The Huskies’ lead Dawg

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, January 3, 2007

SEATTLE – You know the little mosquito that buzzes around irritating you until it finally bites? That’s kind of what Emily Florence is like.

The 5-foot-5 University of Washington junior guard harasses you defensively, makes you work on defense by pushing the ball, slips in to grab a key rebound and every so often buries a jump shot.

In short, she’s the engine that has driven the UW women’s team to a 4-0 Pacific-10 Conference start and an 11-4 overall record and has the Huskies tied for first in the league headed into today’s game at Arizona (0-3, 6-9).

“She has this will and spirit about her that she’s going to do everything she can to help her team win,” Washington coach June Daugherty said. “She’s a tenacious competitor who is not afraid of anything. She’s a winner and she finds a way to get things done. She definitely plays way beyond her size.”

It’s that ability to play bigger than her stature that has garnered the Boise, Idaho, native so much attention this season. Though she’s often the smallest player on the court, Florence is as likely to end up with a rebound as any of the taller players. She ranks third on the team, averaging 5.4 rebounds per game, up from the 3.5 she averaged last season. In Pac-10 play, she’s tied for ninth in the league in rebounding at 7.3 a game, and is tied for sixth in offensive boards (2.75). She had a career-high 11 rebounds in last week’s win over USC and both Trojans coach Mark Trakh and UCLA coach Kathy Olivier pointed to Florence as the key to Washington’s ability to simply outwork its opponent.

Florence said she isn’t surprised by her rebounding prowess. She said she’s always been aggressive, and points to Washington’s use of male practice players as a way for her to keep up her high level of aggression.

“We’re constantly boxing them out so in games, we’re playing against girls that aren’t as big or strong as them,” Florence said. “And when everyone boxes out, it’s pretty easy for me to slip in and get the ball.”

Florence’s rebounding isn’t a surprise at all to teammate Maggie O’Hara, who played with Florence at Boise’s Timberline High School.

“She did the same thing in high school,” O’Hara said. “She just has a knack for the ball. She played baseball when she was little – she was a shortstop – and she was always where the ball was supposed to go. In soccer, she was always able to get to header balls. She’s just great at figuring out where the ball is supposed to go.”

Added Daugherty: “Emily understands that second shots are what’s winning us ballgames. You can make up for a lot when you’re not shooting well and it starts with offensive rebounding. And she’s pretty intent on making sure her matchup doesn’t get second shots. She practices like that every day so it doesn’t surprise me that it carries over into games.”

If all Florence was doing was rebounding, that would be impressive enough. But the third-year starter also has improved in her ability to run Washington’s high-paced offense. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is much improved over her first two seasons, ranking fifth in the league at better than 2-to-1, and she leads the Huskies in assists (53) and steals (30). In the wins over the Los Angeles schools last week, she had just one turnover in 58 total minutes.

“She fits our style of play,” Daugherty said. “She can provide tremendous pressure on the basketball. Offensively, she loves to be high-octane. You’ve got to do some things a little better (when you’re small), and she does.”

“As a junior I’m just trying to be more of a leader,” Florence said. “Turnovers are something that I’ve tried to improve. I’ve worked hard at making good decisions and smarter choices, and if I make a mistake, not to dwell on it.”

Her size is also something Florence doesn’t dwell on. After all, she was short when she was named the basketball and soccer state player of the year when she was in high school, and was the same size when she won the starting point guard job as a freshman. She said she was a little concerned at how her size would translate to the Pac-10, but now she says it’s not an issue.

“I knew I’d be a lot smaller than most of the girls,” Florence said. “But I had people telling me that I could do it, and I’ve always worked really hard. I knew if I just worked hard, good things would happen.”