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The latest news and analysis on college and pro women's basketball.

Seattle U forward Kacie Sowell named WAC Player of the Week
COURTESY OF ERIC BADEAU FOR GOSEATTLEU.COM

Seattle University ran through its final preparations for its second road game in the Western Athletic Conference. The Redhawks (6-6, 3-0 WAC) sit atop the conference alone. But its opponent on Thursday is New Mexico State (9-5, 3-1) is a tough matchup.

You can watch the game on your mobile devise or computer at ESPN3. com at 5:30 pm (PT). You can also click Aggie Vision.tv for other channels to catch the game in your area.

The Aggies are coached by Mark Trakh, the former Southern California coach. He added USC transfer G Stefanie Gilbreath, who he originally recruited, to the lineup this season. The redshirt senior is averaging a 14.7 points in her first season as an Aggie. Briana Gilbreath, Stefanie’s sister, played for the Phoenix Mercury last summer.

Trakh is in his second season coaching the Aggies. NMSU finished tied for seventh in conference play last year. It’s the first NMSU has played SU, but Trakh and Seattle U coach Joan Bonvicini coached against each numerous times when coached at Arizona.

PRACTICE VIDEO: Washington (10-3, 2-0 Pac-12) departed Thursday for its two-game road trip against the Los Angeles schools. UW plays at USC (5-8, 2-0) on Friday and at No. 14 UCLA (11-2, 2-0) on Sunday. UW split with the schools last year, winning at USC, 67-61, before losing to UCLA in overtime, (79-73) at Pauley Pavilion.

Overall, Washington is 29-28 all-time against USC and 28-26 against UCLA.

UW is undefeated in conference play for the first time since 2006-07, when UW started 5-0. After a 3-8 nonconference finish, USC defeated Oregon State (56-55) and Oregon (67-62) to begin the Pac-12 season.

“The conference is better than last year, so it’s going to be really important for us to try to win on the road,” Huskies coach Kevin McGuff said. “USC has a lot of talent and they’ve been really, really good at times. They probably feel really good about themselves right now having won two games on the road. That’s just not easy in this conference…We’ll have our hands full this weekend.”

Here’s a look at Washington practice on Tuesday. The players are running a 5-on-0 drill to work on offensive plays. In the background, injured F Katie Collier (knee) rides the exercise bike. G Kellie McCann-Smith, who isn’t expected to play this season, was able to participate in the drill. The coaches seen are McGuff (center), assistant Adia Barnes (walking) and assistant Mike Neighbors on the baseline.

COUG TV: Washington State (5-8, 1-1) will play at UCLA on Friday. The game is set to air on Pac-12 Networks.

GONZAGA HITS ROAD: The Zags (12-4, 2-0 West Coast Conference) play St. Mary’s (10-4, 2-0 WCC ) on the road at 6pm Thursday. The Gaels are led by junior G Jackie Nared’s 18.9 points and 9.3 rebounds. Junior G Haiden Palmer leads Gonzaga with 12.8 points.

The Zags haven’t played a road game since Dec. 7.