O'Neill, a 6-foot-1 graduate of Meadowdale High School in Edmonds, came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points in UW's 82-60 win over visiting Michigan. Primarily a guard through her first three seasons at Washington, O'Neill had been starting at power forward while junior forwards Breanne Watson (mononucleosis) and Jill Bell (knee, ankle) worked their way back after missing much of the preseason.

But now she's back at guard.

"More than anything, I was able to focus," said O'Neill, who shot 6 of 12 from the field, including 3 of 5 from three-point range. "By playing the guard I was able to do that. I don't mind coming off the bench. I'll do whatever I can to help the team."

She likely will reprise her super-sub role at 7 tonight when the Huskies (6-2) close out their nonconference schedule against Eastern Washington (4-3) at Edmundson Pavilion.

Washington holds a 17-1 all-time series lead over the Eagles of the Big Sky Conference, who are coming off a 63-57 win at Portland on Saturday. This will be the first meeting between the programs since 1995.

Tonight's game also marks the UW women's first appearance on regional television. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Northwest.

"Part of this trip is playing Washington, a team I have wanted to coach against for a while," fifth-year Eagles coach Wendy Schuller said last week. "Our kids are excited because for some of them, they get to play closer to home."

O'Neill may be the most versatile player for UW. She leads the team or is among the leaders in such disparate categories as blocked shots, steals and three-point shooting.

She is capable of playing four different positions and has been called upon to do that this season. But it has not always worked out to her benefit or that of the Huskies.

"I was being very tentative on offense," O'Neill said. "More than anything, I was thinking too much on the court. I had so many positions to play, and I was trying so hard to be perfect in all of them.

"I think I was my own worst enemy in that regard."

She was Michigan's worst nightmare on Friday while scoring her highest total since a 12-point outing in the season opener at Alabama.

O'Neill and fellow senior Kayla Burt, a 5-11 guard out of Arlington, give Huskies coach June Daugherty the option of a change of pace behind sophomore starters Emily Florence and Dominique Banks.

Meanwhile, the continued improvement of Bell and Watson has bolstered a frontcourt that includes 6-2 sophomore starter Andrea Plouffe and 6-3 junior Maggie O'Hara.

"We've had Kristen bombarded playing the one, two, three and four [positions]," said Daugherty. "What we'd like to do, now that we're getting steady play from Watson and Bell, is to keep Kristin at the guard position."

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