Avery Howell will play her first game against USC since transferring to the Huskies
SEATTLE — The No. 21 Washington Huskies are coming off a dominant homestretch that included five-straight home games.
The Huskies won all five of those games by an average of 23.8 points en route to a perfect 8-0 record.
Washington has been able to find success against varying level of competition this year, but will face its first true test in its first conference game.
The Huskies will play their first Big Ten game against No. 16 Southern California (USC) at 5 p.m. PT on Dec. 7 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
The game will be Washington's first true opportunity to solidify itself among the upper echelon of women's basketball teams this season and it will mark a reunion for one of the Huskies best players.
Sophomore Washington guard Avery Howell, a Boise, Idaho native, began her collegiate career with USC in 2024-25. She transferred to the Huskies ahead of this season and Sunday will be her first time facing the Trojans since leaving the program.
In Howell's freshman season, she averaged 7.5 points across 35 games on 43.1% shooting from the floor and a 39.9% clip from 3-point range.
Howell doesn't have any added emotions in facing her former team but she's looking forward to suiting up with her current squad.
"I'm just excited for the preparation that we're gonna get once we get back in the gym with this group," Howell said in a postgame interview Monday. "I think it's gonna be a lot of fun, I'm gonna have a lot of fun playing. That's what it's about, I love to compete. But it just comes back to the preparation with this team and making sure we're doing what we need to do to be our best selves on (Sunday)."
This year, Howell is putting up 12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. She's shooting 44.8% from the floor and 39.5% from beyond the arc. She's the team's second-leading scorer behind junior guard Sayvia Sellers (19.1 points per game).
Howell, Sellers and Brynn McGaughy (10.1 points per game) are the team's three scorers who average double-digits.
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