Well, Washington’s trip to the NCAA women’s basketball tournament could have gone better than it actually ended up going. We’re talking about a game in which Tina Langley and her Washington Husky basketball team had a 13-point halftime lead.
And we’re also talking about a First Four loss against the Columbia Lions. Largely because Washington, after claiming that 34-21 first half lead over Columbia, ended up getting outscored by a margin of 42-26 in the second half.
Which, you know, isn’t great!
That’s a recipe for a loss. And a loss it was as Washington ended its season at 19-14 with a 63-60 NCAA Tournament loss against the Columbia Lions. It’s a frustrating way for the season (a season in which we started to see some very real promise and potential for the Huskies under Langley’s guidance) to come to an end.
Washington Huskies come up short as Columbia Lions complete comeback in First Four round of NCAA women’s basketball tournament
In Washington’s first season in the Big Ten, the Huskies allowed the Columbia Lions to get their first win (in program history) over a Big Ten team. I, for one, don’t really like that fact. And it’s so frustrating because this is a game that Washington could have been able to win, but the Huskies let a large lead slip past them.
Sayvia Sellers led the way for Washington as she managed to score 21 of the Huskies’ points. After Sellers was Dalayah Daniels, who managed to score 17 points. Elle Ladine happened to put 16 points on the scoreboard.
And that’s about it. Washington really relied on the trio of Sellers, Daniels, and Ladine and only two other players managed to get on the board for a combined six points. That’s a huge reason as to why Washington struggled down the stretch of this game. The Huskies relied so much on three players that Columbia eventually figured out how to slow down as the game wore on.
This ending to the season stinks and it’ll be fascinating to see how Langley and the Huskies move forward this offseason. Hopefully this season is something that UW can continue to build on.