Washington women open hoops season with big win on road

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Washington women's basketball team knew it couldn't lose Friday night if it didn't let the Alabama Crimson Tide score in the final minutes, so the Huskies devised a foolproof strategy.

Washington played keep-away by grabbing four rebounds — three on the offensive end — in the game's final moments to preserve a 56-52 road victory to open the season.

Washington's win spoiled the debut of new Alabama head coach Stephany Smith in newly renovated Coleman Coliseum and avenged a 20-point loss to the Tide in last year's Seattle Times Classic final.

The Huskies built a large lead early in the game, then played from behind through much of the second half of a close game before taking the lead for good on a short jumper by junior guard Cameo Hicks with two minutes to go. Alabama hardly had another scoring opportunity the rest of the way as Washington crashed the floor for loose balls and controlled the offensive boards down the stretch.

"That's the way we play," said Washington coach June Daugherty, who began her 10th season with the Huskies. "I'm happy for us to win on the road. We believe in hustle plays. It's details, and they do win ballgames. We chart them and we emphasize them."

Hicks' bucket at the two-minute mark put Washington ahead 54-52, and a free throw by Dominique Banks nearly 30 seconds later upped the margin to 55-52. Alabama missed a 15-footer on the other end and Washington controlled possession until the final few seconds.

Last year's defeat loomed large in Washington's motivation for the season opener.

"The difference is in our team," Daugherty said. "We learned a lot from the Alabama game last year. We had no seniors last year. We worked hard in the offseason to get better."

In the first half, Alabama junior guard Navonda Moore hit the floor hard trying to get a rebound. She was secured to a stretcher with her head immobilized and taken to a local hospital for evaluation. No update on her condition was available.

The score was tied three times in the final five minutes before Washington took the lead for good. Even the easy early lead didn't fool Washington into thinking things were going to be easy.

"They're a great team," said Kristen O'Neill, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds. "We knew last year we didn't show them our potential."

Hicks and Banks scored 13 points apiece to pace Washington, with Hicks grabbing nine rebounds and Banks adding six.

Washington will continue its southern road swing Sunday at Florida State.

WASHINGTON (1-0, 0-0 PAC 10)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Florence	24	2-4	2-2	4-4	1	2	8
Hicks	29	6-14	1-2	6-9	1	3	13
Banks	26	4-9	3-8	2-6	3	1	13
Plouffe	20	0-5	2-2	3-3	1	3	2
O'Neill	32	4-13	2-4	3-5	2	2	12
Bell	10	0-3	0-0	1-4	0	1	0
Craddock	8	0-5	0-0	1-1	1	1	0
Watson	16	0-4	2-2	1-3	0	1	2
Castro	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Burt	16	1-7	0-0	0-0	0	0	2
O'Hara	19	2-4	0-0	2-2	0	3	4
	200	19-68	12-20	25-44	9	17	56

Percentages: FG .279, FT .600. Three-point goals: 6-33, (Florence 2-3, Hicks 0-3, Banks 2-5, Plouffe 0-1, O'Neill 2-8, Bell 0-2, Craddock 0-5, Watson 0-1, Burt 0-5). Team rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 1, (O'Neill). Turnovers: 9, (Hicks 4, Banks, Plouffe, O'Neill 2, Castro). Steals: 9, (Banks 2, Plouffe 4, O'Neill, Bell, O'Hara).

ALABAMA (0-1, 0-0 SEC)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Nettles	22	2-10	0-0	0-2	1	3	4
Mastin	35	2-6	0-0	1-3	1	3	5
Hill	35	6-13	3-7	2-9	3	3	17
Moore	6	1-4	0-0	1-1	0	1	2
Barnes	34	3-5	3-4	2-4	3	2	9
Bellinger	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Rutherford	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Johnson	4	0-0	1-2	0-0	0	0	1
Drury	13	0-1	0-0	1-4	2	2	0
Blands	18	1-4	0-0	1-2	1	3	2
Merriweather	31	5-5	2-6	3-14	0	2	12
	200	20-48	9-19	15-44	11	19	52

Percentages: FG .417, FT .474. Three-point goals: 3-14, (Nettles 0-3, Mastin 1-3, Hill 2-5, Moore 0-1, Drury 0-1, Blands 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 1, (Barnes). Turnovers: 19, (Nettles 2, Mastin 2, Hill 2, Moore 2, Barnes 4, Bellinger, Johnson, Drury, Blands 3, Merriweather). Steals: 4, (Hill, Barnes, Rutherford, Merriweather).

Washington	32	24	—	56
Alabama	33	19	—	52

Attendance: N/A. Officials: Doug Cloud, Dock Sisk, Ken Drayton. Technical fouls: Washington-None. Alabama-None.