Practice Time At USF's Sun Dome

TAMPA, Fla. -- The first thing the Washington women's basketball team noticed upon arriving at South Florida's Sun Dome this morning was the humidity, something the team doesn't have to factor in often back home in Seattle.

Coach Tia Jackson wanted everyone to double-up on their fluids to avoid cramping up. After stretching, the team moved onto practice.

Women's hoops at UW doesn't have much of a history in the state of Florida. In the regular season, Washington is 2-1 in the Sunshine State. Their last trip came in 2005 to Tallahassee, which featured a win over Florida State.

That doesn't mean the players aren't familiar with Florida. Most have played in the state in an AAU capacity. Kristi Kingma and Sarah Morton played at the Milk House Complex at Disney in the sixth grade. Senior Christina Rozier is from Miami, and has a large chunk of her family is making the four-hour drive to attend Friday's game against USF. Wingate Smith, the team's Director of Operations, noted his family was making the eight-hour drive from North Carolina to show support.

USF is expecting a better-than-average crowd at the Sun Dome. The team is raising their WNIT Champions banner that night.