Sayvia Sellers Posts Triple-Double as No. 16 Washington Pulls Away From UC San Diego 79-63

SEATTLE. Sayvia Sellers did a little of everything on opening day, and by the end of it Sellers had done something only two other Washington players had ever done. Sellers posted 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, the third triple-double in program history, as No. 16 Washington shook off a tied game at halftime and pulled away from UC San Diego for a 79-63 win on Monday, Nov. 2, at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Avery Howell added 22 points and hit five 3-pointers, Brynn McGaughy grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to go with 13 points, and the Huskies turned a 31-31 game at the break into a comfortable finish with a 30-point fourth quarter. Washington opened the season 1-0. UC San Diego, out of the Big West, fell to 0-1.

Here is the official box score (opens in a new tab) and Washington's recap (opens in a new tab).

A first half nobody owned

For 20 minutes this looked nothing like a preseason Top 25 team handling a mid-major. UC San Diego came to Seattle for an 11 a.m. tip and played like the earlier start suited it fine. The Tritons spread the floor, moved the ball and let it fly from deep, and Washington spent most of the half trading baskets instead of building a cushion.

The first quarter ended 19-18 Washington. The second went to UC San Diego 13-12, and the teams walked off tied at 31. Washington's size was already a problem for the Tritons, but the Huskies kept handing possessions back. They finished the day with 21 turnovers, and UC San Diego came up with 10 steals. On a different night against a sharper opponent, that number is the story.

The other thing keeping UC San Diego close was the 3-point line. The Tritons made 13 of 33 attempts from deep for the game, 39 percent, and Coryn Watts was the main reason. Watts played 38 of the 40 minutes and made five of eight 3s on the way to 15 points.

The third quarter turns it

Washington came out of the locker room with a different edge on defense. According to Washington's recap, the Huskies held the Tritons to 21 percent shooting to start the second half, and that stretch is where the game finally tilted. Washington won the third quarter 18-11 and carried a 49-42 lead into the fourth.

It was not a dramatic run so much as a steady squeeze. UC San Diego's looks got tougher, the Huskies kept owning the boards, and Sellers kept finding teammates. When a mid-major is living on outside shooting and the shots stop falling for a few minutes, a team with Washington's size can bury it quickly, and that is close to what happened.

A fourth quarter at full speed

The final 10 minutes were Washington's best basketball of the day. The Huskies scored 30 points in the fourth quarter and, per the school's numbers, made 13 of their 17 shots in the period. That is 76.5 percent, and it is what turned a single-digit game into a rout. Washington led by as many as 19 in the final minute before settling for the 16-point margin.

UC San Diego kept firing and scored 21 in the quarter, but it could never get stops in return. The Tritons also never got to the free throw line. Not once. UC San Diego finished 0 for 0 from the stripe, which says a lot about how few times the Tritons attacked the rim and how disciplined Washington was defensively. The Huskies were whistled for only seven fouls all game.

Sellers joins a short list

Sellers was the engine from start to finish, making 9 of 20 shots, 3 of 8 from deep, and 4 of 5 free throws for 25 points. The 11 rebounds and 10 assists were both career highs, according to Washington, and the triple-double was the program's first since 2016 and only the third ever. Sellers also had a steal and a block in 33 minutes.

What stood out was how Sellers got there. Ten assists on a team that totaled 18 means Sellers was involved in a huge share of Washington's made baskets, either scoring or setting them up. The rebounding is the surprise part of the line. With UC San Diego hoisting 33 threes there were long rebounds all over the floor, and Sellers kept tracking them down and pushing the ball the other way.

Howell was the perfect partner, making 8 of 16 shots and 5 of 11 from beyond the arc for 22 points and adding seven rebounds in 33 minutes. Sellers and Howell combined for 47 of Washington's 79 points, which is a lot of weight on two players, but it is also exactly the duo Washington will lean on all season.

The rebounding number is the one that will jump off the page for any coach. Washington outrebounded UC San Diego 54-27, exactly two to one. McGaughy's 15 boards set a career high, according to Washington, and McGaughy added 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting and three steals. Tilda Trygger pulled down 13 rebounds with eight points. That gave the Huskies three players with double-digit rebounds in the same game.

Washington also did its damage inside the arc. Take away the 3-pointers and the Huskies scored 46 points on two-point baskets, while UC San Diego managed 24. The Tritons scored 39 of their 63 points from 3, a lopsided split that shows how little they got near the basket against Washington's size.

Kaelyn Carroll did not score in 23 minutes off the bench, but the box score still makes the case for those minutes: four blocks and three steals, the best defensive line on either side. Brooke Carlson chipped in five points on 2-of-3 shooting in 13 minutes, and Amayah Garcia played 22 minutes. Devin Coppinger started and scored four.

For UC San Diego, Erin Condron was efficient with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 31 minutes. Sadie Sin gave the Tritons 12 points off the bench. Alexandra Cummins had a tough day at 2 of 12, including 1 of 8 from deep.

What it means for Washington

Opening night told Washington two things. The ceiling is obvious. A playmaker who can put up a triple-double, a scorer who can hit five 3s, and a frontcourt that can double up an opponent on the boards add up to a team built to compete in the Big Ten. The Huskies shot 43.7 percent from the field, made 9 of 12 free throws and had 18 assists.

The fix is just as obvious. Twenty-one turnovers will not play against the top of the conference. McGaughy had six, Howell five and Sellers four, and some of that came from pushing the pace, which a team wants to keep doing. It just needs fewer giveaways attached. The bench is the other thing to watch. Washington's reserves scored seven points, and the starters carried 72 of the 79. That is fine on opening day; it gets harder over a long winter.

Washington stayed home for its next game, against Pacific on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Alaska Airlines Arena. That one is in the books now too: the Huskies beat Pacific 75-54 behind 16 team steals and another big night from Sellers.

The closing take

Washington did not look like a finished product for the first 20 minutes, and against UC San Diego it did not have to. Once the defense tightened and Sellers took over, the gap in size and depth showed up all over the box score: rebounds, two-point baskets, free throws. A tie at halftime became a 16-point win, and the Huskies walked off with a piece of program history.

The triple-double will get the headline, and it should. The 54-27 rebounding margin is what will travel.

Sources: ESPN, Washington Athletics (gohuskies.com).

Photo: Washington Athletics.