UW Women’s Basketball | Huskies seek first win
One player is gone, three 2008 recruits are believed to be coming, and the 12 players who remain on the Washington women’s basketball roster are in Hawaii searching for their first win under new coach Tia Jackson.
The Huskies (0-2), after absorbing 27- and 19-point road losses, tonight take on Hawaii (0-0) in the opener of the three-day Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic in Honolulu.
Washington will also play Northern Arizona (2-0) Saturday and UC Davis (1-0) Sunday before playing its home opener next Friday against Idaho.
Washington will do so without 5-foot-10 freshman guard Candice Nichols, who left the team before UW’s regular-season opener last Saturday at Kansas State.
Speaking by telephone from Hawaii Thursday, Jackson called the departure of Nichols a “family decision.”
Jackson speculated Nichols will transfer to a school in California. Nichols is a graduate of Long Beach Poly.
Nichols played a reserve role in both Huskies exhibitions, hitting 1 of 7 shots in 21 minutes Nov. 3 and 1 for 4 in 13 minutes on Nov. 6.
Nichols did not accompany Washington to Kansas State, but Jackson says the freshman drove on her own to Spokane to watch the Huskies play at Gonzaga Monday.
“That in itself will tell you that she definitely wanted to be a part of this team,” Jackson said. “But unfortunately, it was best for her to make a decision that was best for her immediate family.”
Jackson says she spoke with both Nichols and her family. “It was not about me talking them out of it,” she said. “I asked, ‘Tell me what’s best for you.’ If it’s best for her to do what’s best for her family, then I can’t compete with that. I refuse to compete with that.”
Note
• Jackson said she had two letters of intent in hand from recruits and was waiting to receive a third before making any public announcement.
Kristi Kingma, a 5-foot-10 guard from Jackson High School of Mill Creek, has signed, and Hoopgurlz.com projects that Liz Lay, a 6-1 forward from Oklahoma City, will also play for the Huskies.
Lay, averaging 20.3 points per game, is rated the No. 18 player overall (and the No. 3 forward). Kingma (16.5 ppg) is rated No. 44.