The Washington Huskies women’s basketball team has earned a No. 6 seed for the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
After earning a spot in the First Four in 2025, coach Tina Langley’s team took a massive step forward this season, going 21-10 on the season and 10-8 in Big Ten play, which included a win over the USC Trojans in the conference tournament before they fell to the UCLA Bruins, who earned a No. 1 seed on Sunday. Now, they’ll have to contend with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who went 27-6 during the 2025-26 season.
Coach Aaron Johnston’s team won the Summit League Tournament to secure an automatic bid after an impressive regular season, where the Jackrabbits were led by all-conference First Team honoree Brooklyn Meyer. The 6-foot-2 forward led her team in practically every category, with 22.4 points, 8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game.
She was flanked on the All-Summit League First Team by guard Madison Mathiowetz, who added 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, which should make for a formidable challenge, but the Huskies have a reliable core to lean on.
LET’S DANCE, DAWG FANS!!! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/5fAp8Nd49d
— Washington Women’s Basketball (@UW_WBB) March 16, 2026
All season, the Huskies have been led by junior guard Sayvia Sellers. The All-Big Ten First Team honoree averaged a team-high 18.5 points and 3.7 assists, while chipping in 2.7 rebounds per game and playing stellar defense with 48 steals and a career-high 24 blocks, even though her three-point shooting took a step back from her sophomore season at 35.9 percent.
Sellers has received a lot of help from All-Big Ten honorable mention Avery Howell, who averaged 13.7 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per contest after transferring to Seattle following one season at USC. Former five-star recruit, forward Brynn McGaughy, who earned a spot on the conference’s All-Freshman Team following her first campaign, has also made a significant impact while mainly coming off the bench, averaging 9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game with a team-high 34 blocks.
The Huskies and Jackrabbits will face off in Sacramento, California, on Friday, March 20, time TBD.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies WBB receives No. 6 seed in 2026 NCAA Tournament
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