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Jazmine Davis is tied with Loree Payne for most three pointers in school history as a freshman (60).
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March 13, 2012
WNIT Notes: Washington
| WNIT Notes: Cal Poly
The Huskies had to wait until late Monday night to hear about their postseason fate. But the WNIT committee delivered the news that Washington was not only included in the 64-team field, but would host a first-round game against Big West power Cal Poly. The Huskies are one of seven Pac-12 teams playing in the postseason.
The Mustangs won the Big West regular season but bowed out of conference tournament play in the semifinals to Long Beach State. By basis of their regular-season title, the Mustangs were guarenteed a berth in the WNIT. Cal Poly is similar in its actions to Pac-12 foe Oregon, as the Mustangs are excellent in transition and average a high number of possessions per game.
The Huskies have started to hit their stride under new coach Kevin McGuff, having won four of their last six games. This is the first WNIT appearance for Washington since the 2004 season.
Broadcast/Media
For regular season and postseason games, 13-year veteran Steve Sandmeyer handles all play-by-play duties for the Washington Huskies on KKNW 1150AM. Sandmeyer will be joined on the road by former UW letterwinner Elise (Niemela) Woodward.
The first-round game will not be televised but will be streamed w/o audio on GoHuskies.com.
Live stats for the game will be available on GameTracker. Fans can also participate in an GoHuskies chat during the game.
Husky Storylines
Jazmine Davis became the first Husky since Karen Deden in 1988 to win the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Award. She was also selected to the All-Pac-12 list with teammate Regina Rogers. Charmaine Barlow was honorable mention All-Defensive Team.
The Huskies rank 30th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 35.4 percent from the floor.
Davis is the nation's fifth highest-scoring freshman in D-I women's basketball with 16.2 ppg. Her mark is the second best among any freshman playing in a BCS-level conference.
Regina Rogers is third in the nation in field goal percentage, making 61 percent of her attempts.
Washington is one win away from tying the mark set in 2007, when the Huskies advanced to their last NCAA Tournament appearance.
Davis is now tied with former Husky Loree Payne for most three pointers in a season by a freshman with 60. With one more triple Davis will hold the record for her own.
Washington is four wins away from notching No. 700 as a program.
WNIT Notes
The Huskies are 4-3 in Women's National Invitational Tournament Games, having made three appearances (1999, 2002 & 2004) in the postseason event. Washington has not failed to win at least one game in the WNIT.
The at-large berth in the WNIT is the Huskies' first traditional postseason selection since the 2007 NCAA Tournament. A Pac-12 member school has been in the final game of the WNIT the last two seasons, including a Cal win in 2010.
About Cal Poly
Cal Polytechnic State University is located on the Central California coast in San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs are coached by Faith Mimnaugh, who is in her 15th season with the Big West institution.
The Mustangs are making their second straight WNIT appearance. Last season, Cal Poly lost a first-round home game to California, 74-60, in Mott Gym.
Cal Poly has one of the top scorers in the nation in 6-2 forward Kristina Santiago. The senior is averaging 23.3 points per game, which ranks sixth in the nation. She's also pulling down 10.1 rebounds a game. Santiago is a two-time Player of the Year in the Big West, and is the leading scorer (1,925 points) and rebounder in school history.
Outside of Santiago, the Mustangs have no player averaging in double figures. The second-leading scorer is senior guard Ashlee Burns, who chips in with 9.0 ppg.
The Mustangs and Huskies share several common non-conference opponents from this season. Cal Poly lost at Oregon (102-93) and at San Diego State (79-78), a game where Santiago scored 44 points on 16 of 23 shooting.
Series Record: This is the first meeting between the two programs. Washington went 3-1 against Big West opponents this season, with the lone defeat coming in the season opener against UC Davis.
Noteworthy: Assistant coach Kevin Morrison was on the Cal staff when the Golden Bears beat the Mustangs in a first-round WNIT matchup last season ... Kari Duperron, who coached for UW in 2011, is now an assistant on the Cal Poly staff. Duperron is a Mustang letterwinner and once led the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Up Next For The Huskies
Should the Huskies defeat Cal Poly, they would face the winner of the Utah-Utah State in a location TBD. Washington lost to Utah in their lone Pac-12 matchup this season.