Winds were gusting faster than 30 mph in Las Vegas, Nev., but the Washington women’s golf team wasn’t complaining. Instead, they made it their friend.

“Our whole philosophy was to make the wind our friend,” head coach Mary Lou Mulflur explained. “His name is Andy. He wanted to come out to play today and we played with him. We just tried to have fun with it.”

It’s tough to not have fun when your team played the way the Huskies did during yesterday’s second round of the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown. The UW had the lowest team total of the day, shooting a combined 4-over as a team. They are in second place heading into the final round and are only one shot back of leader Arizona.

Despite shooting five shots worse than Monday, Mulflur said the team had a better overall performance yesterday.

“The conditions were horrible, and it makes it tough to do battle out there,” she said. “They just played really, really solid. It was a team effort.”

Three Huskies are currently in the top-10 individually. Junior Anya Alvarez, who fired a 3-under 69 Monday, shot a 1-over 73 and is alone in fourth place. Senior Molly Aronsson improved from her first-round 73, shooting a 1-under 71, and is tied for sixth place.

Junior Karinn Dickinson, who has battled a sickness all week, grinded out a 1-over 73 and is tied for ninth place.

Not far behind is senior Christina Yoon, who was plagued with confidence issues earlier this year. Yoon started off slow as she shot a 5-over 41 on the front nine, but she came alive on the back nine, making four birdies and finishing with a 3-over 75.

“She just battled really hard, and it was really impressive,” Mulflur said. “After what happened at Sahalee, I couldn’t have asked for a better response. It shows her senior leadership and her ability to figure out a way to get it done.”

Sophomore Sadena Parks struggled yesterday, shooting an 11-over 83. The Huskies will get off to a shotgun start tomorrow at 8 a.m.

Across the country in Windermere, Fla., senior Nick Taylor was the lone bright spot for the Huskies at the Isleworth Invitational. Taylor, an All-American, fired a final-round 2-under 70 and finished tied for seventh overall. The senior finished in the top 10 in all four of the Huskies’ fall events this season.

As a team, the Huskies struggled to find any rhythm and finished tied for 13th place with a combined 3-day total of 65-over. A new course and tough Bermuda grass befuddled the No.-3 Huskies.

Seniors Richard Lee and Tze Huang Choo finished at 14-over and tied for 43rd place. Sophomore Jens Brachet replicated his second-round 77 with another one yesterday and finished tied for 56th at 17-over. Rounding out the group was senior Chris Killmer, who struggled all week and ended up 32-over and tied for 73rd place.

Tuesday’s final round was the last time the Huskies will be playing competitively until February, when they will travel to Kamuela, Hawaii for the Waikoloa Intercollegiate. The Huskies only won one tournament this fall, and few individuals stood out with the exception of Taylor. The squad will hope to refine its game this winter before beginning the spring season in 2010.

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.