The Huskies are seeded third in the Pac-12 Conference women’s tourney that begins Thursday at KeyArena. Washington opens Friday against the winner of the Oregon-Arizona match.
Kelsey Plum will lead the Huskies into the Pac-12 tourney Friday. / Alan Chitlik, Sportspress Northwest
Seeded third, Washington begins pursuit of another run to the women’s Final Four when it opens the postseason at 8:30 p.m. Friday in the Pac-12 Conference tournament at KeyArena against the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 6 Oregon and No. 11 Arizona.
The Huskies finished the regular season Saturday at 27-4 and 15-3, third behind Oregon State (26-3, 14-2), which won its third successive regular-season league title, and No. 2 Stanford (24-5, 15-3), which beat the Huskies at Washington in their only meeting to break the tie.
The seeding is Washington’s highest since a No. 2 in 2003. The top four teams, which includes UCLA, drew byes in Thursday’s first round of four games. Seventh-seeded Washington State plays No. 10 Colorado at 5 p.m. Thursday in the third game of the opening round.
Nationally, the Cardinal is ranked eighth, Oregon State 10th and Washington 11th.
The Huskies beat the Ducks in Eugene 99-77, and swept the Wildcats by 17 and 36 points in two meetings.
Thursday
Opening rounds
Game 1: No. 8 California vs. No. 9 USC, 11:30 a.m. PT (Pac-12 Networks)
Game 2: No. 5 Arizona State vs. No. 12 Utah, 2 p.m. (P12N).
Game 3: No. 7 Washington State vs. No. 10 Colorado, 6 p.m. (P12N)
Game 4: No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 11 Arizona, 8:30 p.m. (P12N).
Friday
Quarterfinals
Game 5: No. 1 Oregon State vs. Game 1 winner, 11:30 a.m. (P12).
Game 6: No. 4 UCLA vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m. (P12N).
Game 7: No. 2 Stanford vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m. (P12N).
Game 8: No. 3 Washington vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m. (P12N).
Saturday
Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m. (P12N).
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8:30 p.m. (P12N).
Sunday
Championship
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6 p.m. (ESPN2).
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