Washington women's basketball wins first exhibition game

The Washington women's basketball team won its exhibition opener, 69-61 against Seattle Pacific on Thursday at Edmundson Pavilion.

Senior forward/center Laura McLellan led the Huskies with 18 points.

Daesha Henderson scored a game-high 26 points for SPU, ranked No. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN Division II coaches' poll. The former Snohomish star was 5 for 6 from three-point range. No other Falcon scored in double digits.

Seattle Pacific last played the Huskies in a 2007 exhibition game, winning 75-67.

Returning an experienced team from a 23-5 finish last year, SPU still couldn't defend against Washington's interior game — once UW got it going. The Huskies outscored the Falcons 26-18 inside.

The Huskies' defense also was questionable. The Falcons easily drove baseline for inside buckets or passed the ball around the perimeter to find open three-pointers, keeping the game close after the Huskies built double-digit leads.

"A lot of threes," said Huskies senior Sami Whitcomb of SPU shooting 9 for 20 beyond the arc. "We're not jacking threes that much in practice. Actually seeing them, we had to really be there and get our hand up. "

A jumper from Falcons senior forward Megan Hoisington inched her team within 30-29 with 3:50 remaining before the break. McLellan responded by slipping her third straight basket in the hoop to ignite a 9-0 run, helping the Huskies close the half ahead 39-29.

McLellan's points marked the first time in the game that Washington went inside successfully. The Huskies tried to generate offense with long-range shooting in the early going, but missed four of five first-half attempts. Washington finished shooting 33.3 percent (3 for 9) from three-point range.

Transfer Regina Rogers' Huskies debut wasn't very memorable. The former Chief Sealth standout, touted as a good addition by coach Tia Jackson, picked up quick fouls in both halves that forced her to the bench and finished with just three points in 11 minutes.

"Having someone her size on the floor, she stands out," Jackson said of the 6-foot-3 Rogers. "She's like Shaq. Sometimes that's easy pickings, but I think Regina knows it. We give her a lot of attention in practice so she knows it's going to be welcomed in the games."

The Huskies play their final exhibition game at 7 p.m. Monday against Corban College at Edmundson Pavilion. Washington opens the regular-season at Portland State on Nov. 14.

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

SEATTLE PACIFIC (61) — Hoisington 3-7 2-4 8, Reich 1-6 0-0 2, Harazin 1-3 0-0 3, Henderson 9-16 3-3 26, Maloney 1-4 0-2 3, Gorman 2-4 0-0 5, Sims 2-5 0-0 5, Murray 0-2 0-0 0, Benson 2-3 0-0 4, Rohrbach 2-4 1-2 5. Totals 23-54 6-11 61.

WASHINGTON (69) — Rogers 1-3 1-2 3, Kingma 2-6 4-4 9, Morton 0-2 3-4 3, Whitcomb 6-17 2-3 15, Mosiman 7-12 0-0 14, McLellan 8-10 1-2 18, Rozier 2-4 1-2 5, Barlow 0-1 0-0 0, Argens 0-4 2-2 2, Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 14-19 69.

Halftime — Washington 39-29. Three-point goals — SPU 9-20 (Harazin 1-3, Henderson 5-6, Maloney 1-3, Gorman 1-2, Sims 1-3, Murray 0-2, Rohrbach 0-1), UW 3-9 (Kingma 1-2, Whitcomb 1-6, McLellan 1-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — SPU 36 (Reich 8), UW 38 (Kingma 9). Assists — SPU 12 (Henderson 5), UW 14 (Whitcomb 4). Total fouls — SPU 18, UW 16. A — 1,003.