The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
60°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Former CV, Colfax star Brynn McGaughy, UW women moving on to second round of NCAA tournament

Washington forward Brynn McGaughy controls the ball against Michigan earlier this season. McGaughy scored 14 points in her first NCAA Tournament game on Friday in a 72-54 win over South Dakota State. (Getty Images)
By Percy Allen Seattle Times

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Huskies made it clear this was their goal and what drove them.

They said they learned from past failures and were confident their NCAA tournament first-round game – the first in nine years for the program – wouldn’t be too big for them.

Aside from a shaky 10 minutes at the start, the No. 6 seed Washington women’s basketball team was true to its word while rolled past No. 11 seed South Dakota State for a 72-54 victory on Friday at Schollmaier Arena.

The Huskies (22-10) advance to the second round for the first time since 2017 to face No. 3 seed TCU (30-5) on Sunday.

Sophomore guard Avery Howell (30 points and seven three-pointers) and freshman center Brynn McGaughy (14 points and four rebounds) provided the most significant contributions and led the way for Washington, which trailed by 10 points early in the game.

The Jackrabbits connected on 5 of their first 8 shots to race out to a 13-3 lead while the Huskies were 1 for 13 from the field, including 1 of 6 on three-pointers.

Washington finished the first quarter with a 12-2 run to tie it at 15-15 following Howell’s three-pointer.

The Huskies carried the momentum into the second quarter where they outscored the Jackrabbits 23-9 to take a 38-24 halftime lead.

Last year, Washington was in a similar position and led 34-21 at the break before being outscored 42-26 in the second half and losing 63-60 to Columbia in a First Four NCAA tournament game.

“Coming back, obviously you have more confidence,” senior guard Elle Ladine said Thursday. “We’ve been here before. So just trying to continue to learn and stay in the moment.”

Unlike last year, the Huskies didn’t wilt in high-leverage moments in the second half and outscored the Jackrabbits 34-30.

This time, they had Michigan transfer and senior center Yulia Grabovskaia who came off the bench and tag-teammed with McGaughy to hold SDSU senior forward Brooklyn Meyer to 29 points on 13-for-20 shooting.

And this time, Washington had Howell, the USC transfer who sank 9 of 16 shots from the field, including dagger three-pointers in the third quarter that gave the Huskies a 40-61 lead.

South Dakota State (27-7) never got closer than 17 points in the fourth quarter.