UW Huskies back in women’s NCAA Tournament for 1st time since 2017

UW Huskies women's basketball has passed its first season in the Big Ten, ending an eight-year NCAA Tournament drought by earning a First Four bid.

BY SEATTLESPORTS.COM STAFF

Mar 17, 2025, 9:58 AM Updated: 3:44 pm

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UW Huskies women NCAA Tournament Elle Ladine...

Elle Ladine of the UW Huskies reacts during Jan. 18, 2025 game vs. Purdue. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

UW Huskies women’s basketball has passed its debut season in the Big Ten, returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years.

The 19-13 Huskies are dancing, making it into the the tourney as one of the First Four teams. UW will take on Columbia at 4 p.m. Thursday in Chapel Hill, N.C., to determine the No. 11 seed in the No. 2 (Birmingham) region. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Thursday’s winner will move on to face sixth-seeded West Virginia on Saturday in the first round.

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Despite finishing 12th in the Big Ten with a 9-9 conference record, the Huskies made a late push into the tournament by winning five of their last six games. It was their second five-game win streak of the season.

Washington has three players averaging at least 12 points per game, led by 5-foot-11 junior guard Elle Ladine (17 points per game). Ladine also averages 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game, and shoots 47.2% from the field, 88.2% on free throws and 39.3% on 3-pointers.

Forward and Seattle native Delayah Daniels, a 6-foot-4 Garfield High School product, leads UW with 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, plus a 56.9% shooting clip from the field. She averages 12.7 points per game.

Sophomore guard Sayvia Sellers leads the Huskies with 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, is second on the team with 15.2 points per game, and shoots 46.6% on field goals, 81.7% from the line and 39.6% from 3-point land.

Columbia (23-6), based in New York City, won the Ivy League regular season title with a 13-1 conference record. The Lions won 16 of 17 games before falling to Harvard 74-71 on Saturday in the conference tournament championship game.

Sophomore guard Riley Weiss leads Columbia with 17.8 points per game.

The Huskies last made the NCAA Tournament in 2017, which was the last of three straight appearances with guard Kelsey Plum leading the way.

This trip to the tourney is the 20th in program history for UW.

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