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March 19, 2012

WNIT Notes: Washington | WNIT Notes: Oregon State

Rematches have been the theme of the Huskies' run through the WNIT so far, and Round 3 is no different. Up next for Washington is a return trip to Corvallis and a date with Oregon State, a team the Huskies have already lost twice to this season. Fortunately, UW is playings its best basketball of the season right now, having won four of its last five games - the lone loss coming to No. 2 Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Much like the Huskies, the Beavers advanced on the strength of two home wins (UC Davis & St. Mary's). Oregon State came into the WNIT having lost five of its last six, including a first-round Pac-12 Tournament game to Washington State. The Huskies have already avenged a loss to one Pac-12 opponent, but now need to duplicate the feat in order to secure their deepest WNIT run in school history. A win would also give the Huskies their 20th of the season, the most for the program since the 2003 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 in Corvallis by former UW letterwinner Elise (Niemela) Woodward. The third-round game will be streamed on Oregon State's athletic website at www.osubeavers.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.
• Davis is 3 points away from becoming the all-time leading freshman scorer in team history. She would pass Loree Payne, who totaled 521 points in 2000 with the Huskies.
•The Huskies rank 28th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 35.4 percent from the floor. The Huskies margin of +5.2 on the boards is 40th in the nation.
• The win over Utah was the first traditional postseason win over a conference opponent since a 97-87 win over USC in the 2002 WNIT.
• Davis had a 20-game streak where she scored in double digits snapped against Utah.
• Regina Rogers is third in the nation in field goal percentage, making 60 percent of her attempts.
• Mollie Williams has scored in double figures for three straight games, a career-high.
• Washington is two wins away from notching No. 700 as a program.

WNIT Notes
• The Huskies are 6-3 in Women's National Invitational Tournament Games, having made three appearances (1999, 2002 & 2004) in the postseason event. Washington has never 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. The Conference is now 5-2 in the WNIT, following eliminations to Utah and Arizona State.

About Oregon State
• Oregon State is located in Corvallis, Ore., and coached by Scott Rueck, who is in his second season with the school. Rueck is well-known in collegiate basketball circles for his success at Division III George Fox, where he is a member of the school's Hall of Fame. Rueck led George Fox to a D-III National Championship in 2009. An OSU graduate, Rueck went 9-21 in his first season with the Beavers.
• Oregon State is 14-6 lifetime in the WNIT, having won the event in 1980 and 1982.
• Earlysia Marchbanks leads the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game. The senior was an All-Pac-12 selection this year, on the strength of her overall game. Marchbanks also leads the Beavers in rebounds (7.4 rpg), steal (73) and assists (120).
• Sophomore Ali Gibson is second in scoring with 11.8 points per game. The Portland, Ore., native is shooting 42 percent from the field, 35 percent from three.
• Oregon State is fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring with 67.0 points per game, after being one of the most frugal teams on offense in previous years ... OSU is outscoring its opponent by almost 11 points a game.
• The Beavers are 12-5 at Gil Coliseum this season, including 2-0 in the WNIT.

Series Record: The Huskies are looking to snap a three-game losing streak to the Beavers, the second-longest drought to a Pac-12 opponent behind Stanford. The regular-season sweep by Oregon State was the first for the school since 2009.

Noteworthy: Oregon State junior center Thais Pinto is the tallest player in the Pac-12 at 6-7 ... The Beavers roster features seven transfers as Rueck attempts to make over the program ... Rueck's family recently welcomed its third child, a baby girl named Macey Elizabeth.

Up Next For The Huskies
Should Washington win, the Huskies would face the winner of Texas Tech and San Diego in a quarterfinal matchup in a location TBD. The game would be played either on March 24, 25 or 26.