Huskies beat Minnesota to advance to second round

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Five text messages and four missed calls awaited Breanne Watson on her cellphone when she returned to the locker room after Washington's NCAA tournament first-round game, making her eyes bulge to the size of golf balls.

It was the first time a Husky was wide-eyed all afternoon.

Underdogs against No. 8 seed Minnesota, the No. 9 seeded Huskies got crafty in physically hustling their way to a 73-69 win Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium. It was the Huskies' first tourney victory since 2001.

"Deep breath," said UW coach June Daugherty as she took her seat atop the postgame interview podium. "Yoga!"

The anticipated storyline was about the Golden Gophers' front line, especially leading scorer Jamie Broback, a 6-foot-3 junior. But Broback was benched with 18:12 remaining in the second half after Watson, a 6-1 junior reserve, spun around Broback again to score a runner in the paint.

Suddenly, Washington's frontcourt was the highlight of the matchup. Andrea Plouffe, a 6-2 sophomore forward, paced the Huskies as she slashed, slithered and stepped out for three-pointers to score a team-high 15 points, while Watson finished with a season-high 14 points on 3-for-7 shooting from the field.

The interior combo also helped the Huskies outrebound the Golden Gophers 50-38, collecting 23 offensive boards to Minnesota's 10.

"We had to hit them before they hit us," said Watson, who finished with nine boards. "We were really prepared for [Jamie] and I was surprised she didn't come back in. She maybe lost her confidence or something."

Broback, who entered the game averaging 14.1 points, appeared sluggish and Minnesota coach Pam Borton said she was playing scared. Broback was 1 for 5 from the field and had five rebounds.

"Jamie didn't play up to her ability offensively or defensively," said Borton, whose team is 1-6 when outrebounded this season. "It was hurting us. Jamie wasn't getting the job done. It's the NCAA tournament — we have to get the job done."

Meanwhile, Watson and Plouffe, along with reserves Jill Bell and Maggie O'Hara, were dominating. O'Hara led with a season-high five offensive rebounds. The biggest offensive rebound came with under a minute remaining in the game.

The score was tied at 67 when a Cameo Hicks runner rattled in and out of the basket. Watson leaped into the air for the board, and in the ensuing seconds Hicks found an open Kristen O'Neill for a three-pointer to give Washington a 70-67 lead with 56.2 seconds remaining.

Frantically trying to regain the lead with 5.8 seconds left, Minnesota guard Brittany Davis drove through the paint out of control and flopped onto the court, losing the ball out of bounds.

Watson made a pair of free throws to end the game, snapping the Golden Gophers' five-game win streak in the NCAA opening round.

"A lot of people sold us short this year," said Daugherty, whose team shrieked in excitement once the final buzzer sounded. "I honestly believed it was in us and I think more is in them."

Washington (19-10) gets the joy of facing No. 1 seed Louisiana State in the second round on Monday. The Tigers defeated No. 16 seed Florida Atlantic 72-48 to advance.

If there's more in the Huskies, they'll need it against Tigers, who feature senior guard Seimone Augustus, the expected No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick, and 6-6 sophomore center Sylvia Fowles, who was dunking in practice on Friday.

"It's fun to always be the underdog," Bell said. "A lot of people underestimate us because of our size, but we're a good team and we have good post players. [Saturday] we used our athleticism and were able to defend somewhat to keep them off the post. They [LSU] are going to match up with us athletically a little bit more, but we've got to keep with the same game plan."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com