SEATTLE — The emotions of a budding, cross-town rivalry should be enough to get the blood boiling, but the University of Washington women’s basketball team has more pressing issues heading into tonight’s game against Seattle University.
The Huskies just need a win.
“We want to prove to people that it’s a new season, a new beginning,” said senior Regina Rogers, who turns 23 years old today, “and so (tonight) we’re going to get it done.”
Having started off the Kevin McGuff era with a dud in Friday afternoon’s 69-68 loss to UC Davis, the Huskies (0-1) hope to get on the winning track against Seattle University tonight.
Asked whether that loss might motivate UW tonight, McGuff said: “I hope so. I think anybody with a competitive nature would want to get back out there as quickly as possible. But at the same time, I’ve really stressed to the team: it’s about the process. Win, lose or draw, it’s about how we show up and how we practice. We just have to continue to move in a positive direction and get better.”
In his first season at UW after turning Xavier University into a national powerhouse, McGuff doesn’t know much about the rivalry between his Huskies and Seattle U. He said he’s more concerned about UW taking the next step than he is tonight’s opponent.
“It’s really just another game for us,” he said. “We’re preparing to try and put ourselves in a position to be successful.”
McGuff can be forgiven for not knowing much about the so-called rivalry between schools that are separated by about 31/2 miles of Seattle’s Capitol Hill district. The Huskies have dominated the battle over the years, with a 12-3 overall record and seven consecutive wins that date back to Jan. 1981.
But a transition to NCAA Division I, the addition of former Oregon State star Talisa Rhea and a five-point loss to the Huskies last season are signs that Seattle U. may be closing the proverbial gap in the rivalry.
The Redhawks (1-1) gave UW a big scare in a 58-53 loss last season, marking the only single-digit point differential since Seattle U. last beat the Huskies almost 31 years ago.
“They’re a hard-working team,” UW senior Mackenzie Argens said. “It’s definitely going to be a good game (tonight).”
When reminded of how much the Redhawks scared UW last year, Argens said: “Yeah, they did. Hopefully not (in this meeting), but, yeah, they did.”
One thing the Huskies learned from Friday’s opener was that they need to work on their on-ball defense. UC Davis, which went on to beat Seattle U. two days later, scored a pair of baskets in the closing seconds after driving past UW defenders.
McGuff said the Huskies’ defensive ability is a work in progress.
“We have a long way to go,” he said. “We just have to focus on taking care of one day at a time. I think, certainly, the results will take care of themselves if we just continue to practice on a consistent basis.”
Another thing that Friday’s game seemed to show is just how much the Huskies might miss senior Kristi Kingma, who is out for the season with a knee injury. With Kingma watching from the bench, the Huskies struggled to get a good look on their final possession and ended up throwing up an airball from 3-point range with more than three seconds left on the clock.
McGuff said the loss of Kingma is old news.
“I haven’t thought about it much,” he said. “She’s not playing; we know that. So I don’t want any of our players thinking about that, any of our coaches thinking about it. We’ll find other ways to be successful, and I think we have enough players to do that.”
UW’s second step in the McGuff era will happen tonight at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. While most of the Huskies are familiar with the opponent, they’re more concerned with putting a recent opponent in the rearview mirror.
“It’s another game trying to get better,” Rogers said of tonight’s game, “and trying to get ready for the Pac-12.”
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