The Washington Huskies women’s basketball team were one of 68 teams to be officially listed as March Madness participants during yesterday’s Selection Sunday ceremony. The Huskies (21-10, 10-8 Big Ten) were awarded the No. 6 seed in the Regional 4 group, which means they’re set to face the No. 11 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits (27-6, 14-2 Summit League).
The Huskies are advancing to the March Madness tournament for the second-straight year under head coach Tina Langley, but there was no shortage of excitement when their seeding was officially announced:
WASHINGTON, THE NO. 6 SEED IS DANCING 🥳 pic.twitter.com/HE8sT96QDo
— Washington Women’s Basketball (@UW_WBB) March 16, 2026
This year’s Huskies squad fought to their No. 6 seeding behind an impressive effort from junior guard and first-team All-Big Ten honoree Sayvia Sellers, who averaged team bests in points (18.5 per game), assists (3.7 per game), and steals (1.5 per game).
Sellers is Washington’s big star, but she didn’t send the Huskies dancing by herself. Sellers was aided by double-digit scorers Avery Howell (13.7 points per game) and Elle Ladine (10.4 points per game), as well as all-around good defense from a unit which allowed the Big Ten’s third-fewest points per game (62.2).
The Huskies got out to a hot start this season, winning their first eight nonconference games by an average margin of 26 points per game. They then saw their level of opposing competition rise steeply in Big Ten play, but they held their own, and were even ranked in the nation’s top 25 for 11 weeks between November and February.
The ranked Huskies won five straight games in January, but their momentum didn’t last, and they went just 3-5 across their last eight regular season games. The Huskies then entered March’s Big Ten tournament as the No. 8 seed and beat No. 9 USC 76-64 in the second round before losing 78-60 to No. 1 seed and eventual champions UCLA in the quarterfinals.
Washington will play South Dakota State in the Round of 64
Now, Langley’s Huskies are set to meet South Dakota State, whose Jackrabbits earned a fourth-straight Summit League championship and an automatic tournament bid by beating North Dakota State 64-51 on March 8. In doing so, the Jackrabbits won their 13th Summit League title since 2009. They’ve earned 14 tournament bids in that time frame, all of which have come under 26-year head coach Aaron Johnston.
Expect Langley and Johnston, who were WNIT champions in back to back years (Langley in 2021 with Rice and Johnston in 2022 with SDSU), to engage in an exciting coaching duel when the two meet inside TCU’s Schollmaier Arena at 11:30 a.m. on Friday.
Langley’s Huskies are currently 6.5-point favorites according to FanDuel, but they’ll need to play their best to come out on top against South Dakota’s star forward, Brooklyn Meyer. The 6-foot-2 senior forward leads her Jackrabbits in points (22.4 per game), assists (8.0 per game), rebounds (2.7 per game), and blocks (1.9 per game).
The victors of Washington’s clash with South Dakota State will stay in Fort Worth, Texas, to face the winner of No. 3 TCU vs No. 14 UC San Diego. Should the Huskies keep winning, they’ll then travel to Sacramento, Calif., for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds. The Final Four matchups and championship game will then be held in Phoenix, Ariz. on April 3 and 5, respectively.