UW Women's Basketball: Husky women cruise in exhibition opener

Washington women's basketball coach June Daugherty promised defensive pressure from her team, and the Huskies delivered Sunday.

Next time, though, Daugherty will be looking for that effort for an entire game.

In their 2005-06 debut, the Huskies forced 18 first-half turnovers and rolled to a big lead en route to an 88-49 exhibition win over Baden Sports at Edmundson Pavilion.

"Defensively, we really want to get in passing lanes, and I think we did a good job of that in the first half," Washington senior guard Kayla Burt said after scoring 13 points. "But we want to see that for 40 minutes."

Junior guard Cameo Hicks led four Huskies in double figures with 16 points. Sophomore post Andrea Plouffe had 15 points and matched senior guard Kristen O'Neill for game-high honors with five steals.

Baden Sports is an amateur team made up of former college players from a variety of Western schools. It is in the middle of a stretch of 10 games in 13 days against Division I opponents. Julie Butler, a 2003 graduate of Santa Clara, led all scorers with 17 points.

UW's Cheri Craddock, a junior guard, scored all 11 of her points during a 25-0 run that gave Washington a 47-14 halftime lead.

At intermission, the Huskies had 18 steals and had forced 21 turnovers total. But that intensity didn't carry over to the second half, when Baden found many more open shots and turned the ball over 11 times.

"We're not real pleased with the effort and intensity for 40 minutes," Daugherty said. "We can't allow that as a coaching staff. We have to maintain that higher level of play."

The Huskies missed their first seven shots of the game, most from long range, and fell behind 7-1.

Washington was without two ailing starters. Junior post Jill Bell has been recovering from a sprained ankle and is expected to return to practice later this week. Sophomore point guard Emily Florence suffered an apparent sprained thumb in practice last week, and will be re-evaluated when the swelling has gone down.

Daugherty hopes both players will be available when the Huskies open the regular season with a two-game trip to Alabama (Nov. 18) and Florida State (Nov. 20). The Huskies play their home opener Nov. 23 against Utah.

Though the touring team is still looking for its first win, the Huskies welcomed live competition after playing against each other for weeks.

"Just to put the uniform on and get ready for a game was pretty fun," Burt said.

Notes

• Baden Sports forward Melissa Erickson was a member of the Huskies' 2001 NCAA Elite Eight team. She received a polite round of applause upon scoring her first basket at 11:32 of the first half and finished with three points.

• Washington, one of only seven Division I programs without a senior last season, returns all 14 players from a year ago.

• Bell's injury provided extra playing time for 6-foot-3 forward Heidi McNeill, the Huskies' lone freshman. McNeill, of Oak Harbor, got solid reviews after collecting four points, five rebounds, two steals and an assist in 22 minutes.

Box score

BADEN SPORTS (49) — Garrison 0-1 3-4 3, Rondel 2-4 0-0 5, Butler 6-9 5-8 17, Ashbaugh 0-4 0-0 0, Annas 1-5 0-0 2, Lemery 2-6 0-2 4, Mouat 0-2 0-0 0, Sorensan 4-14 0-0 9, Abeyta 3-7 0-0 6, Erickson 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 19-55 9-16 49.

WASHINGTON (88) — O'Hara 1-6 0-0 2, Plouffe 5-13, 5-7 15, Hicks 6-10 4-5 16, Burt 4-7 2-2 13, O'Neill 3-9 3-4 9, Craddock 4-11 0-0 11, Watson 2-6 0-0 4, Banks 3-5 0-0 6, Schelly 2-4 0-0 4, McNeill 2-4 0-0 4, Castro 2-5 0-0 4, Jones 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 34-83 14-18 88.

Halftime — Washington 47-14. Three point goals — Baden Sports 2-17 (Rondel 1-2, Ashbaugh 0-2, Annas 0-2, Lemery 0-1, Mouat 0-2, Sorensan 1-8), Washington 6-22 (Plouffe 0-2, Hicks 0-2, Burt 3-6, O'Neill 0-4, Craddock 3-7, Castro 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Baden Sports 43 (Garrison 8), Washington 46 (O'Neill, Schelly 8). Assists — Baden Sports 13 (Ashbaugh 4), Washington 15 (Schelly 5). Total fouls — Baden Sports 17, Washington 19. A — 1,851.