Forgive the University of Washington women’s basketball team if the Huskies appear to be a little less tense than usual when they walk into the Galen Center in Los Angeles for their Pacific-10 Conference tournament opener this evening.
It’s not that UW doesn’t know what’s on the line. It’s ju
st that the Huskies are feeling as comfortable as ever.
After losing a hard-fought overtime battle to USC on the Galen Center floor Sunday afternoon, the Huskies stayed in Los Angeles for two days of rest, relaxation, fun and homework. Whatever jet lag and hotel-room adjustments that usually
happen with a road trip are long behind the Huskies.
“We feel a little bit more at home,” said UW head coach Tia Jackson, whose Huskies have been in Los Angeles since last Wednesday. “Being here for so many days, we’re real comfortable.”
Add in the fact that UW (11-16, 6-12 Pac-10) already swept first-round opponent California (15-14, 7-11), and it would be understandable for the Huskies to be walking around Los Angeles with an air of confidence.
Despite finishing sixth in the Pac-10 — the fourth time in as many years of Jackson’s tenure at the school that UW has been in the bottom half of the conference standings — the Huskies got a somewhat favorable draw in the Bears. Washington beat Cal 57-48 on Jan. 16, then won in Berkeley four weeks later.
The loss on Seattle had Cal coach Joanne Boyle so miffed that she gave the players a 30-minute talking-to inside the visiting locker room, then proceeded to tell reporters she was having trouble figuring out how to motivate this year’s Bears.
It was a common theme throughout the Cal season as the Bears, picked to finish third in the conference, failed to live up to expectations.
“At some point, you have to play for pride and the name of the school on your jersey,” said Boyle, whose team finished fifth in the standings this season after winning 24 games in 2009-10. “We have been a little inconsistent and immature at times. … Going into tournament time, it’s a new time; the slate is clean.”
If Cal has anything on its side, it’s that the Bears have been to the semifinals of the conference tournament four consecutive years.
“I’m just excited about where they are right now,” Boyle said.
The Huskies have gone 1-3 in Pac-10 tournament games under Jackson, and they haven’t advanced to the semifinals since 2004.
But already having beaten Cal twice, UW has some confidence as the tournament begins today. The Huskies also know they can’t take the Bears lightly.
“We have been on the other side, when I was a freshman and Oregon beat us both times coming into it,” said UW junior Kristi Kingma in a Tuesday phone conversation. “We were like, ‘We’ve got nothing to lose,’ and we came in and beat them. We know Cal is looking at it the same way. They’ll be looking for revenge.
“But we’ll be motivated too. We didn’t come here just to win a couple games; we want to win the tournament.”
Freshman Marjorie Heard knows that a pair of wins over Cal doesn’t mean anything now.
“We kind of just have to go in with the mindset that nothing’s given to us,” she said. “They say the third time’s a charm, and that’s how Cal is probably looking at it. We have to go in and do the things that are going to make us successful.”
Said Cal’s Boyle of the third meeting with UW: “I don’t think our team is intimidated. They’re hungry.”
The Huskies are hungry as well. Without four consecutive wins this week, they won’t be going dancing.
“It’s four games in four days,” Kingma said. “This is what it’s all about. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of this, of playing in the NCAA tournament. I’m definitely excited to be in this position and have a chance to get there.”
Kingma named all-conference
Kingma, who attended Jackson High School, was among the 15 players named to the all-Pac-10 first team Tuesday.
The junior guard ranked third in the conference in scoring (15.8 points per game), fifth in steals (2.2 per game) and first in 3-pointers (2.8 per game) during the regular season.
“It’s definitely an honor,” she said. “A lot of credit goes to my teammates for being able to get me the ball. It’s definitely an honor, and it wasn’t expected.”
Heard, who is from Snohomish, was named honorable mention all-freshman.
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