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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.
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.
In an overtime win at Wisconsin on February 8, Howell caught fire, making 6 threes to best her freshman high of 18 points by nearly double. She scored 34 and pulled down 14 rebounds in an 91-86 victory.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with South Dakota State keeping Sellers from shooting the ball, Howell sunk a career-high 7 threes and scored 30 points to get Washington their first win in the tourney since Kelsey Plum took the Huskies to the Final Four in 2016-17. She finished the season with 14 points and 8 rebounds in an overtime loss to TCU, attempting just 2 shots after halftime after starting the first half with 11 and helping the Huskies to an 8-point halftime advantage.
Howell finished the year as Washington's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder while leading the team in shooting and 3-point shooting. She shot better than 43 percent from beyond the arc on 197 attempts and matched her 39 turnovers with 39 steals.
Having Howell's offensive presence quickly became crucial for the Huskies, as preseason third-team All-Big Ten selection Elle Ladine missed the first six games of the season with an undisclosed injury and struggled upon her return. Howell struggled at times to get herself out of cold spells, but overall still only had three games where she was unable to hit at least one three-pointer.
Entering her junior season, Howell will likely be the Huskies' No. 2 option on offense after Sellers, who may be a 20-point scorer every night as a senior. If Howell can get to 16 or 17 a game, that boost from the two of them, plus a bigger role for McGaughy, who only started 10 games as a freshman, should give Washington a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament, where Howell has now proven twice that she's capable of elevating her game.
Whether or not Howell can become more of an initiator on offense is an open question, however. She's done it before for Team Canada, winning MVP honors at last summer's GLOBL Jam Tournament, but her experience at USC with Juju Watkins and this season with Sellers running the show thus far has limited her on-ball creation ability a bit in college.
If Howell can take some of Hannah Stines' secondary ball-handling responsibilities as Stines graduates, Washington should be an incredibly potent team on offense. She has natural chemistry with McGaughy, who has proven to be a talented passer from the high post, and could run the offense without needing to find Sellers on an outlet pass after a rebound.
Expect Howell to be a preseason All-Big Ten selection and work her way into the first-round conversation in the 2028 WNBA draft next season.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: UW's Avery Howell in line for featured role after stellar year
Continue reading...
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.
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.
In an overtime win at Wisconsin on February 8, Howell caught fire, making 6 threes to best her freshman high of 18 points by nearly double. She scored 34 and pulled down 14 rebounds in an 91-86 victory.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with South Dakota State keeping Sellers from shooting the ball, Howell sunk a career-high 7 threes and scored 30 points to get Washington their first win in the tourney since Kelsey Plum took the Huskies to the Final Four in 2016-17. She finished the season with 14 points and 8 rebounds in an overtime loss to TCU, attempting just 2 shots after halftime after starting the first half with 11 and helping the Huskies to an 8-point halftime advantage.
Howell finished the year as Washington's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder while leading the team in shooting and 3-point shooting. She shot better than 43 percent from beyond the arc on 197 attempts and matched her 39 turnovers with 39 steals.
Having Howell's offensive presence quickly became crucial for the Huskies, as preseason third-team All-Big Ten selection Elle Ladine missed the first six games of the season with an undisclosed injury and struggled upon her return. Howell struggled at times to get herself out of cold spells, but overall still only had three games where she was unable to hit at least one three-pointer.
Entering her junior season, Howell will likely be the Huskies' No. 2 option on offense after Sellers, who may be a 20-point scorer every night as a senior. If Howell can get to 16 or 17 a game, that boost from the two of them, plus a bigger role for McGaughy, who only started 10 games as a freshman, should give Washington a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament, where Howell has now proven twice that she's capable of elevating her game.
Whether or not Howell can become more of an initiator on offense is an open question, however. She's done it before for Team Canada, winning MVP honors at last summer's GLOBL Jam Tournament, but her experience at USC with Juju Watkins and this season with Sellers running the show thus far has limited her on-ball creation ability a bit in college.
If Howell can take some of Hannah Stines' secondary ball-handling responsibilities as Stines graduates, Washington should be an incredibly potent team on offense. She has natural chemistry with McGaughy, who has proven to be a talented passer from the high post, and could run the offense without needing to find Sellers on an outlet pass after a rebound.
Expect Howell to be a preseason All-Big Ten selection and work her way into the first-round conversation in the 2028 WNBA draft next season.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: UW's Avery Howell in line for featured role after stellar year
Continue reading...
