Washington's Avery Howell in line for featured role after stellar year

Avery Howell's return to the Pacific Northwest after a standout high school career in Boise, Idaho, went swimmingly for Washington women's basketball. After a strong showing in the 2025 NCAA Tournament for USC, Howell transferred to Washington to reunite with AAU teammate Brynn McGaughy and saw her usage bloom in her second collegiate season. Howell set new career highs in minutes, points, rebounds, field goals made and attempted, 3-pointers made and attempted, free throws attempted, and steals while serving as Washington's second-leading scorer behind lead guard Sayvia Sellers.

Let's review Howell's stellar sophomore season and look ahead to what could be next for the 6-foot guard. What a performance from Avery Howell 🤩 @averyhowell44 put on a show in Washington’s OT win! #NCAAWBB x 🎥 @UW_WBB pic.

twitter. com/iJs1JU5itI — NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) February 9, 2026 Howell arrived on Montlake with a bang, connecting on all 4 of her threes in the opener against Seattle U and finishing with 18 points. Her 12 rebounds against Vermont on November 23 set the stage for what would become a clinic in rebounding from the guard position, as Howell ended up leading the team in rebounds by more than 3 a game.

On November 25 against Southern, Howell had 18 points with 3 threes, starting an 11-game streak in double figures that featured at least 2 made threes in every game. That included a career high at the time of 23 points against Northwestern on December 29, with 6 threes and 22 points in an upset win over Michigan on New Year's Day. Howell also doubled her freshman high in rebounds with 16 in that Michigan game.