Apr. 12—Sayvia Sellers was one of the top girls high school basketball recruits in the nation during her time spearheading the Anchorage Christian School's dynastic run at the turn of this decade.
She received offers from dozens of the top Division I programs but fell in love with the University of Washington program and all it had to offer. Being a Husky the past two years has been everything she envisioned, and then some.
"I really like Seattle and obviously I love my team and I love the (Washington) program," Sellers said. "I've enjoyed my time here so far."
The 2023 high school graduate built a prep legacy that is one of the best Alaska has seen. Now she's establishing herself as one of the better players at the collegiate level as well.
After standing out in a rotational role as a freshman, being named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, Sellers transitioned to a full-time starter as a sophomore and took her game to a higher level.
"It was exciting and I enjoyed the role I played this year," Sellers said. "It was a big jump from freshman to sophomore year."
She finished second on the Huskies in scoring with 506 points, averaging 15.3 points per game, and led the team with 128 assists and 60 steals, earning her All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors in the process. She set a new single-game career high in scoring twice with a 24-point outing against then-No.7-ranked LSU in November, then she dropped 30 points on two occasions.
Leading the team as a point guard comes with not only a bigger role but more responsibility as well.
"I feel like my teammates and coaches kind of made it a comfortable environment to learn in," Sellers said. "I was excited about it, and it was a great year with a lot of growth on and off the court."
While the speed of the game remained fast-paced with the program's move to the Big Ten, where they faced some of the top teams in the country, it slowed down for her from a mental standpoint.
"I learned a lot my freshman year, so I was able to kind of bring that part into my second year and learn how to make different reads," Sellers said.
As members of the Pac-12 conference previously, the Huskies already had to go through a gauntlet each year with the likes of USC, UCLA, Utah and Oregon. With their move to the Big Ten, it meant regularly going up against other top programs such as Iowa, Ohio State and Maryland.
"It was fun traveling to places I've never been before in the Midwest," Sellers said. "I had a lot of fun playing against a lot of different playing styles. ... As a competitor, I loved it."
The aspect of her game she spent the most time focusing on improving was shooting efficiency. She shot 40% from the field in 2023-24, then raised that to 47% as a sophomore with an increased workload.
"During the offseason, that's one thing I worked on a lot and being able to read the court and read the game, that's where the (improved) assists part came in," Sellers said. "Just being able to find teammates and realize what the defense is doing."
Her incredible court vision, which has always been one of her biggest strengths, has continued to improve at the collegiate level.
"You don't want to turn the ball over as a point guard, so I think just trying to slow down the game, make the right reads, and my teammates and coaches helped me out a lot with that by just talking to me," Sellers said.
The Huskies went 19-14 and 9-9 in their brutal conference in 2024 and fell to Columbia in the first round of the NCAA Division I March Madness tournament.
Even though the season didn't end the way they wanted, being part of the first Washington women's team ...
