The Washington Huskies women’s basketball team will enter the 2026-27 season with legitimate Big Ten title aspirations after retaining all three of its All-Big Ten honorees and adding notable players in the transfer portal.
The Huskies schedule, which was released Sept. 17, showed that the team had a major advantage that could lend itself to the program achieving its conference-championship-goals.
Advertisement
According to Washington’s originally-released schedule, the entire of the team’s nonconference slate will take place in the state of Washington. The only non-con game that won’t be in Seattle is the Apple Cup showdown against the Washington State Cougars on Nov. 17 at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash.
Including the Huskies’ first Big Ten game against the Southern California (USC) Trojans, the first 11 of UW’s 28-game schedule will be in its home state.
However, Washington women’s basketball announced two more nonconference games that will take the team out of the Pacific Northwest to the opposite end of the country.
According to a post on “X” from the Huskies official account, the team will participate in the Coconut Hoops tournament from Nov. 27-29. The event will take place at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla., home of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.
Advertisement
Washington will play the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at 10:30 a.m. PT/1:30 p.m. PT on Nov. 27 and the UMass Minutewomen at 10:30 a.m. PT on Nov. 29.
Both games have the potential to give the Huskies a boost in its potential resume when it comes time for selection day for the NCAA tournament in March.
The Cowgirls have made two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances out of the Big 12 and overhauled the roster this offseason. Among the top gets for Oklahoma State was former Iowa State center Audi Crooks.
Crooks was a three-time, first-team All-Big 12 selection in her three years with the Cyclones and was a two-time All-American (third-team in 2025; second-team in 2026).
The game will also represent something of a revenge game for UW guard Macey Huard, who transferred from Oklahoma State to Washington this offseason.
Advertisement
UMass has been rebuilding the last three seasons under head coach Mike Leflar, who’ll enter his fourth season leading the Minutewomen.
UMass improved from 5-27 to 17-15 to 23-7 across Leflar’s three years leading the program. Last season, the program’s first 20-plus-win year since 2022-23, was the Minutewomen’s first in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
The Huskies will begin their ’26-27 season against the UC San Diego Tritons at a to-be-determined time Nov. 2 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
