(Updated – 3/21/25)
On Thursday night, the Washington Huskies (19-13, 9-9 B1G) faced the Columbia Lions (21-9 overall, 11-7 B1G) in the play-in round (“First Four In”) of the NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The Washington Huskies exploded in the first two quarters to seize control of the contest versus the Columbia Lions, but seemed to implode in the second half resulting in a 60-63 Huskies loss.
The Huskies held a 13-point lead at halftime, behind arguably their best all-around team offensive and defensive execution of the season.
However, Washington appeared too relaxed and lacking intensity in the third quarter, as the intense Lions roared back to life.
In the second half, the Huskies did not play well as a team on offense or defense, displaying lackluster execution and losing their lead early in the fourth quarter.
The inexperienced Huskies seemed somewhat lost and unsure on how to maintain a lead in the NCAA tournament, where late game comebacks and heroics are common place.
Washington struggled to score until the final five minutes of the game saw individual offensive heroics by Sayvia Sellers and Elle Ladine to close the gap.
For the game, Washington committed 15 turnovers leading to 20 points scored by Columbia; and UW forced only nine turnovers by the Lions leading to only six points scored by the Huskies.
Washington made only three attempts from three-point range (3 for 13) while shooting 23% from three-point range; and one mid-range two-pointer (1 for 4).
Meanwhile, Columbia made seven three-pointers (30.4% shooting; 7 of 23 attempts).
UW WBB Huskies Players of the Game: Sayvia Sellers and Dalayah Daniels
In front of a national tv audience, sophomore Sayvia Sellers showed she’s one of the most dynamic point guards in college basketball — stamping her name in the minds of the nation’s college basketball fans.
In 38 minutes of play, Sayvia Sellers scored 21 points on 55% (10 for 18) shooting overall.
Sellers added six assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Sellers was mostly unstoppable until late in the game when she appeared to, uncharacteristically, show some signs of fatigue (two of her four turnovers came in the fourth quarter).
On the NCAA’s national stage, in her last performance for the Dawgs, senior Dalayah Daniels fulfilled those flashes of brilliance she’s shown throughout her Husky career.
Particularly in the first half, Daniels was an unstoppable whirling dervish and outright menace to the Lions on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Offensively, Daniels relentlessly and aggressively attacked the basket with off-the-dribble spin moves and spin shots, while constantly running the floor and singlehandedly putting pressure on the entire Lions team defense.
In 38 minutes of play, Dalayah Daniels, scored 17 points on 72.7% ( 8 for 11) shooting overall.
Daniels added 11 rebounds and two blocks in the most impactful double-double of her career — and placing herself firmly on the WNBA’s radar.
1st Quarter
In a fast paced first quarter, the Huskies scored 21 points, shooting 62.5% overall (10 of 16) and 33% (1 for 3) from three-point range.
Meanwhile, the Lions scored only 10 points in the quarter, shooting only 33% overall (5 for 15) and 0% (0 for 9) from three-point range.
The Huskies were led by the balanced scoring attack of Sayviah Sellers, Dalayah Daniels and Elle Ladine with six points each; and Hannah Stines added three points (no other Husky scored in the period).
The Huskies held an 11-point lead to end the first period, 21-10.
2nd Quarter
In the second period, Washington’s offense cooled considerably, scoring 13 points on 46.2% (6 for 13) shooting from the field overall; and 0% (0 for 1) from three-point range.
Columbia’s offense continued to be stifled by the Huskies defense, scoring only 11 points and shooting only 26.7% (4 for 15) shooting from the field overall; and 33% (2 for 6) shooting from three-point range.
The Huskies were led by Sayvia Sellers with six points; Dalayah Daniels scored five points; and Elle Ladine added two points.
Heading into halftime, the Huskies had built a 13-point lead 34-21.
3rd Quarter
Coming out of halftime, the Huskies seemed to lack a spark of intensity on both offense and defense throughout the third quarter.
The Dawgs posted only 11 points in the third period on 45% (5 for 11) shooting overall and 0% from three-point range (0 for 4).
However, Columbia came out of the halftimes break with a raging intensity on offense and defense that the Huskies seemed unable to match.
The Lions scored 19 points in the third quarter, despite only shooting 46.2% shooting overall (6 for 13) and 33% from three-point range (1 of 3).
The third quarter featured a 19-6 scoring run by Columbia over the final 7 minutes and 29 seconds of the period, as the Huskies watched their 13-point lead reduced to a five-point lead.
Washington was led in scoring by Dalayah Daniels with six points; Sayvia Sellers contributed three points; and Elle Ladine added two points.
After Columbia’s strong surge, the Huskies were clinging desperately to a five-point lead heading into the final period, 45-40
In the final period, the Huskies attempted to regain their composure but visibly struggled for most of the fourth quarter,
Columbia grabbed its first lead of the game with 7:47 left to play and went on to score 23 points on 63.6% shooting (7 for 11) overall; and 80% shooting (4 for 5) from three-point range.
Visibly flustered, the Huskies did manage to score 15 points in the period; however, most of it came in the final five minutes of the game on a flurry of scoring by Sayvia Sellers (4 points) and Elle Ladine (6 points).
In the fourth period, Washington was led by Elle Ladine and Sayvia Sellers with six points each; Hannah Stines added two points; and Teagan Brown added one point.
The Huskies lost, 60-63, to the Lions, thus ending their NCAA Tournament run.
