Top Husky Takeaways From Washington Women’s Basketball’s Home Win Over Seattle U on November 3rd, 2025

Written By Charles Hamaker

By Rowan Schaberg, edited by Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA - The Washington Husky women’s basketball team opened their season at Alaska Airlines Arena last night with a crushing 90-43 defeat of their crosstown counterpart, Seattle University. Despite six newcomers on the roster and missing last season’s leading scorer, Elle Ladine, due to an injury, the 2025 NCAA Tournament selectees seemed to pick up where they left off last season. Junior guard Sayvia Sellers, a Preseason All-Big Ten Team selection, led all scorers with 21 points – six above her 2024-25 season average – and added a game-high six assists for the Huskies. Seattle native Tamia Stricklin led the Redhawks in scoring with 12 points and was the only player on the roster to record double-digits. 

Frames of Washington Husky point guard Sayvia Sellers during the teams season opening win over the Seattle University Red Hawks on Monday, November 3rd, 2025 at Alaska Airlines Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)

This season opener offered a highly anticipated first look at each team’s new additions - especially for the Huskies, who have remained in national Top 25 conversations despite questions about how they would fill the void left by star forward Dalayah Daniels. If last night’s win is any indication, Washington appears ready to build on the strong foundation it established last season.

Sophomore shooting guard Avery Howell – a USC transfer ranked among ESPN’s top 25 transfer impact rankings – shined in her Husky debut. Howell was perfect from the field, shooting 5-5 overall and 4-4 from three, finishing with 18 points and four rebounds in just 19 minutes. 

“I’m super excited to be here with this group,” Howell said in her first post-game media availability as a Husky. “First time being on the court with this group, I think it was a lot of fun. We got better and there’s going to be a lot of good growth from this..I’m super excited to be playing with these girls.”

“Just a really unselfish player that understands the game at a really high level, plays on both ends of the floor, understands how to make people around her better,” head coach Tina Langley said of Howell, who holds Canadian citizenship and spent the summer playing with the Canadian National Team at the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup. “She’s somebody that does a lot of things really well, including the defensive end. Really excited and proud to have her here.”

Washington’s third double-digit scoring performance came from freshman Sienna Harvey, who nearly matched points to minutes with 15 in 16. A silver medalist in the FIBA U19 World Cup with Australia, Harvey’s professional and international experience in her home country clearly translates to NCAA hoops. 

“Sienna is dynamite,” Langley said. “She’s incredibly aggressive on both ends of the floor. She defends at a high level. On-ball systematically, she understands the game really well. Offensively, she can run an offense, but she’s a dynamic scorer, as well. So I really need to see her come out and play not like a freshman.. Avery and Sienna both had some national team experiences, and I think those have helped them a lot.”

Frames of Washington Husky point guard Sienna Harvey during the teams season opening win over the Seattle University Red Hawks on Monday, November 3rd, 2025 at Alaska Airlines Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)

One of the long-awaited storylines of the night was the collegiate debut of Washington’s highest-rated recruit in history, Brynn McGaughy. In her short 12 minutes on the court, McGaughy showed a level of confidence and drive that is rarely seen in a freshman debut. Two monster blocks were evidence of that courage, in addition to four points and two rebounds on the night. 

Langley’s No.9 - ranked recruiting class in the nation certainly lived up to the hype against the Redhawks. In just ten minutes on the court, four-star recruit Nina Cain grabbed a game-high six rebounds for the Huskies–a very promising stat for the team that finished 15th in the Big Ten last season in total rebounds per game. 

“I think our freshmen are doing a tremendous job,” Langley said post-game. “I’m really proud of them and how hard they’re working. They’ve done a great job this summer coming in and trying to get to know the system.”

While all of the newcomers showed great promise in their first showing, the concerns around Washington’s post depth aren’t necessarily eliminated even after a 47-point win in which the Huskies outscored their opponent 58-22 in the paint. Unsurprisingly, Washington’s guards carried the majority of the offensive load, with the forwards and sole center, newcomer Yulia Grabovskaia, combining for only 15 of the team’s 90 total points. 

In a conference that boasts Lauren Betts, UCLA’s 6-foot-7 center projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, among many other strong paint presences, upping post production will be extremely important for the Huskies as they enter conference play. 

After missing most of the season with an injury last year, junior forward Olivia Anderson–who stands as one of the tallest players in the conference at 6-foot-6–offered a glimmer of hope down low for the Huskies, recording a career-high four blocks to add on to her five points. 

Reflecting on her first win of the season, Langley said that she hopes to keep her team’s system of play similar to last season, despite a less commanding post presence.

“We love to play an open post style sort of play,” Langley said postgame. “To clear up the lane for opportunities for our guards to drive and for our post to have one-on-one opportunity. So same or similar style.”

Funnily enough, 5-foot-7 Sellers recorded the most points in the paint for the Huskies last night, with all of her nine two-point field goals being shot within the key. Sellers’ elite ability to drive to the basket will continue to come in handy for Washington, but the question is who will step up as that one-on-one big. 

While Washington outscored Seattle in almost every single category on the stat sheet, the one battle that they lost to the Redhawks was free-throws–58% to Seattle U’s 71%. First game jitters could be the reason for the 14-24 performance from the charity stripe by the Huskies, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on as games continue. 

What’s next?

The Huskies will have an entire week to watch film and make any adjustments before they face Montana in a revenge match after the Grizzlies handed Washington their first loss of the 2024-25 season in Missoula, MT. While Washington will have home court advantage this time around, they will likely still be without Elle Ladine, who Langley says is “day to day” in her recovery from an undisclosed injury. Ladine was 8th in the conference in scoring last season and was one of only two Big Ten players to record a 40-point game. 

Washington will then travel to Salt Lake City for their first away game of the season against Utah on November 15–a game that should be the first real indicator of this Washington squad’s ceiling against an experienced roster. 

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Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️

Follow our accounts dedicated strictly to University of Washington athletics! Instagram: @CSS_UWHuskies Twitter: @CSS_College

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Follow our accounts dedicated strictly to University of Washington athletics! Instagram: @CSS_UWHuskies Twitter: @CSS_College 〰️

Charles Hamaker
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