington’s play that came together to go on a five-game winning streak and qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

First, Washington found success with starting a four guard lineup. For the first half of the season, Daniels, Sellers, Ladine and Stines started alongside graduate transfer center Tayra Eke. That lineup gave them a pretty typical setup with three guards and two post players, allowing the 6’4 and athletic Daniels to play the four.

Halfway through the season, on Jan. 27 against Indiana, Langley began starting sophomore guard Chloe Briggs instead of Eke. This made the Huskies smaller on the court, but also allowed them to play with the fast pace they wanted, particularly in transition. It took some time for the new starting lineup to find a rhythm, but once they did, they were rolling.

And equally as an important, during this time, Washington also saw improved contributions from their bench. Many of their losses throughout the season exposed the fact that, beyond their four stars, they were not particularly deep and struggled to get outside scoring contributions.

Eke would get limited minutes but provided Washington the option to play with two posts and have more size on the court. She was also efficient with her few minutes, shooting a high percentage on limited attempts, blocking shots and registering blocks. After not playing much of the season, Yale transfer Brenna McDonald played the bench minutes Eke had been providing and was equally efficient. Both players were used more often than not to rest Daniels or get her off the floor when she was in foul trouble, but the option to return to two posts and their efficiency during their playing time was invaluable.

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Junior Teagan Brown and freshman Devin Coppinger also found their form off the bench during the win streak. Both guards often provided rest or time off the floor for fellow guards in foul trouble but were increasingly efficient in their minutes while always adding energy to Washington’s already strong defense. Brown and Coppinger also ensured that the Huskies never lacked three-point shooting threats.

Washington is actually one of the best shooting teams in the Big Ten. Their 47.8% shooting from the floor sits behind only No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed UCLA. They are tied for first with Nebraska shooting 37.3% from behind the arc. And from the free throw line their 79% make-mark is good for second behind Illinois. Additionally, Ladine is eighth on the Big Ten scoring leaderboard, with 17.1 points per game.

Lastly, Washington improved what Langley refers to as their competitive stamina. Several losses throughout the season came because the Huskies couldn’t put together a full 40-minute performance, and a particularly bad quarter or two would seal their fate. So Langley said her team focused on being stronger a little longer each time they took the floor, whether in practice, individual workouts or games.

“We saw obviously in some games that our competitive stamina needed to grow, and I thought each game you would see growth,” Langley told media ahead of the First Four matchup. “I think that is really what led to the way we finished the season is that we were learning how to be stronger for a little longer each time.”

Near-miss results

There are multiple results throughout Washington’s season that don’t show up as wins in the record, but help prove that Washington is a worthy tournament team. It’s difficult to know how the selection committee viewed these tight losses against top teams compared to wins, but for coaches in the Big Ten, they show just how strong Washington is.

At the Pink Flamingo Championship, Washington faced then-ranked No. 7 LSU at the Baha Mar Convention Center in Nassau, Bahamas on Nov. 25. The Huskies outscored the Tigers 24-11 in the first quarter and led most of the game, losing to a last-second driving layup by Kailyn Gilbert that made the score 67-68.

“First of all, we’re very lucky to have won the game,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey told media after the game. “Second half, we fought really hard, made some changes in the lineup and won the game on a last second shot basically.”

Despite the loss, Washington showed off one of their team’s biggest strengths — defense. What had been a high-flying LSU offense was held to just 68 points as they connected on just three of their 19 attempts (15.8%) from behind the arc.

“They played their little three-two zone. They hadn’t played that in two years. I thought it was outstanding,” Mulkey said.

Washington opened their first season in the Big Ten against UCLA on Dec. 8, shortly after UCLA had defeated the reigning National Champions South Carolina and taken over the No. 1 spot in the AP poll. The Bruins came away with the 73-62 win, but the home team was within five points with four minutes left in the game.

“Credit to Washington. I thought they played really good basketball,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said after the victory. “I thought they made great adjustments in the second half. That was the first team that’s out rebounded us all year long. I thought they out hustled us in some ways. So I really want to give credit to them and how they played … I mean, bottom line is, a lot of times we had inside position and we just got out competed for the ball.”

The Huskies pulled down 32 rebounds to UCLA’s 30 to keep the game close but UCLA’s depth, and the unstoppable Lauren Betts, were too much for Washington to overcome in the end.

In their final game of January, Washington faced Indiana in Seattle, losing 73-70. The Huskies entered the fourth quarter down 13 before outscoring the Hoosiers 24-14 in the final period. The home team had a good chance to tie the game and send it to overtime in the final seconds but their three-point attempt just wouldn’t fall. Indiana guard Yarden Garzon scored 35 points and hit eight of her 10 three-point shots to help the road team escape with the victory.

After a two-game road trip, Washington returned to Alaska Airlines to face then-ranked No. 16 Maryland.

Washington put up a strong first quarter offensive surge, jumping out to a 27-19 advantage after one. The Terrapins responded with a 25-point second quarter of their own to take an eight-point halftime lead. The Dawgs were down by as many as 20 with under three minutes to go in the third quarter. Outscoring Maryland 22-16 in the final 10 minutes, they cut the Terrapin lead to four with just under five-and-a-half minutes to play.

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“It’s unfortunate either team had to lose, but we knew Washington would be really well coached and could shoot the three as well as anyone in the conference, and I thought they battled like their head coach for a complete 40 minutes,” Freese said of the team coached by a former member of her staff. “I knew this was going to be a 40 minute game. I never felt comfortable when we were up 17, just the way that I knew that they were going to play till the bitter end.”

It took a career-high 36-point scoring performance from junior guard Kaylene Smikle for Maryland to get the 81-73 win.

“I think it’s important to understand that you can’t be afraid of these moments, and you have to go out and battle,” Langley said after the close home loss. “When you lose, if you learn, you’re still pursuing excellence … we can let the results of these games make us doubt or they can drive us forward.

“And if you look at the first quarter, you look at the third quarter, you look at the moments in the game where we show that we can play a certain way and compete a certain way — they should push us forward. And the second and fourth [quarters] should say, ‘these are the things we got to continue to improve on.’” 

Next, the Huskies traveled down I-5 to face longtime Pac-12 rivals Oregon. It was a back-and-forth battle where Washington maintained a narrow lead at the end of each of the first three quarters. The Dawgs and Ducks exchanged buckets for most of the fourth before Oregon connected on two foul shots to escape with the one-point victory, 68-67.

Washington lost just one more game before going on a four-game win streak to finish off conference play. Facing then No. 6 USC at home, the JuJu Watkins and the Trojans narrowly took the victory 69-64. USC entered the game leading the Big Ten in rebounding with 42.4 a game but were out-rebounded 37-33.

“No one knows better than me that they’re that they’re better than their record,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb told media after escaping with the win. “I think they’re an NCAA tournament team, and they came with a great game plan, like they always do.”

The Huskies held the visitors, who are now a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, to a season-low 23 first half points to go into halftime tied. Gottlieb praised Washington’s defensive plan to pack things in and leave some players open to disrupt USC’s offensive flow but said her team are too good to not overcome that.

The Trojan head coach also had kind words for Washington’s offense.

“I mean, Tina [Langley] is a great coach,” Gottlieb said. “They run a system that is difficult to guard. They put multiple shooters on the floor which spaces and lets them get to what they like.”

The Huskies outscored the Trojans 20-16 in the third quarter and scored a total of 41 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to hold off a USC 30-point fourth quarter.

All these games showed Washington’s potential, but they couldn’t put all their strengths together for a full 40-minutes to pull out a victory. Going into the final games of the season, things started to click, as if all the lessons from those close losses had sunk in.

“I think we’re a great team, and I think that’s what makes good teams is that there’s so many players on our team that can have a night, and … I think we have more and more nights like that,” Langley said ahead of the First Four. “We’ve also learned the importance of being better at both ends. We are a pretty effective offensive team. We’ve learned to be a very disciplined defensive team.

“I think we’re just still growing. I’m so excited for the postseason because we say becoming is the theme of our program, it’s our mission statement about helping and supporting and loving one another on our journey of becoming individually and collectively. So this team is still becoming, and it’s fun to watch who we can be by the end of the season.”

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