SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies women's basketball team returned Jan. 18 to Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle triumphantly.

The Huskies beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers 67-54 and improved to 14-4 overall this season and 4-3 in Big Ten play. Washington held Minnesota to its lowest point-total of the season.

"Love how we came out," Huskies head coach Tina Langley said after the game. "Thought these young women really prepared well. Understood who Minnesota was. Great team, really well-coached team, plays very tough and smart. I thought our team rose to that challenge and came out, also, with that same mindset."

Washington's defense took center stage as the game went on, but for most of the first half the Golden Gophers were on the winning end of the dog fight.

The two sides spent the first half of the first quarter going back-and-forth before Minnesota pulled ahead by multiple possessions. The Huskies trailed 17-13 going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Golden Gophers did their best to hold off Washington, but were unable to maintain the lead.

The Huskies went on a 6-0 run to take a 24-23 lead with three minutes, 20 seconds in the first half. After a quick exchange of buckets, senior guard Hannah Stines hit two shots to end the half and send Washington in the break with a 30-27 lead.

Stines finished the game with 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting and added seven rebounds and an assist. 

"I think we just came together and talked about locking down on defense," Stines said in a postgame interview. "Boxing out, rebounding, pushing in transition, which is how we love to play. Just coming together and getting on the same page."

Junior guard Sayvia Sellers had 11 of her game-high 23 points in the first half. She reached that mark on a 9-for-14 mark from the floor and added four assists, two steals and a block.

Sellers went 3-for-7 from 3-point range. Her trio of triples comprised most of the team's four makes on 19 attempts from beyond the arc.

In the second half, Minnesota cut the Huskies' lead to one point with 6:22 left in the third quarter.

Washington responded with two respective 6-0 runs in the third and went into the final 10 minutes of the game up 56-44.

The Golden Gophers didn't get closer than 10 points to the Huskies the rest of the game.

"I thought it started on the defensive end," Sellers said after the game. "Once we started getting stops, we were able to get out in transition and I was able to get downhill." 

Washington will next be in action against Penn State at 6 p.m. PT on Jan. 21 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

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