From the mid-1980s through the early 2000s, the Washington Huskies women’s basketball team was an annual contender for the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies made the Big Dance more often than not during those years, missing just three times from 1984 to 2000.
Eventually, the tides turned for Washington, and they went through tougher times, missing the tournament for seven straight seasons.
However, the tides returned to the Huskies’ favor when point guard Kelsey Plum committed to the team in 2013. She would go on to record dozens of accolades while with the Huskies and led the team to three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2014-17, with the last one resulting in the school’s first-ever Final Four appearance.
On Friday, Washington announced that Plum would be the school’s first women’s basketball player to have their jersey retired—Plum’s No. 10 jersey will be sent to the rafters of Alaska Airlines Arena on January 18, 2025. The school hosts the Purdue Boilermakers that day.
Forever 🔟
Proud to announce Washington is retiring Kelsey Plum’s jersey number.
» https://t.co/AiYlRfkL6T#GoHuskies x #KP10 pic.twitter.com/jCuxXBD95Q
— Washington Athletics (@UWAthletics) November 1, 2024
Plum was the 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, a four-time All-Pac-12 member, a two-time All-American, and swept the National Player of the Year awards in 2017. In her final game with the Huskies, Plum scored a Pac-12 record 57 points and became the sport’s all-time leading scorer. She finished her college career with 3,527 points a mark since broken by Caitlin Clark. No one at Washington has worn No. 10 since Plum’s graduation, and now, no one ever will again,
After her career with the Huskies ended, Plum was selected first overall by the San Antonio Stars in the 2017 WNBA Draft, one year before the Stars moved to Las Vegas and became the Las Vegas Aces. Plum has won two WNBA Championships with Las Vegas and has been named to three WNBA All-Star teams. She has also won two Olympic gold medals.
No one at Washington has worn No. 10 since Plum’s graduation, and now, no one ever will again,
