Husky women’s basketball begins 2024-25 season with 95-53 blowout of crosstown rival Seattle University
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – The first 16 seconds of the University of Washington’s Women’s basketball teams opening game of the 2024-25 campaign exemplified how their blowout victory over the Seattle University Redhawks played out: the Huskies suffocating their opponent on a jump shot, and a running layup by Dalayah Daniels. Washington was able to play fast and free, albeit with a few kinks here in there which make sense considering this is their first real game action against an opponent, as they dominated the first half with back-to-back 25-point quarters to give them a commanding 39-point advantage at the halfway mark. The Huskies held the Redhawks to just three points in the first frame, as Seattle University made just one jump shot. Returning players led the way for Washington as Elle Ladine, Teagan Brown, Hannah Stines, Dalayah Daniels, and Sayvia Sellers all scored in double digits while transfers Brenna McDonald and Tayra Eke helped the Huskies dominate on the glass. It’s the first game against a Redhawks opponent that has struggled in recent memory, but it’s a nice start to Washington’s first season in the Big Ten.
“These young women are in the gym all the time. I’m so proud of the way that they’ve been working, and we’ve just gotten started. I’m really excited for what’s ahead.”
Washington Husky women’s basketball junior guard Hannah Stines shoots a three-pointer during the first half of her teams 95-53 home win over the Seattle University Redhawks at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Monday, November 4th, 2024. (Photo by Rowan Schaberg)
Coming out of the gates firing
While it was a big victory across multiple different categories for Washington, the first possession of the game for the Huskies was a turnover as Dalayah Daniels was unable to hang onto the ball amidst a few different Redhawks surrounding her in the pant. The good defense to force a missed three-pointer from Tamia Stricklin, who was born in Renton, attended Seattle Prep, and had a large contingent of family in the stands, led to the ability to push the fall the other way off a Sayvia Sellers defensive rebound and Daniels used her athleticism to get a driving layup that began the scoring. The next few minutes were hectic as the Huskies dominated possession but missed a few jumpers, before Seattle got themselves on the board as Taisiya Kozlova made one of two free throws from a shooting foul called against Tayra Eke. A Hannah Stines three pointer that was created by a great cross court pass from Sayvia Sellers got the party into high gear for Washington as it sparked their big 22-0 run in the first quarter. That big run powered by a myriad of different attacks to the basket (mainly normal field goals with two three pointers and a perfect six for six from the charity stripe to provide a better idea) also displayed the Huskies defensive activity for the night, as four steals and one block created more chances for the home side to build an advantage.
“Before the game, we talked about pushing the ball and we wanted to get to transition. It started on defensive end, ball pressure, like Coach talked about, Sayvia’s ball pressure and our gaps, I think led to fast break, easy points.”
The big 28-3 lead after the first ten minutes of the contest allowed head coach Tina Langley to be generous with playing time in this contest, rotating regularly including a debut for freshman guard Devin Coppinger. Coppinger, an Everson, Washington native that received a 95 out of 100 grade from ESPN coming out of Nooksack Valley high school, played her part in the Husky barrage as she immediately assisted on an Olivia Anderson jumper before a few tough plays as she committed a personal foul and turned the ball over. Even with a turnover number that they’ll want to improve upon, Washington was still dominating the contest as the Redhawks found the basket slightly more often than the first quarter. The Huskies were better in the second quarter from the three-point line, hitting three shots from beyond the arc, with two makes from Elle Ladine, and one each from Teagan Brown and Shayla Gillmer. Some teams may struggle offensively when they bring the bench in, but that wasn’t the case for Washington as they got 16 points from the bench in this second frame. The lead continued to balloon for the Purple and Gold, enough so that Langley was able to fully empty the bench a few minutes before the half, and the Huskies went into the break with a hefty 39-point advantage.
“I thought our ball pressure started really well. These two young ladies did a great job on ball, Sayvia really caused a lot of problems early and throughout the game when she was in, she does a tremendous job on ball, and then just having the support around one another, so we can have that kind of ball pressure is the type of team we want to be. I’d like to see us continue to grow in that area.”
Washington Husky women’s basketball junior guard Teagan Brown shoots a three-pointer during the second half of her teams 95-53 home win over the Seattle University Redhawks at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Monday, November 4th, 2024. (Photo by Rowan Schaberg)
Cruise control still sees the Huskies finish strong
It’s somewhat harsh to say that the Washington offense slowed down to begin the second quarter, but it’s true compared to the sort of quick trigger, fast paced offense that was on display for the 22-0 run in the first quarter and for the large majority of the second quarter. The first few minutes saw sloppy ball handling and better defense from the Redhawks, as the Husky shots weren’t falling with whatever ease that they’d gotten before the break. Even with this, whenever Seattle was able to get a positive play, Washington answered almost immediately. A Sydnie Rodriguez three-pointer saw a swift response as Sayvia Sellers received the ball from the inbound and weaved her way through the Redhawks on the court for an acrobatic layup. The ball movement and speed remained a key theme for the Huskies but almost especially in this third quarter, as transition points and finding the extra pass was fully on display.
Washington was able to whether the push that Seattle made in the fourth quarter, the strongest frame that the Redhawks had by far in this game as their offensive numbers were way up across the board compared to the rest of the game, with the biggest Husky lead of the game coming just over two minutes into the final frame when it hit a whopping 48. Seattle was able to find success with their stroke from the three-ball and with a full court press that somewhat frazzled some of the younger Washington players, but ball movement and key shots down the stretch ensured that the push was rendered irrelevant. The Redhawks didn’t make a shot in the final two minutes and 28 seconds of the game, leaving the final lead for the Huskies at 42 as they began the 2024-25 campaign with a satisfying victory.
“It’s been fun. We’ve been getting up, we’ve been trying to be a transition team. I think it was fun to see all of our growth that we’ve been working on to become a transition team. Like I said, I think it started on the defensive end. I’m just proud of the way that we came out and defended.”
A solid start to this years campaign
The Huskies are in an interesting spot this season, as they look to build off a strong end of last year's campaign while adding a few players that should help strengthen the Washington frontcourt and looking to get contributions from a few young guards. The Huskies aren’t exactly expected to be a top contender in the Big Ten this season, as preseason polls have them around the 11th spot in the conference, and the end of the season goal should just be getting back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017. Head coach Tina Langley did get the Huskies above .500 for the first time since the 2016-17, that last time they made the tournament, and considering the strong recruiting job the program has done and veterans on the roster there is reason to believe that Washington can continue their upward trend. If we’re to take what we saw from this game for something we’ll see consistently, then the Huskies will get a valuable offensive punch from their bench while activity defensively will help them push the pace. If they can be good from deep? Washington will have a strong group. But that’s a lot to expect and not a lot of data to look at to believe it’s sustainable yet.
The Huskies have a fun roster, with the athletic Daniels who is also a hometown kid, Ladine’s playstyle is enjoyable when she’s hitting shots, Eke and McDonald can provide size that Seattle desperately needs, while players like Sellers, Brown, and Coppinger provide hope that this Washington women’s basketball program is only going to improve as the Tina Langley era progresses. Defensive activity, the ability to push the pace, and strong shooting from the perimeter are all key characteristics of a winning basketball team in the current age of the sport that we’re in. There will be teams that will challenge the Huskies in the paint, so it’ll be intriguing to pay attention to how Eke, McDonald, Daniels, Shayla Gillmer, and Olivia Anderson do in the forward department to hold things down. I tend to have more optimism and belief that our teams can reach their potential, so I’m going to do that with this Washington Husky women’s basketball program this season and we’ll go from there. Regardless, we’re certainly thrilled at Circling Seattle Sports to be covering the program and adding more University of Washington teams to our coverage.
“Well, the first thing that comes to our mind is turnovers. Obviously if we can take care of the ball a little bit more, we have a few more opportunities there. But I like that we’re trying to be a team that’s aggressive, and sometimes early in the season, you’re gonna have some turnovers, and we’re gonna learn from those. One day really to prep, and scout is the first time we’ll do that, as we’ll take tomorrow off, and then the next day we’ll do that one day prep, which we’ll be in a rhythm of a lot this season. That’ll be exciting to see how we respond to that. I thought we were really prepared for Seattle U. I thought we understood our scout really well, but we had a long time to do that. So this one will be a little different.”
Washington Husky women’s basketball head coach Tina Langley speaks to her team during the second half of their 95-53 home win over the Seattle University Redhawks at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Monday, November 4th, 2024. (Photo by Rowan Schaberg)
Quick Husky women’s hoops notes
1,711 was the announced paid attendance for tonight’s game at the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion between the Seattle University Redhawks and our University of Washington Huskies.
That’s 17% of full capacity at Alaska Airlines Arena (10,000).
Every UW player had points on the board by halftime and each player ended the night with at least four points.
The Huskies’ 95 points Monday night were the most in a season opener since 2016 when Washington defeated Eastern Washington 100-52.
It was the seventh straight home opening win for UW.
38 of Washington’s 95 points came off the bench and 44 of them came in the paint.
Two Huskies notched career high point totals in the win
Teagan Brown: 14 points off the bench
Shayla Gillmer: 7 points
Devin Coppinger’s first points as a Husky came at the 2:14 left in the second quarter mark with a jump shot from the elbow.
Brenna McDonald’s first points as a Husky came at the 4:06 left in the first quarter mark on a wide-open layup from a pass by Elle Ladine.
Tayra Eke’s first points as a Husky came at the 7:48 left in the first quarter mark on a fast break layup.
What’s next?
Following tonight’s blowout victory over the Seattle University Redhawks at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, the Washington Husky Women’s basketball team will continue a four-game homestand to begin the season when they host the University of Pacific Tigers on Thursday, November 7th, 2024, with a tipoff time of 6PM PST that will be broadcast live on B1G+ and over the airwaves at 1090 KPTR-AM. The Tigers come from the West Coast Conference, with the University of Pacific being located in Stockton, California. The four-game homestand is book ended by games against schools who call the state of Washington home, as after the game against Pacific and a battle against Siena (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) the Huskies will host Eastern Washington. Washington doesn’t get into Big Ten play until late December, so getting their game tuned up in the first few weeks of the season is key. For fans who purchased their tickets through Washington’s new "$24 for '24 We Win, You Win" ticket promotion for the first half of the 2024-25 schedule, they’ll get a a complimentary digital ticket to the next home game against Pacific on Thursday. The promotions' main purpose is that after each Husky win in the 2024 calendar year, fans who purchase this limited-time ticket package (available for just $24) will automatically receive the aforementioned complimentary digital ticket to the next home game. Each digital ticket will be delivered to your mobile device 24 hours prior to tip-off and your exact seating location will vary from game to game. Men's basketball and women's basketball packages are sold separately. You can click here if you’re interested in participating in that promotion.
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Cover photo and photos in this article by Rowan Schaberg. Check out our previous articles written by Rowan Schaberg here, and her portfolio here, as Rowan is a multi-media journalist that has written, video, and photo experience.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.
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