By John Sleeper
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – The lineup change was designed to shore up weak rebounding, with a little wakeup call thrown in.
After watching Oregon outrebound her University of Washington women’s basketball team 48-28 in a 69-56 defeat last week, UW coach June Daugherty yanked guard Loree Payne and forward Emily Autrey, the Huskies top scorer and third-leading scorer, in favor of Cheryl Sorenson and Kellie O’Neill.
Look for the same tonight in the Huskies’ game against UCLA and Sunday against USC.
“Right now, that’s the way it will be,” Daugherty said. “Right now, I’m pretty set with it. It could change; it could not change. But right now, I feel very comfortable with it.”
It’s difficult to argue with the move. The Huskies polished off Oregon State 74-58 in their next game. Yes, the Beavers held a 10-rebound advantage, but Washington played with much greater effort than it did against Oregon.
“The thing we want to see is to get to the point where we’re dominating on the boards,” Daugherty said. “We’re looking for the people who are going to go out there and play physical, intense, put bodies on people and go to the glass.”
This, even at the expense of scoring. Sorenson is a kamikaze rebounder, but she’s shooting just 24.5 percent from the field. O’Neill, a banger inside, does not provide the offensive spark Payne or Autrey can.
“I understand that,” Autrey said. “Rebounding, for us, is going to be the difference between winning and losing.”
But how important is starting, anyway? Payne came off the bench to score a season-high 26 points against Oregon State. Autrey flew around on both ends of the court and finished with nine points, including a 3-pointer.
“It’s not difficult to get used to,” guard Giuliana Mendiola said. “You play with them and practice with everyone all the time. I think I have a pretty good feel for everybody.”
The thrust is to get back to the snarling, chip-on-the-shoulder unit of last year, when the Huskies led the Pacific-10 Conference in rebounding and floor burns. Among those graduating off that team were LeAnn Sheets, Jill Pimley and Melissa Erickson, all of whom were physical players who gave the Huskies an attitude and flying elbows.
The 2000-01 Huskies have not replaced that attitude.
“Being outrebounded 48-28 is just not acceptable,” Daugherty said. “The No. 1 thing we talked to the team about is that this is going to be a war every night in the Pac-10. There are no gimmes. There’s no more sneaking up on people. It’s time to get out and really fight.”
Guard practices: Gioconda Mendiola, a starting guard before she suffered a stress fracture in her lower right leg Dec. 1, practiced with the team for the first time Wednesday. Her availability depends on the degree of soreness following more rigorous practices. She was scheduled to return in mid-January.
Aussie added: Australian Nicole Castro has joined the Huskies. Castro is enrolled at Washington to start the winter quarter. She began practicing with the team Wednesday and is expected to redshirt this season.
Castro, a 5-foot-10 guard, graduated in November from St. John’s College High School in Nambour, Australia. Her high school stats were not available, but she was a two-time captain, the league player of the year and a league all-star.
Time change: Sunday’s home game with USC, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., has been changed to 7 p.m.
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