SEATTLE – For the seniors, it’s one more time to play in front of the home fans.
For the University of Washington’s young players, the Women’s National Invitational Tournament is a chance to further their education.
When the Huskies (17-12) open the WNIT tonight against Pepperdine (17-12) at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, six UW freshmen will have a chance to get some tournament experience, even if it isn’t the NCAA tournament.
“The more experience we gain, whether it be games or practices, will be good for us next year,” freshman forward Breanne Watson said.
To senior Giuliana Mendiola, widely regarded as the finest women’s player Washington has ever produced, the game may serve as a sort of redemption for the last game the Huskies played at Hec Ed. That would be the regular-season finale, a 71-55 loss to Arizona on Senior Day. It also takes away some of the hurt of Washington’s failure to make the NCAAs
“It’s hard to push it completely out of your mind,” Mendiola said. “I felt I could lead this team back to the NCAAs and not doing that hurt. But at the same time, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We could have avoided putting ourselves in that position by having a better record.”
The winner of tonight’s game plays the Creighton-Colorado State winner, likely Sunday at a site to decided. The WNIT determines game sites based on financial bids by a given school and attendance.
The Waves tied for second in the West Coast Conference with Gonzaga, also a WNIT participant.
Pepperdine set up a brutal preseason schedule that included losses to Stanford, Oklahoma, UConn, Texas Tech, Illinois, TCU and Michigan State. The Waves made the NCAA tournament the previous two seasons.
Guard Shandrika Lee leads Pepperdine in scoring at 13.5 points a game. She, along with forward Nicole Funn (9.3 ppg., 6.2 rebounds per game) won first team all-WCC honors.
Very athletic, the Waves love an up-tempo style of play. UW coach June Daugherty said they play a similar style to UCLA.
“It’s frightening, the schedule that they played,” Daugherty said. “I know that their coaching staff does a great job of evaluating talent. They’re used to being in the (NCAA) tournament every year. You can bet that they’re going to come in here hungry and looking to advance.”
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