Avery Howell has 30 in Washington's first NCAA win since Kelsey Plum

The first five minutes of Washington's first-round matchup against South Dakota State were about as catastrophic as Tina Langley's squad has experienced this season. Jackrabbits leading scorer Brooklyn Meyer started hot, with 7 points on 3-3 shooting. The Huskies couldn't make anything - at one point Washington was 1-of-13 from the field.

Meyer blocked freshman Brynn McGaughy hard enough to send the former five-star recruit to the court, then Washington airballed two shots from outside. But McGaughy got to work, getting to the line twice and making all four free throws to spark a Washington run. Meyer picked up her second foul with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter.

Then Avery Howell took over. Howell, who made her name as a freshman for USC in last season's tournament, caught fire in the second half of the first quarter. By the time Emilee Fox hit a three to answer one of Howell's with 6:02 to go in the first half, Washington had ripped off a 21-4 run powered by 12 points from the sophomore.

Another 14-4 run to end the half immediately following that three from Fox extended Washington's lead to 14 by the time the buzzer sounded. Their 21-4 run relied on Howell's outside shooting, but this run attacked Meyer, who re-entered the game despite those 2 fouls. Apart from a Devin Coppinger layup, bigs Yulia Grabovskaia and Brynn McGaughy accounted for the entirety of the run as Washington got the ball into the paint repeatedly.