You say goodbye, I say hello

Senior Sarah Keeler said this week that in the book of life, the end of her career playing women's basketball for Washington is "only chapter three."

Considering the way the seniors' book began, one can expect any adversity in later chapters will be handled with the utmost maturity. After all that has taken place in four years as student athletes, the blowout loss to Arizona will add to the list of unfortunate, character-producing circumstances.

"We're excited to see what life has in store for us down the road five or 10 years," senior Andrea Lalum said. "We have learned how to make it to that next level, whatever it may be, in life: basketball, sports, family or a career. June (Daugherty) has instilled in all of us a sense of responsibility."

That installation continued Saturday as the Huskies were without senior guard Gioconda Mendiola, who was suspended by the program for an altercation with ASU's Kylan Loney Thursday.

I believe the suspension was excessive punishment.

Watching Gioconda miss her opportunity to leave her heart and soul on the court one last time for an incident that would never have drawn such attention had Loney not attempted to fight Gioconda during the post-game pleasantries broke my heart.

But instead of crying foul, she apologized and accepted her punishment, thus owning up to a responsibility expected by Washington women's basketball. I cannot remember another disciplinary action in my four years of covering women's basketball.

It says a lot about senior class members when the people they have become outshine the players they have become. As role models to the herds of kids who come to their games -- as long as it is not a late start on a school night -- they never made a turnover.

"When they ask you for your wristband after the game, I think: 'gross, it's all sweaty,' but they really want it," Gioconda said earlier in the week of the young fans. "They say 'it's OK, we'll wash it.'"

The four seniors were escorted by family, friends and significant others to an ovation before the game, which, in the case of Giuliana and Gioconda, amounted to a small village huddled together at mid-court. The crowd of 6,562 came to honor the seniors; the basketball game was not the big draw Saturday.

"All I try and do is play hard for them, I definitely won't forget the crowds I experienced here," said Giuliana, who played with a "31" written in black ink on her wristband for her sister. "They were unforgettable."

Since they will never utter the term "what if," it falls to the writers to explain. What if Kayla Burt and Kristen O'Neill were the backcourt support for the Mendiola sisters? What if Keeler was the back-to-the-basket center who complemented Lalum? What if Kirsten Brockman was helping roommate Jill Bell on the boards?

Assistant coach Mike Daugherty told me earlier this year that with all these players who have either been injured or forced to retire by unlucky circumstances, we would be talking about a Final Four appearance this year. But as Lalum put it: "Life will give you upsets."

With 20 seconds left in the game, there was another upset on the Huskies' hands. Giuliana and Lalum were pulled from the game to an ovation that lasted until the final horn. Arizona star Shawntinice Polk walked over to Gioconda and whispered in her ear and made her smile.

"She said she wished I was out there playing the game and told me to keep my head up," Gioconda said.

Then they were given a microphone to speak to the crowd that wouldn't leave early to enjoy the rest of its Saturday. Four years ago, they would have crumbled under the weight of the public audience.

"They never could have done that," Adam Lalum, Andrea's brother, said of the seniors four years ago.

Giuliana started her goodbye by saying "hello" to a crowd that roared. Graciously, she thanked them for their support and then passed the microphone while burying her head in her jersey sobbing. Lalum kept it together until she gave a salutation to her mother Gaylene, who died last spring, saying she was sure to be watching from above.

The four seniors hugged in a circle and I shed a quick tear for just how much I will miss them before gathering with the other reporters. I remember the Mendiola sisters and Lalum coming to my brother David's high-school soccer games and heckling the coach, in a good-natured way, every time they would take him out.

At halftime, the sisters would go battle one-on-one to see who could score the most goals.

June Daugherty has said, "Four years of postseason play is an amazing accomplishment for anybody," of the seniors' success on the court.

Even more amazing is that it is the least of their accomplishments.