SEATTLE — It started with jumping, hugging and screaming on the giant W at midcourt.
Then, after taking a break from the celebration to shake hands with UCLA players and coaches, the Huskies got back to business.
More hugs, more screaming, more jumping up and down.
After six weeks of losing, after 12 games of frustration, the Washington women’s basketball team finally experienced victory, knocking of the short-handed Bruins 59-49 Friday night to end a school-record losing streak.
For a night anyway, the Huskies could ignore the fact that they’re having one of the worst seasons in program history, that they’ve suffered the two worst losses in program history this season, and that they will finish at or near the bottom of the conference when all is said and done.
On Friday night, it was pure joy.
“You have no idea how good it feels,” said junior forward Laura McLellan who had a team-high 16 points coming off the bench. “It’s like we just won a championship or something. It was just a big sigh of relief.”
That collective sigh of relief was more like a high-pitched scream. After a short postgame meeting, the jubilation continued, spilling out of the locker room and echoing through the tunnels of Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
“I’ve got three words: it’s about time,” Washington coach Tia Jackson said. “Our girls played hard. It was a complete team effort and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The team effort especially came through on the defensive end as the Huskies forced the Bruins into 23 turnover and 29.8 percent shooting. That helped Washington overcome its own offensive struggles—the Huskies had 22 turnovers—and preserve a victory.
Washington led by eight at halftime and extended the lead to as many as 14 points midway through the second half. After building that 14-point lead, however, Washington went more than five minutes without a field goal, allowing the Bruins to pull within five at 50-45 with 4:13 remaining.
A Mackenzie Argens layup finally ended the UW field-goal drought, and that sparked an 8-0 Washington run that put the game away.
The Huskies managed to win despite off nights from their two leading scorers. Sami Whitcomb scored six points on one for eight shooting, while Kristi Kingma had eight on two for eight shooting.
But while the Huskies were experiencing a sub-par night from their two leading scorers, the Bruins were missing their top scorer completely. Sophomore guard Doreena Campbell, who averages 13.3 points per game and scored 20 against the Huskies last month, suffered a head injury in practice Wednesday and was unavailable for the Bruins.
Jackson said her team was able to capitalize on Campbell’s absence, but first-year UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell refused to use it as an excuse.
“They played harder than we did, they wanted it more, they were disciplined in their action,” she said. “Loose balls, they were on the floor, they were getting after it. They were tougher than we were.”
The Huskies said they would only celebrate this win through Friday night, then shift their focus to Sunday’s home finale against USC, but for one night anyway, they finally had something to celebrate.
“That stress is just gone,” said sophomore guard Sara Mosiman, who finished with nine points and six rebounds. “It feels amazing. We shared the ball so well, everyone had a part of it. We haven’t put together two halves like that in the last 12 games. It just feels crazy good. Crazy good.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com/huskiesblog
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