SEATTLE — For the first 20 minutes of a game between the No. 22 Washington Huskies women's basketball team and UC San Diego Tritons on Friday at Alaska Airlines Arena, the Huskies' undefeated record looked to be in jeopardy.

Instead, Washington bared its fangs and downed UC San Diego 67-50, erasing a double-digit first quarter deficit in the process. The Dawgs improved to 7-0 on the season.

"I thought (UC San Diego) came out and gave us a great game," Huskies coach Tina Langley said in a postgame interview. "Well-prepared. Love their fight. I thought we responded well, which is what you want to see this time of year. Different players stepping up and had some great moments."

Washington came out and scored the first five points of the game before falling prey to a 16-0 Tritons run that put the Huskies down 16-5 with under three minutes left in the first quarter.

Washington cut that deficit down to nine going into the second quarter, but the Dawgs started to find their usual form in the second 10-minute set.

The Huskies outscored UC San Diego 15-9 in the second quarter to go into halftime behind 30-27.

Junior guard Sayvia Sellers and sophomore guard Avery Howell led the way for Washington in the first half with eight and six points, respectively.

Both teams played physical defenses in the first half, but had hardly any free-throw attempts to show for it.

The Tritons had just one attempt at the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes and Washington went to the line thrice.

"You always have to feel out the way a game is called," Langley said. "And I thought we did a good job at that. Understood that. Just made good decisions with the ball in our hands. The first half, obviously, we had some turnovers. I think just trying to figure that out and then I think we calmed down a little bit more."

In the third quarter, the fouls started to be called more frequently and the Huskies out-attempted their opposition 5-to-3 at the charity stripe. Washington outscored UC San Diego 26-15 in the third quarter to take a 53-45 going into the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Howell scored back-to-back 3-pointers to give Washington a 36-31 lead with 6:55 left in the third. After Howell's first triple, the Huskies didn't trail for the rest of the game.

Howell finished the game with 15 points on 4-for-9 shooting. She added eight rebounds, an assist and a block.

All 15 of Howell's points came as a result of 3-point attempts. She made four triples and was fouled in the fourth quarter on a shot attempt from beyond the arc. She made all three tries at the charity stripe.

Sellers put up seven of her nine second-half points in the third quarters to help build the Huskies' lead.

Sellers finished with a team-high 17 points on 5-for-13 shooting (3-for-7 from 3-point range). She added five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

Washington outscored the Tritons 14-5 in the fourth quarter en route to its 67-50 win.

Senior guard Elle Ladine, who played her first game of the season due to an undisclosed injury, put up nine points on 4-for-8 shooting (1-for-2 from beyond the arc) and added three rebounds and a steal.

"Elle's been out a little while," Sellers said after the game. "She's worked her tail off trying to get back. She's had long days of just rehab and trying to really be back on the court for us. So I'm really glad she was able to come out and play. ... I was just glad she checked in the game and was able to play. ... She can make a lot of plays, she's an elite scorer. So it's always fun to play with Elle. I love playing with her."

The Huskies will conclude a five-game homestand with a game against San Jose State at 6 p.m. PT on Dec. 1 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

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