UW women’s basketball overwhelms Pacific for 81-50 victory

In Monday’s season opener, Washington Huskies point guard Sayvia Sellers dazzled as a distributor and dished a game-high seven assists, but couldn’t find the mark from long range and missed all five of her three-point attempts.

Three days later, Sellers was simply sensational while leading all scorers with 17 points and connecting on four three-pointers to carry the UW women’s basketball team to an 81-50 nonconference victory against Pacific on Thursday night.

“We set the tempo on defense pretty good and that led to good offense,” said Sellers, who connected on 6 of 8 field goals, including 4 of 5 from long range. “We got some good looks. … My shots were falling today, so I’m happy they did.”

Two performances are an extremely small sample size in a 30-game regular season, but Sellers, a 2023 four-star recruit from Anchorage, Alaska, has continued to show promise as a budding sophomore star since moving into the starting lineup late last season.

The 5-foot-7 play maker is averaging 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals while shooting 58.8% from the field this season.

UW’s 19-year-old floor general has impressed coach Tina Langley with maturity that belies her age.

“Just the way that she’s come in and worked and led,” Langley said. “I think her voice has really become stronger because she understands what we’re trying to do from a cultural perspective and from a basketball perspective.

“I just really like that growth. I think she’s understanding how good she can be. I think sometimes we can be so humble that we pass up a moment and I love that she’s stepping into those moments whether it be on the defensive end with a big stop or the offensive end and being really aggressive.”

Against Pacific, Sellers got hot early, hit her first shot in the first quarter — a three-pointer from the wing — and continued dropping daggers along the arc.

Sellers also dissected the Tigers’ defense with four assists and spearheaded the Huskies defense with two steals.

“Sayvia is really hard to guard and she’s really great at getting her teammates open,” UW junior guard Hannah Stines said. “That just makes it even harder for the other team. If you take her away, she’s going to find open players. I love playing with her. I love her energy and the confidence she gives us. She’s a great point guard.”

Pacific, which finished 19-15 last season and fifth in the WCC, was opportunistic offensively at the start and kept things relatively close while trailing 18-11 after the first quarter.

Then without warning, the Huskies abruptly seized momentum in the second quarter and took control of the game thanks to a stifling defense that held the Tigers to just 3-of-14 shooting from the field.

Defensively, Washington didn’t allow Pacific players room to operate while cutting off driving lanes and smothering the Tigers on the perimeter.

Late in the second quarter, the Huskies feasted on two turnovers that led to crowd-pleasing baskets and thrilled the 1,717 at Alaska Airlines Arena.

First, Sellers collected an errant pass and found a streaking Elle Ladine in transition for a layup despite being fouled.

Following Ladine’s ensuing free throw and three-point play, forward Dalayah Daniels deflected a pass and outraced everyone for a fast break layup that put UW ahead 34-13 with 2:13 left in the first half.

“Our defensive intensity changed in that quarter,” Langley said. “They came out of timeout and had a lot of aggressiveness at that end of the floor and it led to transition (baskets).”

The Huskies led 36-19 at the break and the Tigers never posed a threat the rest of the way.

Ladine had 12 points for Washington, which improved to 2-0.

Pacific (1-1) received a team-high 13 points from Elizabeth Elliott while Liz Smith had 11 and Anaya James 10.

Washington’s revamped offense, which tallied 95 points in a blowout win the season opener, had a second straight productive outing. The Huskies scored at least 18 points in every quarter and shot 43.7% from the field, including 9 of 21 on three-pointers.

UW held Pacific to 35.7% shooting on field goals, dominated the glass 44-31 and all 11 Huskies scored at least two points and played a minimum of six minutes once again.

“I’m really proud of us,” said Stines, who finished with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. “We are putting a lot of effort into our defense and that’s been driving our offense really well. We’ve been sharing the ball really well.”

The Huskies’ four-game homestand continues with Sunday’s matchup against Siena.

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