SEATTLE — When Dalayah Daniels takes the court for the University of Washington, it's a sight for sore eyes.
As the newest member of the Huskies women's basketball team, it feels right.
"It feels good to be back here. I'm a 206 baby so I definitely feel the love again," she said.
It's a love story all around. Daniels loves Seattle because it's where she wins.
She had a decorated high school career at Garfield, where she was a five-star recruit, a McDonald's All-American and a state champion.
"I just get flashbacks of when I was in high school at Garfield," she said. "There's just so much history here in Seattle. I'm so used to winning here and I feel like it felt right."
The start of her college career was a different story.
Daniels spent two COVID-plagued seasons at Cal where the team went 3-22 in Pac-12 play.
"That was really tough. I don't think I ever lost that much before consecutively," she said.
The losses on the court were compounded by her losing contact with her family.
"I was really homesick. We were quarantined every other week. Anyone would miss their loved ones just being boxed up in a room all day," she said. "I wanted to find happiness again, I wanted to find me again."
So Daniels decided to pack her boxes and come home.
Her decision has paid off in more ways than one.
She's leading the Huskies in scoring through eight games, and more importantly, has reconnected with family and friends.
Mo Hines, Dalayah's former AAU coach, is now able to attend many of her home games.
"If I'm not coaching, and I'm in town, I'll be here," he said.
"They haven't been able to see me play in almost two years," Daniels said in regard to her Seattle supporters. "I think they forgot what it was like to watch me play. Being able to have them sit behind our bench along with all the other families is really cool because usually, I don't have family sitting behind me, I usually have just a bunch of strangers I don't know."
But she's now feeling the love—a love story for Daniels because she's back where she wins.
"This is why you see her starting to flourish, starting to look like her old self," Hines said.
It's a love story for Seattle because she's one of their own.
"It's made me realize that I have it good," Daniels said.
