SEATTLE – The Washington women’s basketball team laughed when they learned they were picked to finish seventh in the Pacific-10 Conference preseason coaches poll. With every player back from last season, they knew they were better than that and vowed that they would surprise people.
And so far, the Huskies have.
Though Washington has lost three of its past five, it is still 14-6 and at 7-4, good enough for fourth place in the Pac-10 going into Thursday’s games. The 14 wins are as many as the team had all of last season.
Now, the Huskies appear to be poised to make a run at reaching the NCAA Tournament. Washington has road wins at Alabama and Florida State and has victories over Utah, Michigan and Stanford.
“We knew what we had coming into this season,” Washington coach June Daugherty said. “We knew that we had the potential to be better than we were being given credit for. And we’ve put ourselves in a good position. But we can’t be satisfied with that.”
The Huskies have seven games left, but just three are at home. To be safe, Washington probably needs at least 18 wins to reach the tournament, which means stealing a couple wins on the road. But the Huskies feel they can do that.
“We’ve shown we can win on the road,” guard Cameo Hicks said. “We’re comfortable playing on the road. We love playing at home, but we have no problem being on the road.”
The Huskies have had success despite a wildly inconsistent effort on offense. Washington is shooting 40.3 percent as a team. It has had instances when it has gotten very hot, making 3-pointers, scoring in transition and getting put-back after put-back. But even more often, Washington has been unable to consistently make shots and, besides Hicks, has not found a player who regularly can be a scoring threat.
“We definitely need to be more consistent on offense,” Daugherty said. “We can shoot the ball better than we have, we can make better decisions than we have. But we know we can be better, and we’ll keep working to get there.”
Washington has overcome its offensive trouble thanks to strong rebounding and aggressive defense. The Huskies lead the Pac-10 in offensive rebounding and are among the top teams in steals and turnover margin.
“Those are things that can be there every game,” senior Kristen O’Neill said. “We can play with great effort every game, and that can help us overcome days when our shots aren’t falling. We feel like we can always outwork our opponents.”
Washington’s depth has been tested lately with the retirement of senior guard Kayla Burt after the former Arlington star suffered another heart-related issue. But guards Cheri Craddock and Nicole Castro have stepped in and played well in Burt’s absence, and Washington seems comfortable playing 10 players regularly.
Here’s a look at Washington’s backcourt and frontcourt:
* Backcourt: Even without Burt, Washington has good depth at the guard spot. The leader has clearly been Hicks, the team’s only double-digit scorer at 14.7 points a game. Hicks has been the team’s best outside shooter, has rebounded well and is the best player at creating her own shot. Point guard Emily Florence has been steady at point guard but must score more than she has to prevent teams from doubling other players. Sophomore Dominique Banks is averaging a quiet 7.5 points but is capable of more and must continue to learn to create her own shot.
O’Neill has really stepped up her play recently, stretching defenses with her 3-point shooting. She also gives the Huskies a different dimension as a point guard because of her height, and has played good defense. Craddock has been a dangerous 3-point shooter since she began to get more minutes but must add to her game (defense, ball handling) to really be valuable. Castro is a solid ball handler and distributor off the bench.
* Frontcourt: Washington did not have much of an inside game last season, so an increased role by the post players has been welcome. But the Huskies need more scoring inside to have success in the postseason. The biggest revelation has been sophomore Andrea Plouffe, who did little last season but has developed into a reliable post player, averaging 9.9 points and giving the team good toughness. Breanne Watson has rebounded well and is physical, but has to develop a better offensive game in the post.
Jill Bell is coming off the bench and has given the team good rebounding and defense. Bell has developed a decent outside shot but would help the team more by getting points in the paint. Maggie O’Hara gives Washington good size, rebounds well and plays with a lot of energy but has no offensive game. Freshman Heidi McNeill has seen sporadic action but could develop into a nice offensive player eventually.
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