Washington Huskies women's basketball

Washington Huskies women's basketball
2024–25 Washington Huskies women's basketball team
University	University of Washington
Head coach	Tina Langley (4th season)
Conference	Big Ten
Location	Seattle, Washington
Arena	Hec Edmundson Pavilion (capacity: 10,000)
Nickname	Huskies
Student section	Dawg Pack
Colors	Purple and gold
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA tournament Final Four
2016
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1990, 2001, 2016
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1988, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2001, 2016, 2017
NCAA tournament second round
1986, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 2006, 2016, 2017
NCAA tournament appearances
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017
AIAW tournament appearances
1978
Conference tournament champions
1985
Conference regular season champions
1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 2001

The Washington Huskies women's basketball team represents the University of Washington in NCAA Division I college basketball competing in the Big Ten Conference. Their home games are played at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, located in Seattle.

Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion

See also: Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion

Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion is the home for the Husky men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball team and gymnastics squad. Originally completed in 1927, Hec Edmundson Pavilion underwent a $40 million, 19-month renovation between March 1999 and November 2000 to reconfigure its interior. The pavilion's name was also changed; originally slated to be "Seafirst Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion" when the deal was finalized in 1998, it became "Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion" at the reopening, as B of A had eliminated the Seafirst brand in 2000. The ten-year sponsorship with the bank expired after the 2009–10 season and was not renewed; during the first half of the 2010–11 basketball season the venue was sponsorless and once again known simply as "Hec Edmundson Pavilion." On January 20, 2011, the university approved Seattle-based Alaska Airlines as the new sponsor of Hec Ed.

History

Prior to the formalisation of the contemporary Huskies team, women have been playing basketball at the University of Washington since as early as 1899, similar to the timing when men began to play the sport.

The modern women's basketball program began in 1974, with Christine Burkhart serving as coach. She led the Huskies to a .500 record in her only year as head coach. Kathie Neir was the coach for the next four years, with an overall record of 82–31, and a first place finish in the NWBL Coast Division. She was replaced by Pat Dobratz, who served for one year as an interim coach, with a 14–14 record. The Huskies would go on to have winning or .500 records every year from the inception of the program until the year 2000.

Sue Kruszewski took over the coaching reins in 1980, and after leading the team to a 19–12 record, she was nominated for coach of the year honors. While she did not win the top position, she was one of 20 contenders for the honor. After her departure, Joyce Sake took over as head coach. In her second year, the team achieved a record of 26–2, winning the Norpac conference regular season with a perfect 11–0 record, as well as the conference tournament. The team was invited to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The team earned their first AP ranking, finishing the 185 season ranked 11th.

In 1985, Chris Gobrecht took over as head coach, and would remain in that position for 11 years. The Huskies exceeded 20 victories in eight of the 11 years. The team won the NorPac regular season outright in 1986, and finished first or tied for first in the 1988 and 1990 seasons. The team earned bids to the NCAA Tournament in nine of the 11 seasons, reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 1988 and the quarterfinals in 1990. The team earned top 25 rankings in the Coaches and AP polls in six of the 11 years, reaching a final season ranking of third place in 1990.

June Daugherty followed Gobrecht, also serving as head coach for 11 years. The Huskies had only one losing seasons in the 11-year period, exceeding 20 wins twice, once in 2001 when the team reached the NCAA quarterfinals. Tia Jackson replaced Daugherty, and remained for four years. Kevin McGuff was hired in 2011 and led the team to consecutive 20-win seasons, and two post-season WNIT bids. After McGuff was hired by Ohio State, assistant coach Mike Neighbors was named head coach for the 2013–14 season. While McGuff was head coach, he persuaded Adia Barnes, with college experience at Arizona and professional experience with the Houston Comets, Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, and Sacramento Monarchs to become an assistant coach. She remained in that position under Neighbors until leaving for her alma mater—Arizona—in 2016. Neighbors left after the 2016-17 season to return to Arkansas, his alma mater.

Jody Wynn was named head coach on April 14, 2017 after serving as the head coach at Long Beach State for the previous eight seasons.

Year by year results

Source

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason	Coaches' poll	AP poll
Christine Burkhart (Independent) (1974–1975)
1974–75	Christine Burkhart	11–11	–		NCWSA Regional Playoffs
Christine Burkhart:		11–11	–
Kathy Neir (Independent, NWBL) (1975–1979)
1975–76	Kathy Neir	17–11	–		NCWSA Area Playoffs
1976–77	Kathy Neir	22–4	–		NCWSA Regional Playoffs
1977–78	Kathy Neir	26–5	12–1	1st (NWBL-Coast Division)	AIAW first round
1978–79	Kathy Neir	17–11	4–8	4th (NWBL-Coast Division)
Kathy Neir:		82–31	16–9
Pat Dobratz (Independent, NWBL) (1979–1980)
1979–80	Pat Dobratz	14–14	5–8	3rd (NWBL-Coast Division)
Pat Dobratz:		14–14	5–8
Sue Kruzewski (Independent, NWBL, NorPac) (1980–1983)
1980–81	Sue Kruzewski	19–12	6–5	3rd (NWBL-Coast Division)	AIAW Region Championships
1981–82	Sue Kruzewski	16–10	0–4	3rd (NWBL-Open Division)
1982–83	Sue Kruzewski	15–12	7–5	4th (NorPac)
Sue Kruzewski:		50–34	13–14
Joyce Sake (NorPac) (1983–1985)
1983–84	Joyce Sake	17–8	8–4	4th
1984–85	Joyce Sake	26–2	11–0	1st#	NCAA First Round		11
Joyce Sake:		43–10	19–4
Chris Gobrecht (NorPac, Pac-10) (1985–1996)
1985–86	Chris Gobrecht	24–6	11–2	1st (NorPac)	NCAA Second Round (Play-In)
Pacific-10 conference
1986–87	Chris Gobrecht	23–7	14–4	2nd (Pac-10)	NCAA Second Round (Play-In)	18	20
1987–88	Chris Gobrecht	25–5	16–2	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	16	11
1988–89	Chris Gobrecht	23–10	15–3	2nd	NCAA Second Round (Play-In)
1989–90	Chris Gobrecht	28–3	17–1	T-1st	NCAA Elite Eight	7	3
1990–91	Chris Gobrecht	24–5	15–3	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	13	12
1991–92	Chris Gobrecht	17–11	9–9	6th
1992–93	Chris Gobrecht	17–12	11–7	3rd	NCAA Second Round (Play-In)
1993–94	Chris Gobrecht	21–8	12–6	4th	NCAA Second Round	21	18
1994–95	Chris Gobrecht	25–9	13–5	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	13	14
1995–96	Chris Gobrecht	16–13	10–8	T-3rd
Chris Gobrecht:		243–89	143–50
June Daugherty (Pac-10) (1996–2007)
1996–97	June Daugherty	17–11	12–6	T-4th	NCAA First Round
1997–98	June Daugherty	18–10	9–9	5th	NCAA First Round
1998–99	June Daugherty	16–13	11–7	5th	WNIT Third Round
1999–2000	June Daugherty	8–22	4–14	9th
2000–01	June Daugherty	22–10	12–6	T-1st	NCAA Elite Eight	14
2001–02	June Daugherty	19–12	12–6	T-2nd	WNIT Quarterfinals
2002–03	June Daugherty	22–8	13–5	T-2nd	NCAA First Round
2003–04	June Daugherty	18–13	9–9	6th	WNIT Third Round
2004–05	June Daugherty	14–16	9–9	7th
2005–06	June Daugherty	19–11	11–7	T-4th	NCAA Second Round
2006–07	June Daugherty	18–13	11–7	4th	NCAA First Round
June Daugherty:		191–139	113–85
Tia Jackson (Pac-10) (2007–2011)
2007–08	Tia Jackson	13–18	8–10	6th
2008–09	Tia Jackson	8–22	3–15	10th
2009–10	Tia Jackson	13–18	7–11	T-6th	WBI Quarterfinals
2010–11	Tia Jackson	11–17	6–12	7th
Tia Jackson:		45–75	24–48
Kevin McGuff (Pac-12) (2011–2013)
2011–12	Kevin McGuff	20–14	8–10	7th	WNIT Quarterfinals
2012–13	Kevin McGuff	21–12	11–8	5th	WNIT Second Round
Kevin McGuff:		41–26	19–18
Mike Neighbors (Pac-12) (2013–2017)
2013–14	Mike Neighbors	20–14	10–8	6th	WNIT semifinals
2014–15	Mike Neighbors	23–10	11–7	5th	NCAA first round
2015–16	Mike Neighbors	26–11	11–7	5th	NCAA Final Four	8	RV
2016–17	Mike Neighbors	29–6	15–3	T-2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	11	12
Mike Neighbors:		98–41	47–25
Jody Wynn (Pac-12) (2017–2021)
2017–18	Jody Wynn	7–23	1–17	12th
2018–19	Jody Wynn	11–21	2–15	11th
2019–20	Jody Wynn	13–16	5–13	T-9th
2020–21	Jody Wynn	7–13	3–13	11th
Jody Wynn:		25–57	6–45
Tina Langley (Pac-12) (2021–current)
2021–22	Tina Langley	7–16	2–12	12th
2022–23	Tina Langley	19–15	7–11	T-8th
Tina Langley:		26–31	9–23
Total:		858–523 (.621)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Postseason results

NCAA Division I

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1985	#3	First Round	#6 UCLA	L 62–78
1986	#7	First Round Second Round	#10 North Texas State #2 Louisiana Tech	W 69–54 L 54–79
1987	#8	First Round Second Round	#9 New Mexico State #1 Long Beach State	W 86–73 L 57–72
1988	#3	Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#6 New Mexico State #2 Long Beach State	W 99–74 L 78–104
1989	#5	First Round Second Round	#12 Hawaii #4 Stephen F. Austin	W 87–79 L 63–73
1990	#1	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#8 DePaul #5 South Carolina #2 Auburn	W 77–68 W 73–61 L 50–76
1991	#3	Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#6 Iowa #2 Stanford	W 70–53 L 47–73
1993	#7	First Round Second Round	#10 Montana State #2 Texas Tech	W 80–51 L 64–70
1994	#8	First Round Second Round	#9 Boise State #1 Purdue	W 89–61 L 59–86
1995	#3	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#14 Ohio #6 Arkansas #2 Texas Tech	W 73–57 W 54–50 L 52–67
1997	#11	First Round	#6 Vanderbilt	L 62–74
1998	#13	First Round	#4 Purdue	L 71–88
2001	#6	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#11 Old Dominion #3 Florida #2 Oklahoma #5 SW Missouri State	W 67–65 W 86–75 W 84–67 L 87–104
2003	#9	First Round	#8 Wisconsin–Green Bay	L 65–78
2006	#9	First Round Second Round	#8 Minnesota #1 LSU	W 73–69 L 49–72
2007	#11	First Round	#6 Iowa State	L 60–79
2015	#6	First Round	#11 Miami (FL)	L 80–86
2016	#7	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four	#10 Penn #2 Maryland #3 Kentucky #4 Stanford #4 Syracuse	W 65–53 W 74–65 W 85–72 W 85–76 L 59–80
2017	#3	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#14 Montana State #6 Oklahoma #2 Mississippi State	W 91–63 W 108–82 L 64–75

AIAW Division I

The Huskies made one appearance in the AIAW National Division I basketball tournament, with a combined record of 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1978	First Round	Stephen F. Austin	L, 55–96

School records

Source

Active players in italics.

Career leaders

Stat	Player	Career	Record	Notes
Points	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	3,527
Rebounds	Chantel Osahor	2013-17	1,253
Steals	Leteia Hughley	1982-85	342
Assists	Giuliana Mendiola	2001-04	612
Field goals made	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	1,136
Field goal percentage	Karen Murray	1980-84	.541
Three-pointers	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	343
Three-point percentage	Laura Moore	1990-93	.424	113 games
Free throws made	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	1,136
Free throws percentage	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	.888
Blocked shots	Talia Walton	2012-16	177	133 games

Single-season leaders

Stat	Player	Career	Record	Year	Notes
Points	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	1,109	2017
Rebounds	Chantel Osahor	2013-17	519	2017
Assists	Giuliana Mendiola	2001-04	172	2004
Steals	Margie Nielsen		102	1978
Field goals made	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	379	2017
Field goal percentage	Karen Deden	1987-91	.567	1989
Three-pointers	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	115	2017
Three-point percentage	Kayla Burt	2002-06	.538	2003
Free throws made	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	274	2016
Free throws percentage	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	.896	2015
Blocked shots	Liz Chicane	2012-16	74	1981

Single-game leaders

Stat	Player	Career	Record	Date	Notes
Points	Kelsey Plum	2013-17	57	2-25-2017	vs. Utah
Rebounds	Chantel Osahor	2013-17	30	1-22-2017	at Washington St.
Assists	Leteia Hughley	1982-85	13	12-16-1983
Steals	Julia Gray		11	11-24-1998
Blocked shots	Margie Nielsen		9	1-23-1978	vs. Alaska-Anchorage

Retired numbers

Washington Huskies retired numbers
No.	Player	Tenure	No. ret.	Ref.
10	Kelsey Plum	2013–2017	January 18, 2025

External links

• Official website