CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The final practice before its NCAA tournament opener began with the Washington women’s basketball team doing what it does best — knocking down a ridiculous array of three-pointers.
The shooting spectacle attracted a handful of UW players and coaches who circled around Elle Ladine, Sayvia Sellers, Hannah Stines, Chloe Briggs and Dalayah Daniels while they took turns draining daggers from long distance.
After each shot splashed through the net, the cheers grew louder and drowned out Rick Ross’ ‘Jumpman,’ which blared from the speakers inside Carmichael Arena on the University of North Carolina campus.
At the conclusion of the drill, coach Tina Langley gathered them at midcourt and asked: ‘Y’all ready to begin?”
Ultimately, the 11th-seeded Huskies (19-13) will answer that question at 4 p.m. Thursday when they play No. 11 seed Columbia (23-6) in a First Four matchup on ESPN2.
The winner advances to face No. 6 seed West Virginia in a first-round matchup on Saturday.
In many ways, playing a meaningful basketball game in March, albeit an NCAA tournament play-in contest, is a significant victory for a UW team that last appeared in the Big Dance in 2017.
And yet Daniels, one of three Husky seniors, isn’t ready for her storybook career to end any time soon.
“We’re here to win at the highest level,” she said Sunday shortly after learning the Huskies were headed to Chapel Hill, N.C. “We don’t really care who else is next. It’s just what’s in front of us at this point.
“We’re not thinking two games ahead or three games ahead. We’re just thinking about what’s on our plate right now and what we got to do to eat it. We’re excited for this next challenge.”
Statistically, Washington matches up well against Columbia, the reigning three-time Ivy League regular-season champion.
The Huskies rank among the top 11 teams nationally in shooting field goals (47.8%), three-pointers (37.3%) and free throws (79.0%).
The Lions shoot 43.7% from the field, 31.4% on three-pointers and 62.0% at the line while ranking 77th, 176th and 345th, respectively.
Columbia has a significant advantage in experience considering the Lions return eight players and four starters from last season’s team that lost 72-68 to Vanderbilt in a First Four game in Blacksburg, Va.
“We know much more what to expect,” senior guard Kitty Henderson said. “I think we’re much more ready this year. We know what everything is about. We know what it takes. … Last year, we were just so excited about it. But this year, we’re much more locked in. We’re ready to go.”
Lions junior wing Perri Page added: “It’s a business trip. Like Kitty said, we’ve been here before. Last year, we were just kind of happy to be here. Now we know what we need to do in order to execute and adjust, in order to survive and advance.”
In addition to their experience, Columbia coach Megan Griffith believes the Lions have an advantage in the backcourt with guards Riley Weiss (17.8 points per game), Cecelia Collins (13.7 ppg.) and Henderson (13.4 ppg.).
“Our guards are physical. That’s a major difference between the two teams,” Griffith said. “We can all really shoot it. We can all pass, but we’re going to try to lean into that physicality.”
The Huskies, who lost in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament last year, are hoping their first season in the rugged Big Ten, which produced 12 NCAA tournament teams, helps prepare them for a stingy Lions defense that allows 58.6 points per game.
“They’re a good team. They’re disciplined, and a good defensive team as well,” Daniels said when asked about Columbia. “They’re really active, really aggressive.
“It’ll be a good matchup for us. Being able to play in the Big Ten against different styles of play, I think we’re prepared really well. So, we’re excited.”
Still, it remains to be seen how Washington overcomes its lack of NCAA tournament experience and will nerves overcome a Husky team that’s repeatedly fallen short in big games this season.
“(We’re) a very levelheaded group of people that we’re grateful for moments,” Langley said. “So, you can see new opportunities as something that could be scary or different or you could see them as something exciting.
“It will bring out the best in you. We always want to provide an environment that would allow the best in our young people, and they do that for each other as well.”
Admittedly, the Huskies don’t know what they don’t know, and playing in the NCAA tournament is a bit of a mystery for a team that was last in the Pac-12 three years ago with Ladine, Stines and Daniels.
Langley is pushing the Huskies to trust their preparation that goes largely unseen, stick to their routines and not let the moment become too big for them.
“We started playing this game of basketball when we were young because it’s so much fun to play. It’s fun to compete,” she said. “We know what competition looks like, and we know what it feels like, and we know what it should feel.
“We just want it to feel like it should feel, not bigger. It’s a great game, and we’re excited to compete.”
Before her NCAA tournament debut, Sellers plans to give her Husky teammates one last piece of advice before walking on the court Thursday night.
“Just to be ourselves,” she said noting UW’s 5-1 record in the past six games. “Since it’s March Madness, people think that they have to play different. Just play how we always play.
“We’ve been playing our best basketball the past couple of games and we were able to fix things. So, just be confident in what we worked on, and I think it will show in the game.”
