Ellington

If only it had been like this from the beginning.

Showing fight, intensity and execution that hadn’t been seen on a consistent basis nearly all season, the Washington women’s basketball team finished a weekend sweep of the Oregon schools with an exciting 62-53 victory Sunday afternoon over Oregon on Senior Day.

“What a great senior weekend, and what a great way to close out the Pac-10 season,” head coach Tia Jackson said.

With the win over Oregon State on Friday night, the Huskies will now be seeded seventh in this week’s Pac-10 Tournament, which begins Wednesday.

Sunday’s season finale was the last time five seniors — Sami Whitcomb, Sara Mosiman, Laura McLellan, Christina Rozier and Lydia Young — would play a regular-season game at Hec Edmunson Pavilion wearing a Husky uniform.

They made sure to leave a good mark on their legacies.

In one of the more entertaining games of the season, the Huskies used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to propel them to their third-straight victory.

Redshirt sophomore Regina Rogers was a big part of the Husky offensive outpour, as she scored three-straight baskets in less than two minutes in that run, pushing the UW lead to 11 as the crowd of 2,703 rose to its feet.

This was all after Rogers picked up two fouls in less than one minute early in the first half, resulting in the sophomore watching the last 19 minutes of the first half from the bench.

“It was frustrating to get two quick fouls,” said Rogers, who was held scoreless in the Huskies’ last meeting with the Ducks. “At that point, my team came to me and said, ‘We need you to stop fouling, for one, and keep your head in it,’ and I feel like I did.”

The Seattle native finished with a game-high 15 points and also added eight rebounds.

Whitcomb didn’t exactly go out on a sweet note: She shot 0-10 from the field and finished with one point. But as usual, the senior said it didn’t matter, because her team got the win.

“This was one of the most fun games all year, just because everyone was contributing,” said Whitcomb, who has led the UW in scoring average all season. “This was one of the first times we didn’t let our offense dictate our defense in what we were trying to do. No one wants their last game to be 0-10, but I was just really proud of the way everyone else stepped up. It was really fun to watch.”

Two days earlier, the Huskies picked up their second win in a row, beating Oregon State 67-49 in one of UW’s most convincing wins of the season. Whitcomb made nine free throws en route to a game-high 14 points.

Oregon State awaits the Huskies again this Wednesday night in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament. Because of its strong finish, Washington won’t have to play powerhouse Stanford unless they meet in the championship.

Contrary to many post-game conferences this season, the mood of the coaches and players was upbeat following Sunday’s win. The Gatorade on Jackson’s sweater showed that.

“I’m real excited about the way we finished off [the season],” the third-year head coach said. “We have tremendous momentum going into the Pac-10 tourney. I’m really proud of the girls and what they did; it was fun, and I’ve got Gatorade all over me to prove it.”

Reach Sports Editor Taylor Soper sports@dailyuw.com.