Recap: UW WBB Huskies Lack Fight in 64-56 WBIT Loss to Georgetown

On Thursday night, in the first round of the WBIT Tournament at HecEd, the Washington Huskies (16-14, 6-12 PAC) lost, 64-56, to Georgetown (23-11, 9-9 PAC).

The loss eliminated the #2 seeded Huskies from the inaugural WBIT Tournament with an early unfulfilling exit.

Prior to the game, earlier in the day, the Huskies did receive the news that popular UW junior catalyst Jayda Noble had entered the transfer portal.

Noble’s absence, however, was no excuse for the Huskies’ lackluster performance that featured multiple players failing to match Georgetown’s effort level.

A low-scoring first half by the Huskies (26 points) signaled the offensive futility that would lead to their demise against a Georgetown team that was far from an offensive powerhouse.

Ultimately, the Huskies shot an abysmal 37.0% (20 for 54) from the field overall, and 27.3% from three-point range (6 for 22).

Meanwhile, Georgetown outclassed the Huskies with surprisingly superior offense and superior effort .

The Hoyas only shot 46.2% (24 for 52) from the field overall, which was enough to control the game for 3 1/2 quarters,

Georgetown only shot 20% from three-point range (2 for 10), but it did not matter because the Hoyas destroyed the Huskies inside by shooting 58% (18 for 31) in-the-lane.

1st Quarter

In the first quarter, Washington got off to a haphazard start offensively, shooting 47% overall (6 for 12) but 0% (0 for 2) from three-point range.

Georgetown shot 43.8% (7 for 16) overall and only 25% (1 for 4) from three-point range.

However, Georgetown (9) out-rebounded Washington (8); also the Hoyas had more assists (3) than the Huskies (0); GU had less turnovers(2) than UW (4).

Thus, the Hoyas outscored the Huskies in the first quarter, 18-14.

In the first period, Washington was led by Elle Ladine with four (4) points; with Sayvia Sellers, Hannah Stines, Lauren Schwartz, Dalayah Daniels and Olivia Anderson adding two points each..

2nd Quarter

In the second period, the Hoyas continued to assert their dominance over the Huskies as the more aggressive and determined team.

Although the score remained close, Washington shot a paltry 26.7% from the field overall (4 for 15), despite shooting 0% from three-point range (0 for 4).

Meanwhile, Georgetown shot 46.7% (7 for 15) from the field and also shot 0% (0 for 3) from three-point range.

The Huskies committed three turnovers versus four by the Hoyas.

Georgetown recorded 10 rebounds versus eight (8) rebounds by the Huskies.

The Huskies were led by Dalayah Daniels with five (5) points; Hannah Stines added three (3) points; Elle Ladine and Sayvie Sellers added two points.

Lauren Schwartz only took two shot attempts in the quarter (including one three-pointer), missing both for zero points.

The Huskies went into halftime trailing Georgetown, 32-26, as the Hoyas edged UW in scoring for the period, 14 to 12 — and Washington never led in the period.

3rd Quarter

In the third period, Georgetown increased their lead and control of the game by outscoring the Huskies, 18 to 13 — a crucial offensive surge in a low-scoring contest.

ANOTHER! Sellers now with 34 threes this season, tying for No. 6 in the freshman record book 👀 https://t.co/4aS783spBE

— Washington Women’s Basketball (@UW_WBB) March 22, 2024

Washington continued to struggle offensively — shooting 38.5% (5 for 13) from the field and 37.5% (3 for 8) from deep.

The Hoyas shot 53.8 (7 for 13) from the field overall and 100% (1 for 1) from three-point range, as Georgetown focused on pounding the ball inside the lane on offense.

Washington lost the rebound battle (5) to Georgetown (8); however, UW had five turnovers in the third period versus six turnovers by the Hoyas.

UW was led in scoring by Sayvia Sellers with eight (8) points; Hannah Stines added three (3) points from three-point range; and freshman Ari Long chipped in two points.

Again, Lauren Schwartz went scoreless for the period (0 for 1) with one three-point attempt; Elle Ladine had zero points with one shot attempt; and Dalayah Daniels had zero points on zero shot attempts.

Heading into the 4th quarter, the Washington Huskies trailed Georgetown by an 11-point margin, 50-39.

4th Quarter

In the fourth period, Georgetown cooled off (considerably) offensively; as UW (finally) began to apply a fullcourt press to the Hoyas — in a last ditch effort to get back in the game with some energetic play.

As Washington finally awoke from their slumber, they went on a 12-0 scoring run that gave the Huskies a one-point lead with 5 minutes and 42 seconds remaining.

Then the Huskies seemingly ran out of gas, as Georgetown responded with a 9-1 scoring run.

The Huskies cut Georgetown’s lead to a three-point margin but Georgetown remained firmly in control as the Huskies were forced to foul and the Hoyas made five (5) free throws in the final minute of play.

Georgetown cruised to victory in the final minute, 64-56.

UW shot 42.9% (6 for 14) from the field overall and 40% (2 for 5) from three-point range.

Meanwhile, Georgetown only shot 37.5% overall (3 for 8); and 0% (0 for 1) from three-point range — yet still won the game.

In the fourth period, Dalayah Daniels led UW with seven (7) points each; Hannah Stines added five (5) points; Sayvia Sellers added three (3) points; and Lauren Schwartz chipped in two (2) points.

UW WBB Player of the Game: Sayvia Sellers

Freshman guard Sayvia Sellers was the only Husky that had a noticeably aggressive performance all game, which paid off with 15 points on 55.5% shooting overall (5 for 9) and 50% shooting from three-point range.

Sellers recorded her 34th made three-pointer of her freshman season, which ranked her 6th all-time among Husky freshmen.

Next Up?

The Washington Huskies have a lot of issues to fix if they want to be competitive in the B1G12 next season. More on this later.