This Week: Coming off a 79-66 loss at Arizona Thursday, Washington women's basketball (17-4, 9-3) aims to get back in the win column when it faces Arizona State (13-8, 5-7), Saturday, Feb. 8, at 12 p.m. PT at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Saturday's game will be televised live to a national audience on Fox Sports Net. Calling the action will be Jim Watson and Tammy Blackburn. The Huskies, having lost just four games all season, have yet to lose back-to-back games this year. UW moved up five spots to No. 20 in the AP poll this week, and made its debut in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches poll at No. 24. Last week at home, the Huskies pulled decisive wins over USC and UCLA, led by Pac-10 Player of the Week Giuliana Mendiola's outstanding individual performance. Mendiola scored a school-record and career-high 43 points vs. UCLA, the fifth-best single-game point total in the nation this year. She added 12 rebounds and seven assists vs. UCLA. Washington has won eight of its last 10 games and has its best 21-game record since the 1989-90 season when it began that year 19-2. UW is looking for the series sweeps against ASU after defeating the Sun Devils 69-56 in Seattle, Jan. 9.
Huskies On The Radio: All UW women's basketball games can be heard live on the radio at KKNW 1150 AM. Calling the play-by-play action is Steve Sandmeyer in his fourth season as the voice of the Huskies. Joining Sandmeyer this season and doing the color commentary for most home games will be former Husky basketball player Elise (Niemela) Woodward. Games can also be heard over the internet. Just click on the official UW website at www.gohuskies.com.
Scouting the Huskies: The 20th-ranked Huskies remain a half game behind Stanford in second-place in the Pac-10 going into Saturday's contest with ASU. Washington's 17-4 overall record is its best in its first 21 games since its 19-2 record in 1989-90. That season, UW finished 28-3 overall, tied for first in the Pac-10 and advanced to the NCAA Mideast Region Championship before falling 76-50 to Auburn. UW continued its dominance at home last weekend, extending its winning streak to 11-straight games at Bank of America Arena with victories over USC (94-76) and UCLA (111-77). The Huskies defeated the LA schools by a combined 52 points, and won their last four home games by at least 18 points. Two of the Huskies' four losses came to teams ranked in the AP Top-25 (No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 5 Stanford). UW's strength remains its three-point shot, as the Huskies began this week the Pac-10 leader in three-pointers (8.6) and ranked third nationally. Junior All-America candidate Giuliana Mendiola is the team leader in points (17.1), rebounds (6.6) and assists (5.4) and has scored in double-figures in 20 games including the last 13 straight. Mendiola recorded a double-double three of the last four games, and just missed a triple-double in the games against USC and UCLA last week. Senior All-America candidate Loree Payne is second in scoring with 14.6 points a game, while senior Emily Autrey (11.0) and junior Andrea Lalum (11.0) round out Huskies in double-figure scoring.
Arizona Hands Washington Fourth Loss, 79-66: After trailing by as many as 17 points early in the second-half, the Huskies rallied to within six with 10 minutes to left to play but were unable to stop the Arizona Wildcats as they rolled over Washington 77-69, at the McKale Center in Tucson, Thursday evening. The loss was just the fourth of the season for Washington. UW's All-America candidates Giuliana Mendiola and Loree Payne accounted for 43 of the team's 66 points, scoring 22 and 21, respectively. Junior Andrea Lalum led UW with seven rebounds as the Huskies held a 38-36 advantage on the boards. For the 14th time this season, Mendiola was the team leader in assists with six. The Huskies struggled from the field, shooting just 36.9 percent, compared to Arizona's 51.6 percent. The Wildcats had four players score in double-figures led by 25 from Dee-Dee Wheeler. Krista Warren and Shawntinice Polk added 14 each, while Aimee Grzyb scored 11 points. Arizona wore down Washington in the paint, scoring 22 points compared to UW's 10. The Huskies' woes in Tucson continued with the loss, making Thursday's game the eighth-straight loss at the McKale Center. UW still hasn't won a game there since March 2, 1995. In fact, UW head coach June Daugherty is still winless in Tucson.
* UW set a new women's basketball attendance record with 8,408 fans. Thre previous record was 8,170 vs. Depaul on March 17, 1991.
* Win marked UW's 11-straight win at home, the longest streak since a 13-game streak during the 1988-89 seasons.
Huskies Roll Over USC 94-76: All-America candidate Giuliana Mendiola took control of a close game with 14 second-half points, leading Washington on a 34-17 second-half surge to rout USC, 94-76, before 4,335 fans at Bank of America Arena, Jan. 30. Mendiola, who finished just two assists shy of the school's first triple-double since 1978, scored 14 of her 22 points after halftime, adding 10 rebounds and eight assists in the contest.
Mendiola Named Pac-10 Player Of The Week: Mendiola garnered her second Pac-10 Player of the Week honor this season, averaging a near triple-double vs. the L.A. schools with 32.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.0 steals. On the weekend she shot a combined 72.7 percent from the field (24-33), 58.3 percent from 3-point range (7-12) and 90.9 percent from the line (10-11), not to mention her school-record 43 points.
UW Clumps To No. 20 In AP Poll: After making its debut at No. 25 in the AP poll last week, the Huskies made the biggest jump in rankings this week, climbing five spots to No. 20. Washington also made its season debut in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll at No. 24.
A Look At Arizona State: Arizona State (13-8, 5-7) enters Saturday's game in seventh-place in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils rebounded from a pair of losses at Oregon (52-68) and Oregon State (45-70) last week, with a 70-52 victory over Washington State, Thursday evening. With its win over the Cougars, ASU avoided its first three-game losing streak since ending the 1999-00 campaign with three-straight losses. ASU has also lost four of its last six games. Freshman standout Jill Noe, already a two-time Player of the Week honoree, leads the Sun Devils with 14.9 points to go along with 5.5 rebounds. Amy Denson is the team's leading rebounder with 6.3 boards, followed closely behind Kristen Kovesdy with 6.2. Both players average 10.8 points a game.
All-Time Series Vs. ASU: Washington leads the all-time series with Arizona State 24-11, including last month's 69-56 win in Seattle. The Huskies have won the last two straight meetings and four of the last five games. These teams split their games last season with UW winning in Seattle (68-50), while ASU won its home contest in Tempe (66-61). UW does hold a slim 9-8 advantage in games played at Wells Fargo Arena. ASU has won four of the last five games with UW at WFA, only losing 66-62 on Jan. 11, 2001.
Home Sweet Home: The Huskies' continue their roll as an unbeatable team at home this season. UW has now won 11 straight at home, the sixth-longest home winning streak in Husky history. It is the longest streak since UW won 13 straight during the 1988-89 seasons. The school record for a home winning streak is 30 games, set from 1986-88. UW credits much of its home success to stellar fan support, as the Huskies lead the Pac-10 with an average crowd of 4,515 fans. UW owns three of the top-five home attendances marks in the Pac-10 this season: (1) vs. UCLA, Feb. 1 (8,408), (4) vs. Oregon State, Jan. 25 (5,964), (5) vs. Arizona, Jan. 11 (5,458).
High-Scoring Huskies: After scoring at least 94 points both games last week, UW entered this week leading the Pac-10 in scoring offense with 78.2 points per game. The Huskies also began the week ranked 12th in the nation in that category. Minnesota is the nation's leader with 83.3 points per outing.The Huskies have also posted an average margin of victory of 18 points in their 17 wins, including a 21.8 point margin in their 11 home wins. Washington has won 14 games by at least a 10-point margin.
Husky Notables: In addition to scoring, UW went into the week leading the Pac-10 in 3-pointers made (8.60), 3-point field goal percentage (.386), assist-turnover ratio (1.30) and assists (19.3)...UW ranked second in four categories: scoring margin (+11.7), free-throw percentage (.739), field-goal percentage (.455) and turnover margin (+3.45) ...UW has outrebounded its opponent in its last five-straight games...UW hit double-digit 3-pointers in the last three of the last four games...UW hit at least 10 threes in five straight non-conference games...The Huskies are 14-0 when leading at the half and 12-1 when outrebounding their opponent...UW is 14-2 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent...UW has not lost a game when it scores at least 70 points...Mendiola is the Pac-10 leader in assists (5.40)...Autrey leads the Pac-10 in 3-point shooting percentage (.458).
UW Leads Pac-10, Ranks Third Nationally In 3-Pointers: As of Feb. 3, the Huskies ranked third in the nation with 8.6 three-pointers per game. New Mexico State is the nation's leader with 8.8 treys per game. UW has drained at least 10 three-pointers in eight games and its 179 treys lead the Pac-10 this season. Senior Loree Payne, UW's all-time career leader in 3-pointers, went into the week second among conference players with 48. UW had two of the top players in the conference in three-point shooting percentage. Senior Emily Autrey was first with a .458 percentage (27-59) and junior Giuliana Mendiola was second with a .449 percentage (31-69). The Huskies tied their Pac-10 and school records with 16 three-pointers vs. St. Bonaventure Nov. 29, while adding 15 vs. North Carolina State and UCLA (2/1). UW shares the Pac-10 record with Stanford.
More National Rankings: As of Feb. 3, UW ranked third in the nation in assists (19.3), 18th in three-point field goal percentage (38.6) and 30th in field goal percentage (45.5).
Dalan Comes Back From Stress Fracture Injury: The Huskies were happy to welcome senior forward Kellie Dalan back to the floor in their game with Oregon she missed the previous eight games with a stress fracture in her right foot. Dalan got the clearance following shoot around prior to UW's game with the Ducks, Jan. 23. Dalan, who had started the first eight games, logged 13 minutes vs. Oregon and had two points and three rebounds. Against OSU she had her second-highest scoring game this season (nine points). Dalan had been averaging 6.4 points and 2.5 rebounds a game prior to the injury.
Payne Sets UW Career Three-Pointers Record: Netting a trio of treys vs. Cal and Stanford, senior Loree Payne surpassed her former Husky teammate Megan Franza to claim the UW career record for three-pointers made. Payne currently has 230 career three-pointers, 19 more than Franza who had 211 from 1997-01. Payne also moved ahead of Franza on the Pac-10 list, to secure second only to Arizona's Lisa Griffith (285). Payne moved into second all-time in UW history and third in Pac-10 history with 682 three-pointers attempted. Payne's 10 3-point attempts vs. Arizona moved her past Jamie Redd (1996-99) on both lists.
Mendiola Joins 1,000-Point Club, Payne 1,500 Club: Giuliana Mendiola and Loree Payne have established themselves among the elite women's basketball players to have competed in the Husky program. Mendiola's 13 points vs. Oregon helped her become the 18th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. She now has 1,102. Payne's nine points vs. Oregon State made her the ninth player ever at UW to score at least 1,500 points. She currently has 1,563 in her career.
All-America Candidates Leading The Way: As was expected, All-America candidates Loree Payne and Giuliana Mendiola have led the way for the Huskies so far this season. The pair has shared high-scoring honors in 16 games with Mendiola averaging 17.1 points a contest and Payne averaging 14.9. Both were All-Pac-10 first-team selections last year. In her third season as a Husky team captain, Payne has scored in double-figures in 14 games, including career-highs of 29 vs. Washington State and Oregon. She also leads the team with 51 three-pointers and has recently set the UW career record (230). Mendiola, in her second year as team co-captain, has scored in double-figures in all but one game, while also leading the team with 6.6 rebounds. Mendiola has also dished out a team-high 114 assists. The Husky guard hit the game-winning shot in UW's 83-81 overtime win at USC Jan. 5, and has been the only Husky named Pac-10 Player of the Week this year (Dec. 2-8/Jan. 27-Feb.1). Mendiola has notched six double-doubles this season and has 11 in her Husky career. She came just two assists shy of notching just the second triple-double in UW history with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists vs. USC Jan. 30, after tying the school record for single-game assists (13) vs. Oregon State, Jan. 25. She was also just three assists short of another triple-double vs. UCLA with 43 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
O'Neill Keeps Heatin' Up: Sophomore Kristen O'Neill had big shoes to fill when stepping in for Kayla Burt in the starting five, but the 6-1 guard has thrived since. She recorded then-career-highs in points (17-including the game-winner in final seconds) and rebounds (nine) against Arizona, Jan. 11. She followed up that performance with a new career-high 18 points vs. Cal, Jan. 16. Against Oregon Jan. 23, she upped her career total of rebounds to 12, tying for the highest rebound total by a Husky this season. She then pulled down double-figures in rebounds in back-to-back games (10 vs. OSU). O'Neill came off the bench in UW's first 10 games, after starting 24 as a freshman last year. She has started the last 11 games and averages 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Autrey Thrust Back Into Starting Role: After starting 26 of 31 games a a junior last year, senior Emily Autrey was relegated to coming off the bench in the first eight games of her senior campaign this season. The 6-0 forward made the most of that new role, sparking the Huskies with 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds off the bench, including a career-high performance of points (23) and three-pointers (five) vs. North Carolina State Dec. 6. But when senior Kellie Dalan went down with the stress fracture injury, Autrey took her place in the starting five in UW's game with Iowa State and has started since. Autrey came three boards shy of a double-double with 10 points and seven rebounds, to go along with two assists in that game vs. Iowa State. She followed that up with a team-high 11 rebounds and seven points in her second start vs. Washington State. Autrey, third on the team with 11.0 points and second in rebounding with 5.2 boards, has scored in double-figures in 11 games, including four of the last five games. She tied her career high 23 pts. vs. UCLA, Feb. 1.
Lalum Steady As She Goes: Junior forward Andrea Lalum is right behind Mendiola, Payne and Autrey when it comes to offensive production. Averaging 11.0 points a game, Lalum has scored in double-figures in 13 games (six of the last seven) including two performances of 20 points or more. Lalum scored a season-high 23 points vs. Iowa State, two shy of matching her career-high set last year, including the game-winning bucket in the waning seconds of the game. She also recorded her ninth-career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds vs. Houston at the N.C. State Tournament. She is currently fourth on the team in scoring (11.0 points) and in rebounds (4.5).
Injury Update: Senior Kellie Dalan was out since Dec. 20 with a stress fracture in her right foot but made her return in UW's game vs. Oregon, Jan. 23...sophomore Kirsten Brockman is out for the season, recovering from surgery to repair a stress fracture in her left foot...freshman Angie Jones is rehabilitating her right knee after ACL surgery Nov. 22...Jones tore the same ACL during her junior season at Holy Names Academy (Seattle)...freshman Jill Bell had surgery to repair a ligament in her left thumb Nov. 7 and has been cleared to play.
Payne Named Finalist For Senior CLASS Award: Senior Loree Payne is one of 30 finalists nominated for the second annual Senior CLASS Award. The Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award is presented to the nation's senior player of the year for NCAA Div. I men's and women's basketball. The award was developed in response to the recent trend of college basketball players leaving early to turn professional. Last year, Connecticut's Sue Bird and Maryland's Juan Dixon each won the award.
Mendiola On Payne's Heels In Career 3-Pointers: Junior Giuliana Mendiola is one year behind fellow All-America candidate senior Loree Payne, but she is on her heels on the UW career three-point scoring lists. Mendiola is seventh all-time in three-pointers made (99) and is seventh in three-pointers attempted (268). In fact, Mendiola entered the season ranked ahead of Payne in career three-point field goal percentage. Mendiola is fifth (.369) and Payne is sixth (.337). Last year as a sophomore, Mendiola also turned in the third-highest single season assists (152) in UW history. Only Lisa Raschkow (1987, 161) and Katia Foucade (1995, 157) had more assists in a season than Mendiola did in 2002.
Sister Act: For the second-straight season, the Husky roster boasts two sets of sisters: juniors Giuliana and Gioconda Mendiola, and senior Kellie Dalan and sophomore Kristen O'Neill. The Mendiolas are one year apart in age, almost to the day, but Gioconda took a year off between high school graduation and college so that she could play four years of college ball with her sister. Kellie Dalan, formerly O'Neill, got married this summer, hence the name change. The only other pair of sisters to play together at Washington were Heidi (1993-96) and Molly Hills (1996-99), who overlapped the 1996 season.
Husky Coaching Staff: Aiming to guide the Huskies to their sixth postseason appearance during her brief tenure, UW head coach June Daugherty enters her seventh season at the helm of the women's basketball program. She has an overall record of 117-82 at Washington and a 13-year career head coaching mark of 240-156. Sunny Smallwood is in her 10th year as a Husky women's basketball assistant, while Mike Daugherty enters his seventh season. Shimmy Gray enters her third year on staff.
Kayla Burt's UW Career Comes To A Close: Washington announced Jan. 6 that Husky sophomore Kayla Burt will no longer play Div. I basketball due to being diagnosed with a rare heart condition called Long Q-T Syndrome. Burt's heart stopped beating on New Year's Eve and her teammates came to her rescue, performing CPR until paramedics could arrive. On Jan. 6 she had surgery to implant a defibrillator in the right side of her chest, a device which will monitor her heart rhythm and shock it back to a normal rhythm should an abnormality occur again. Burt started all 10 Husky games before falling ill. She averaged eight points and 3.7 rebounds a game. Burt turned in a stellar effort in UW's Dec. 22 win over Iowa State, either matching or setting career highs in rebounds (seven), assists (eight), three-pointers made (three) and three-pointers attempted (six). Upon her return to the team, she was asked by her teammates to accept the role of co-captain which she accepted. Burt will join previous co-captains seniors Loree Payne and Cheryl Sorenson and junior Giuliana Mendiola. She will retain her scholarship until graduation.
New Faces: Washington's roster boasts four new faces this year in redshirt freshman Nicole Castro and true freshmen Jill Bell, Angie Jones and Erica Schelly. Bitten by the preseason injury bug, Bell and Jones have yet to make their collegiate debuts. Jones, from Seattle, tore her ACL in an Oct. 22 practice and had surgery Nov. 22. At Holy Names Academy, Jones led her team to two straight Class 3A state appearances and two consecutive Metro league chamionships. She earned All-Metro first-team honors in 2001 and 2002. Bell, from Bellevue, Wash., had surgery to repair a torn ligament in her left thumb in November and has been cleared to play, but hasn't appeared in a game yet. At Bellevue High School, Bell led her team to four straight state tournament appearances and four straight league crowns. Castro, from Darwin, Australia, joined the team in January of last year after graduating from high school in the fall of 2002. Castro, who attended St. John's College High School, was selected twice to the Adidas All-Star Camp in 1999 and 2000 and was named the 2001 Southern Cross Women's League Youth Player of the Year. Schelly, from Fort Collins, Colo., is the only true freshmen to have seen any playing time. She was honored as a Nike All-American and entered her senior season at Poudre High School as a Street & Smith's Preseason All-America pick. Schelly led Poudre High to the Class 5A state tournament four straight years and was a four-time first-team all-conference honoree. She garnered honorable mention all-state honors as a sophomore and junior.
UW Ranked In Three Preseason Polls: Washington was ranked in three Top-25 preseason polls. The Huskies checked in at No. 22 according to Basketball News, and are ranked 25th by Lindy's and Street & Smith. In the Associated Press Preseason Poll, UW ranked 27th with 94 votes, and in the USA Today/ESPN Poll the Huskies are 32nd with 74 votes.
UW Represented on NCAA Advisory Committee: Washington senior associate athletic director for sports programs and student services, Marie Tuite, is serving on this year's NCAA Div. I Women's Basketball Committee. Her appointment began Sept. 1, 2001. The NCAA Committee is charged with the selection of teams and overall administration of the NCAA Div. I Women's Basketball Championship. Tuite, in her eighth-year at Washington, brings an extensive background in women's basketball to the committee.
Parking: This year there is a change in traffic pattern around Bank of America Arena on basketball game days. Fans will no longer be able to enter the Montlake Parking Lot (E1) from the south side on Montlake Blvd., but now must enter the lot from the north side near the UW driving range.
Practice Policy: Washington women's basketball practices are open to the media and public, and will usually be held on the main court or east court at Bank of America Arena. Interviews must be arranged through the media relations office and 24 hours advance notice is requested. Interviews will be scheduled around players' convenience and must be conducted by the start of practice. Please call the UW Media Relations office to confirm practice location and start times. The Husky practice schedule, listed month-to-month, can be found on www.gohuskies.com, on the women's basketball page.
Credential Requests: Requests from print, electronic and photo journalists for season and individual game credentials should be made on your media outlet's letterhead and mailed or faxed to Erin Rowley at the UW Media Relations office, University of Washington, 229 Graves Building, Box 354070, Seattle, WA, 98195-4070. The fax number is 206-543-5000. Credentials will be issued to legitimate media outlets.
UW Basketball Coaches Radio Show: The Washington Basketball Coaches' Show with Lorenzo Romar and June Daugherty made its debut Wed., Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. on SportsRadio KJR AM-950. The weekly show will air on Monday or Tuesday night during the season. Daugherty will talk Husky women's hoops from 7:30-8 p.m., following Romar from 7-7:30 p.m. The show is hosted by basketball play-by-play announcers Bob Rondeau (men) and Steve Sandmeyer (women) and KJR on-air personality David Locke. The remaining schedule is as follows: Mon., Feb. 10; Mon., Feb. 18; Tue., Feb. 25, Mon., March 3; Mon, March 10.
Pac-10 Teleconference Call: The Pac-10 men's and women's basketball coaches media teleconference calls will be held on a weekly basis beginning Tuesday, Dec. 17. Media wishing to participate on the conference call may contact Erin Rowley at UW Media Relations or Julie Reuvers at the Pac-10 Office for information on how to dial into those calls.