UW women make their mark in NIT

SEATTLE – The February 2010 Sports Illustrated article still burns in Regina Rogers’ memory. “Brand of Brothers” depicted Seattle as a hotbed for NBA talent, which is true.

Rogers, a Washington senior, believes one thing was missing from the story. “They forgot about the girls basketball teams,” she said. “We have a lot of players that are good like (former Gonzaga star) Courtney Vandersloot, so I don’t want them to forget about the girls.”

The state’s Division I college teams are bubbling with simultaneous excitement for the first time in history. After Washington State made an unexpected run to the Pac-12 tournament semifinals for the first time in school history, Gonzaga, Washington and Seattle University did the same in combining to go 6-1 in postseason runs.

Rogers and the Huskies (20-13) will try to continue their season on Sunday when they play host to San Diego in a Women’s National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal game at Edmundson Pavilion.

UW hopes to revive its fan base with this postseason run.

“We’ve gotten a lot of positive comments and emails and so forth, which is great,” first-year UW coach Kevin McGuff said. “In that regard, I’m just happy for our players, especially our seniors, because I do think they took it very seriously trying to help re-establish a winning legacy. They’ve taken a lot of pride in what they’ve accomplished this year.”

Seattle Christian senior forward Katie Collier, who will play in the McDonald’s All-American Game on Wednesday in Chicago, is UW’s first All-American recruit.

Rogers said it’s a sign of women’s talent on the rise.

“We’re showing how Washington is getting better each year,” Rogers said.