Published: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
UW, Whitcomb try to get back on track against Trojans, Bruins
SEATTLE — If the University of Washington women’s basketball team is going to get back on track tonight, the Huskies could start by getting their go-to scorer back in rhythm.
Since scoring 26 points in a win over Arizona State two weeks ago, senior Sami Whitcomb has scored a total of 24 points on 7-of-29 shooting in three subsequent games. In four of the past five games, Whitcomb has been held to 10 points or less.
She has been an obvious focal point for opposing defenses, often drawing double teams and/or bigger opponents.
“She always sees a team’s best defender. She always sees double teams, depending on how deep she gets on penetration,” said coach Tia Jackson, whose Huskies host USC tonight and UCLA on Saturday. “But the versatility and athleticism that she’s seeing is different.”
Case in point: last Saturday’s loss to Stanford. The second-ranked Cardinal used 6-foot-4 All-America candidate Kayla Pedersen on Whitcomb, and brought a second defender over nearly every time the 5-10 UW senior touched the ball. Whitcomb, who has scored 20 or more points five times this season, had just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting in that game.
A loss to Cal three days earlier saw Whitcomb get just six shots off, due in large part to UW’s inability to break the Golden Bears’ press.
Through it all, the senior from Ventura, Calif., has been able to avoid the natural frustration that could creep up.
“Last year, it would have been (frustrating) maybe,” she said this week. “But this year, just because of the way everyone is playing, it’s really not. I just need to make sure that I’m finding people.
“It’s more frustrating if I can’t find the people that are open. But everyone’s doing such a great job of stepping up and scoring. It almost makes it easier on me with two people on me — that’s great, we’ll find the other people and we’ll get it done.”
The Huskies have devoted a good part of the season trying to provide second and third options to Whitcomb, who is averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game this season. UW (8-8 overall, 3-3 in the Pac-10) often starts the game by forcing the ball inside, hoping that the offensive success of post players Regina Rogers and Mackenzie Argens will loosen up defenses. Shooting guard Kristi Kingma has also been able to carry the scoring load at times.
But there is no doubt which Husky is Option No. 1 in the offense.
“We rely on Sami a lot,” said Rogers, a sophomore transfer from UCLA. “She’s one of our leaders. We rely on her scoring.”
When it comes to leadership, Whitcomb has had to assert herself in an unofficial capacity. Jackson opted not to pick captains this year, marking the first time the Huskies have gone without a team captain since the 1992-93 season.
The low-key but well-spoken Whitcomb said she was in favor of the idea.
“I think it’s great because we have a lot of young people on our team that are good leaders,” Whitcomb said. “I think it empowers everybody on our team to have that type of role and take a leadership role.
“I think it’s great. It’s allowed everyone to feel like they have a voice.”
Regardless of her official role, Whitcomb is undoubtedly the focus of the Huskies’ offense. UW is hoping to get her back on track when it hosts an improved USC team (9-6, 3-1) under former NBA player and first-year Trojans coach Michael Cooper.
“(A win) would be huge for us in terms of (the conference) standings and in terms of creating some momentum for ourselves, getting back on track for what we’re capable of doing,” said Whitcomb, who is averaging 16.3 points per game at home and only 11.3 on the road. “We’ve got some real big games against some real good teams.”
Since scoring 26 points in a win over Arizona State two weeks ago, senior Sami Whitcomb has scored a total of 24 points on 7-of-29 shooting in three subsequent games. In four of the past five games, Whitcomb has been held to 10 points or less.
She has been an obvious focal point for opposing defenses, often drawing double teams and/or bigger opponents.
“She always sees a team’s best defender. She always sees double teams, depending on how deep she gets on penetration,” said coach Tia Jackson, whose Huskies host USC tonight and UCLA on Saturday. “But the versatility and athleticism that she’s seeing is different.”
Case in point: last Saturday’s loss to Stanford. The second-ranked Cardinal used 6-foot-4 All-America candidate Kayla Pedersen on Whitcomb, and brought a second defender over nearly every time the 5-10 UW senior touched the ball. Whitcomb, who has scored 20 or more points five times this season, had just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting in that game.
A loss to Cal three days earlier saw Whitcomb get just six shots off, due in large part to UW’s inability to break the Golden Bears’ press.
Through it all, the senior from Ventura, Calif., has been able to avoid the natural frustration that could creep up.
“Last year, it would have been (frustrating) maybe,” she said this week. “But this year, just because of the way everyone is playing, it’s really not. I just need to make sure that I’m finding people.
“It’s more frustrating if I can’t find the people that are open. But everyone’s doing such a great job of stepping up and scoring. It almost makes it easier on me with two people on me — that’s great, we’ll find the other people and we’ll get it done.”
The Huskies have devoted a good part of the season trying to provide second and third options to Whitcomb, who is averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game this season. UW (8-8 overall, 3-3 in the Pac-10) often starts the game by forcing the ball inside, hoping that the offensive success of post players Regina Rogers and Mackenzie Argens will loosen up defenses. Shooting guard Kristi Kingma has also been able to carry the scoring load at times.
But there is no doubt which Husky is Option No. 1 in the offense.
“We rely on Sami a lot,” said Rogers, a sophomore transfer from UCLA. “She’s one of our leaders. We rely on her scoring.”
When it comes to leadership, Whitcomb has had to assert herself in an unofficial capacity. Jackson opted not to pick captains this year, marking the first time the Huskies have gone without a team captain since the 1992-93 season.
The low-key but well-spoken Whitcomb said she was in favor of the idea.
“I think it’s great because we have a lot of young people on our team that are good leaders,” Whitcomb said. “I think it empowers everybody on our team to have that type of role and take a leadership role.
“I think it’s great. It’s allowed everyone to feel like they have a voice.”
Regardless of her official role, Whitcomb is undoubtedly the focus of the Huskies’ offense. UW is hoping to get her back on track when it hosts an improved USC team (9-6, 3-1) under former NBA player and first-year Trojans coach Michael Cooper.
“(A win) would be huge for us in terms of (the conference) standings and in terms of creating some momentum for ourselves, getting back on track for what we’re capable of doing,” said Whitcomb, who is averaging 16.3 points per game at home and only 11.3 on the road. “We’ve got some real big games against some real good teams.”
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