On Wednesday, the UW Athletics Department announced that Washington women’s basketball fans have another early-season event to circle on the calendar as the Huskies travel to Fort Myers, Florida, for the 14th Annual Coconut Hoops women’s tournament over Thanksgiving weekend.
Washington will compete in the Coconut Hoops’ Blue Heron Division, a three-team round-robin featuring Oklahoma State and UMass. It’s a great opportunity for the Huskies to test themselves against quality non-conference opponents while gaining valuable experience away from home.
While only three teams make up the Blue Heron Division, the overall tournament field is loaded with strong programs. Creighton, FGCU, Houston, and Tennessee are also scheduled to participate, giving the event a high-profile atmosphere and plenty of intriguing matchups throughout the weekend.
The Huskies will open tournament play against Oklahoma State on Friday, Nov. 27, at 1:30 p.m. ET at Alico Arena. Washington will then close out the event on Sunday, Nov. 29, with another 1:30 p.m. ET matchup against UMass.
The matchup versus Oklahoma State will be of particular interest as the Dawgs will face an elite post player in Audi Crooks.
A 6’3″ post, Audi Crooks is arguably the most polarizing, dominant player in women’s college basketball — the All-American transfer from Iowa State is a seemingly immovable offensive post player that averages 25.8 points and 7.7 rebounds that has somewhat limited mobility on defense.
For Washington, this marquee matchup offers an early national-stage opportunity for UW Head Coach Tina Langley’s program. Washington’s uber-talented frontcourt standouts, 6’3″ Brynn McGaughy and 6’6″ Tilda Trygger, will have the opportunity to showcase their exceptional talent and versatile two-way skill sets with an impactful performance against an elite opponent.
The pivotal question is this: Can the finesse and power versatility of both McGaughy and Trygger help them overwhelm the powerful play of Crooks?
“Washington’s defense has been solid, but Trygger gives Langley more schematic flexibility:
Rim protection (1.3 blocks per game), blending superior height with elite agility, allows UW to play more aggressively at the point of attack.
Her size and timing support drop coverage against elite guards.
Her mobility allows for soft hedges and late switches without creating mismatches.
The Huskies can now toggle between coverages based on opponent personnel — something they couldn’t consistently do last season.
And with McGaughy beside her, Washington finally has a two‑big lineup that doesn’t compromise lateral quickness.”
[See, Tilda Trygger Boosts Washington Huskies as UW System Accelerator.]
Meanwhile, at the more team-wide macro level, containing Crooks will present an NCAA Tournament-level challenge for the Dawgs and provide a major test for UW’s patented defensive rotations, which were pushed to their limits in last season’s Second Round NCAA Tournament loss to TCU.
[See, UW WBB Huskies NCAA Heartbreak: Washington’s Upset Bid Slips Away in a 62–59 Loss to TCU – “TCU, by contrast, finished 63.2% (12 of 19) at the rim. In a game decided by three points, that gap was enormous.”]
