UW Women's Basketball | Michelle Augustavo hopes to stay in the game as a coach

Some mornings Michelle Augustavo will pop into Washington coach Tia Jackson's office, plop in a seat and ask innocently, "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm watching film," Jackson responds in her playful, sassy way. And the senior guard will scoot close to the screen to watch, too.

"She'll watch film with me and get a good understanding of the game," Jackson said. "She has a really good sense of what defenses to run against certain teams, if they're athletic or fundamental. She's got a really good mind and will be pretty remarkable wherever she ends up after she graduates."

Augustavo, raised in an athletic family by a father who is the girls coach at Inglemoor High School, has always wanted to follow a similar path, to become a college women's basketball coach. One of two seniors on the Washington team, she'll graduate with a degree in English and immediately try to coach somewhere — whether it be AAU, like Jackson's beginnings in Iowa, or as a college program's director of basketball operations.

But Augustavo knows one thing; nothing has prepared her more for her desired career than her senior Huskies season.

Washington (6-19 overall, 2-13 Pac-10) plays at No. 24 Arizona State (20-6, 12-2) tonight, with UW tumbling to possibly its worst record since 1999-2000. In the midst of it all, there was a school-record 12-game losing streak during which the Huskies lost by an average of 22.5 points.

"I've learned so much," said Augustavo, who averages 5 points and 18.7 minutes. "I would love to get a job as soon as possible and start working my way up the ladder. There's just nothing better than teaching what you know."

Fellow guard Sami Whitcomb is supportive of Augustavo coaching. The junior described her teammate as a would-be offensive-minded leader who learned some defensive tactics from Jackson.

Augustavo also learned what she doesn't like in coaches. She has played two seasons at Washington, beginning her college career at San Diego, where there was changeover at the head-coaching position twice. Then at Washington, she redshirted when June Daugherty was fired.

"Every year I had a different coach," said Augustavo, who starred at Bishop Blanchet. "Until this year."

It's all helped hone her style. Augustavo, a co-captain, is a mentor to freshman Kristi Kingma, talking the game with her often, and she's a comfort to the players when she's on the court. She also leads in groups for scouting opponents, sometimes offering her own scouting report outside of what's assigned, which Jackson compares to her staff's version.

"Michelle, she's kind of the mother on and off the floor," Jackson said. "When we have young kids on the floor, we tend to put her out there because she keeps them in line a little bit."

Someday, Augustavo hopes to do so from the sideline.

"She knows the importance of creating discipline and making sure the players are held accountable," Whitcomb said. "But she also knows the point that you don't want to push them too hard. She'll be good."

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