During this week’s press conference, Washington women’s basketball players repeated that in the past, and even now, they played inspired basketball specifically for head coach Tia Jackson because of all the criticism she has taken over the past few seasons.

With the exception of this year’s graduating class, it looks like they will have one more year to do it.

On Tuesday afternoon, just two days before the Huskies’ Pac-10 tournament first-round game against OSU tonight at 8:15, UW Athletic Director Scott Woodward announced that Jackson will be returning as women’s basketball head coach for the 2010–11 season.

This announcement comes despite the fact that she’s been at the helm of the worst three-year stretch in program history, including a dismal 8-22 season last year that had many fans calling for Jackson’s dismissal.

But improvements have been made. After being picked to finish last in the Pac-10 preseason media polls, the Huskies ended up tied for sixth. They finished the season on a three-game win streak, albeit against three of the four worst teams in the league.

It looks like the progress made this year seemed to be enough for Woodward, who released a statement Tuesday.

“We have been very pleased with the improvement of the team this year,” Woodward said. “They have played hard and gotten better each game. Coach Jackson has done a terrific job with this team, and we think she has a bright future at the University of Washington.”

On Tuesday, before the announcement was made, Jackson was asked if she ever contemplated the thought of losing her job. Her answer was simple.

“I never think about it until I’m asked,” she said. “I tend to approach things pretty consistently. What I expect of my players, I definitely expect of myself first, and that’s to make sure we remained focused on the task at hand.”

Junior Sarah Morton, who has played for Jackson for nearly three years now, reflected on what is the belief held by many of the players.

“We’re definitely playing for her,” she said. “I’ve been with her almost four years now, so I love her as a coach, and I want her to stick around. We’re playing for her, playing for the seniors, playing for the team; as a whole, it’s been great.”

As for fans who have wanted to replace Jackson and the negative criticism both the team and the coach have endured in the past few years, Morton says it’s not fair for people outside the program to make quick accusations.

“I feel like, if you’re not on this team, understanding what we’re going through, it’s kind of hard to make a judgment about Coach [Jackson] when you’re not realizing what’s really going on,” Morton said. “I think this team as a whole has not really paid attention to the negative comments and done what we do best: stick up for each other and have each other’s backs.”

Senior Sami Whitcomb ­— who was named to the All Pac-10 team yesterday for the first time in her career — says that she is the type of player who wants to play for her coach and uses that as fuel on the court. She added that there was more talk about “playing for Coach J” last year, mainly due to a 12-game losing streak and many outside the program questioning Jackson’s ability as a coach.

“I think there were definitely some of us thinking about the coaching staff and wanting to win for them to keep them around,” said Whitcomb, who is averaging 13 points and six boards per game.

Tonight, the third-year head coach will lead her team into the biggest game of the season thus far. A loss against Oregon State will likely end the season for the Huskies, who are 12-16 overall and 7-11 in the Pac-10.

But the Huskies shouldn’t have much trouble, mainly because they have already beaten the Beavers twice this season, including a 67-49 thumping Friday in Seattle.

Not so fast, Jackson says.

“It’s always tough to beat a team three times in a row,” she said. “It is a challenge, but hopefully, we can pull it off. If we keep doing what we’ve been doing and building every game like we’ve been doing, I think we’ll be OK.”

For the Huskies to win, sophomore Regina Rogers will need to keep playing good basketball. The redshirt transfer from UCLA has been averaging nearly 60-percent shooting in the past three games and is second in the Pac-10 at 54 percent. She had a career-high 23 points two games ago against Washington State and led the way last weekend against Oregon with 15 points and eight boards.

The tournament is played at USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles, a city Rogers knows quite well. The native of Seattle played at UCLA for her freshman year before packing her bags and coming back home to play as a Husky. Earlier this season at UCLA, Rogers struggled against her former team, scoring just seven points.

“It’s kind of emotional playing back in LA,” Rogers said. “It’s my second time. The first time, I didn’t do too well, so the second time — like I say — I always try to do better.”

As the season has progressed, Rogers has seemed more comfortable on the court. She has put in extra hours after practice to work on her conditioning, enabling her to stay on the court for longer periods of time and do what she does best: dominate in the paint.

“I think I feel more confident,” the 6-foot-3 center said. “I feel like I’ve found my role. My team has been able to help me, give me the ball, and I’m able to play more since I’m in shape.”

If the Huskies win tonight, they’ll face Rogers’ former team, UCLA, in the quarterfinals Friday at 7:15 p.m.

Reach Sports Editor Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.