Into thin air

Washington had little time to savor its 85-74 victory over Notre Dame yesterday afternoon as the Huskies quickly jetted off to Boulder, Colo., for a Tuesday-night matchup with Big XII foe Colorado.

With their win over the Fighting Irish, the Huskies improved to 5-0 for the first time since the 1997-98 season. That team went on to win its first 10 games, but finished the year only 18-10 with a first-round NCAA tournament exit.

This year's squad wants to prove that the early season success is not a fluke, and get some respect outside the Pac-10.

But one does not just get respect; it has to be earned, and Washington can earn a ton of it with a win against the nationally ranked Buffaloes.

Colorado welcomes the Huskies to the Rocky Mountain State, having built upon last year's Sweet Sixteen appearance. Colorado is ranked 17th in the Associated Press poll, having started the season at 6-1

Washington now gets its first true test on the road in a hostile environment. The only time the Huskies left the friendly confines of the Pacific time zone this year was in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Classic in Hawaii, where they defeated Maine and Lipscomb.

The Buffs are lead by preseason All-American senior center Tera Bjorklund. Bjorklund, listed at 6 feet 5 inches, is averaging 21 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Also a concern for the Husky defense is junior forward Veronica Johns-Richardson, who is second on the team in scoring with 16 points per game while averaging 5 rebounds a contest.

With such talented players in the frontcourt an important emphasis is placed on post defense, especially keeping opponents off the boards, something UW has been able to do so far this year. Washington is out-rebounding its opponents by 8 per game, including beating Notre Dame 43-33 on the glass yesterday.

"I thought, post-wise, we did a pretty fair job on their front line, which was a huge concern," said coach June Daugherty.

Besides the on-court factors, another concern facing Washington is Boulder's high elevation. With the Huskies arriving in Colorado only a day before tonight's game, there could be some concern about fatigue from not being acclimated to the higher altitudes.

"Biggest thing is you just want to get these guys off their feet and rested up," said Daugherty. "We go into a higher altitude; I'm sure it is going to be painted all over the place up there to try to get into our heads."

Senior guard Giuliana Mendiola, who has played in the thin air of Colorado Springs along with teammate senior Andrea Lalum, believes the altitude is more of a mental, rather than physical, challenge.

"Once you get on the court, you forget about you are breathing; you just play as hard as you can and focus on the game. Hopefully, it doesn't get into our team's head,' said Mendiola.

For players with goals as high as the Rockies, any loss of focus could leave them gasping for air.