Game at USC, but thoughts are in Seattle with Burt

LOS ANGELES — Every hour, every minute, every second of this Southern California road trip, their minds and thoughts and prayers are somewhere else.

Inevitably, they drift back to Seattle, where starting guard Kayla Burt has been in the hospital since late Tuesday with a medical condition her family won't disclose until tomorrow. As such, the two Pac-10 games the Washington women's basketball team is here to play have become an afterthought.

"They understand that the bigger picture is about each individual in this program," said UW Coach June Daugherty, whose team plays USC at 2 p.m. today at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. "That's what's so important. We're a family. Through thick and thin, we'll be there for each other."

Based on the family's request, the university won't disclose the nature of her medical condition, whether it is life-threatening, or provide any further detail. Neither would the UW Medical Center. And the Burt family did not return calls to their Arlington home for comment.

The Huskies also closed practice to the media yesterday and did not make players available for interviews following a 72-46 loss to UCLA on Friday that ended Washington's eight-game winning streak.

This much is known: Burt was taken out of the Intensive Care Unit yesterday, but remains in the hospital, Daugherty said, where she continues to undergo tests. And Daugherty, who has been coaching college basketball in some fashion since 1983, said she has never had a team experience anything like the current situation.

Burt has seen dozens of visitors during her stay in the hospital. Phone calls have poured in. Teammates even sported white armbands with messages to Burt on their left arms Friday night.

And the sport that seemed so important about a week ago has been put in the proper perspective for the Huskies, Daugherty said.

"There's absolutely no doubt about that," Daugherty said. "That's the good that comes of something that's not going well. And if anyone's going to get through this, I'd expect it would be this group."

She's speaking from experience because Burt's current medical condition isn't the only adversity the Huskies have had to face this season.

Starting center Andrea Lalum's mother, Gaylene, still is in an ongoing battle with an aggressive form of Hodgkin's disease and related cancers.

In a show of support, the entire team piled into cars this summer and drove to her Bozeman, Mont., home — a road trip Daugherty says "shows what this team is all about."

Then Burt went in the hospital less than two weeks after the Huskies lost another starter, Kellie Dalan, to a stress fracture.

Before Burt went into the hospital, the 5-foot-11 sophomore led the Pac-10 in three-point shooting percentage (53.8 percent) and ranked fifth in the conference at 4.1 assists per game.

Burt also averaged 8.0 points and 3.7 rebounds.

But the Huskies didn't lose just her spark and versatility. They lost one of their most popular teammates, known for an ever-present smile and sense of humor.

A year ago yesterday, Burt scored 18 points in a Huskies victory over UCLA, continuing a promising freshman season. A year later, she remains in a hospital bed while teammates cope.

Daugherty said her team's heart and thoughts are there, too, even while she was watching film today, even while the team took a quick trip to Venice Beach.

"I'm really encouraged by how hard she's fought," Daugherty said. "I'm excited about the progress she has made. I love her. And I'm so proud of her. We're not physically in Seattle right now. But we're still there in a way, you know."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com.