SEATTLE – Breanne Watson has found herself surrounded by excellence lately.
During the summer, the junior forward on the Washington women’s basketball team was a key member on the Canadian World University Games team that took 11th at the tournament in Turkey.
Now, she shares a room with Courtney Thompson, Christal Morrison and Carolyn Farny, members of the national-champion Husky volleyball team.
So it’s easy to see why Watson might be a little driven to help her team reach a high level.
“We were so proud of them,” Watson said of the UW volleyball team. “What an awesome experience. Watching them all season, seeing what they’ve done, it gives you more inner fire. To see them actually accomplish what they did, that’s huge. Now we talk about wanting to win a Pac-10 championship, and we think that’s a realistic goal.”
Right now that seems like more than just optimistic talk. Washington is in second place in the Pac-10 at 4-1, and is 11-3 overall, having won six of seven games since Watson was inserted into the starting lineup. The Huskies will try to take another step toward their goal when they host a talented UCLA team (4-2, 9-6) at 7 p.m. today at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Watson’s season hasn’t been an easy one. She hyperextended her elbow at the World University Games in August. When she finally recovered from that, she developed mononucleosis, which kept her out of action for a month. It’s just recently that the 6-foot-1 Richmond, British Columbia native has started to feel healthy, and that’s translated to the court. In her past four games, Watson has averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, including a 12-point, seven-rebound game against Washington State last weekend (five of the rebounds were on the offensive boards).
“I’m almost where I want to be, health-wise,” Watson said. “That’s contributed to it. And I’ve regained my confidence. I had such a great summer and then to have the elbow injury and mono, that took awhile for me to get back into it.”
“She’s getting in better shape,” Washington coach June Daugherty said. “She’s getting more offensive boards and she’s scoring on them. She’s running the floor better and getting some pretty easy looks. And she’s playing with renewed confidence and conditioning.”
Watson almost was an opponent of her current roommates, rather than a friend. She took a volleyball recruiting visit to Oregon, just to realize that her true love was basketball. She starred at R.A. McMath High School, averaging 27.4 points and 15 rebounds as a senior and was named B.C.’s Best All-Around Athlete by the Vancouver Province. She signed to play for the Huskies and started 22 games as a freshman before becoming a reserve last season, when she averaged 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Then during the summer, she was selected to play for her country in the same tournament UW men’s player Bobby Jones participated in for the United States.
“It was such an amazing experience for me,” Watson said. “To represent your country is a huge honor. I was so fortunate to be a part of it.”
Watson said her family was initially a little concerned about her traveling to Turkey for the tournament because the country is so near Iraq, but she said she never felt any fear while there. Instead, it gave her a new perspective on the world.
“I want to travel when school’s done, and I don’t think Turkey was a place I would have ever gone,” Watson said. “But I went over there, and it was a beautiful country. The people were so gracious. It opened my eyes. You have ideas about certain countries, but it was just fantastic. I loved it.”
Canada went 4-3, and Watson averaged 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds. In a win over Great Britain, Watson had nine points and six rebounds, and in a loss to Serbia-Montenegro, she had 11 points and seven rebounds.
“It made her a lot tougher,” Daugherty said. “It made her understand the game at a whole other level. She’s a lot quicker about everything she does. She gained a lot of confidence from it.”
That confidence is something Watson didn’t necessarily have when she came to Washington. Playing prep basketball in Canada, where it is not as competitive as in the United States, she wasn’t sure she could compete in the Pac-10. Now, she sees she is as capable as anyone.
“I always dreamed of playing in the States and at a good basketball school,” said Watson, whose father Brent played basketball at Washington State. “I didn’t know how things would turn out and I was nervous about it. But I’ve found that I can compete here and help my team win.”
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