Less than a week after losing on a heartbreaking buzzer beater in its season opener, the Washington women’s basketball team got a sweet taste of the other side in last night’s home opener.

With five seconds left in the game and the Huskies down by 2 points, senior Sami Whitcomb had the ball two feet behind the 3-point arc. As time ticked away, Whitcomb could only do one thing: shoot.

“It wasn’t necessarily the original plan, but once I got it up there, it felt like the surest thing,” Whitcomb said. “We only had five seconds left, and I just believed it was going in. It had to go in; we couldn’t lose this game.”

Whitcomb’s confidence was enough, as the senior’s shot swished through the net with just two seconds left, sending both the Husky bench and the crowd into a frenzy. BYU’s last-second, desperate half-court shot missed, and the Huskies miraculously came out on top for their first win of the season, 67-66.

The feeling was a complete turnaround after Saturday’s loss to Portland State. The Huskies had control of that game, only to be beaten by a last-second 15-foot jumper at the buzzer. But last night, it was the Huskies (1-1) who got to celebrate.

“I guess this is what it feels like on the other side,” head coach Tia Jackson said. “I’m so excited for these girls. These ladies played their tails off, and they deserved a victory today.”

Whitcomb, who finished with a game-high 25 points, entered a zone with four minutes left in the game and didn’t leave it until the buzzer sounded. With the Huskies down 59-50, Whitcomb single-handedly brought the team back into the game, scoring UW’s final 12 points. She made a layup, knocked down five free throws and added another layup with 30 seconds to play.

With the UW down 66-64 and 22 seconds left on the clock, Jackson drew up a play to get the ball to Whitcomb in the post. It didn’t work out as planned, so junior guard Sarah Morton brought the ball around the right wing and found Whitcomb. Without hesitation, the senior set her feet and launched the game winner.

“When the player guarding Sami popped back up, she played her with her hands down,” Jackson said of the last play. “We call it playing airplane defense; Sami read it and took advantage of it. It was a big-time shot.”

BYU had taken control of the game in the second half. Their 3-point shooting caused problems all night for the Huskies, as the Cougars hit 10 compared to only two by the UW team. Guard Haley Hall hit her fourth three of the game to put the Cougars up 59-50, but the Huskies managed to claw their way back, thanks in large part to Whitcomb.

After Saturday’s tough season-opening loss to PSU, last night’s win was a sigh of relief for the UW. Players and coaches kept repeating one word after the game: redemption.

“I felt we deserved it,” said Morton, who finished with 12 points and five assists. “We played so hard against PSU and got robbed. I think this was redemption, and it felt amazing.”

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.