Ladine, Daniels lead Washington women past No. 9 Oregon State with Beavers’ top scorer sidelined

By CHRIS TALBOTT
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Elle Ladine scored 23 points, Dalayah Daniels added 15 and Washington beat No. 9 Oregon State 61-51 on Sunday to damage the Beavers’ hopes of at least sharing the last Pac-12 Conference title.

With the Beavers playing without leading scorer and rebounder Raegan Beers, the Huskies (15-12, 5-11 Pac-12) opened the game with an 8-0 run of points in the paint, converting three turnovers into three field goals, and never trailed.

“We changed things on defense and we knew we would change a good bit in the game, and so I thought coming out and doing something a little different for us says a lot about the time they put in” preparing for the game, UW coach Tina Langley said.

Timea Gardiner had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon State (22-5, 11-5), with Lily Hansford adding 11 points and Dominika Paurova scoring 10.

“It worked obviously,” Gardiner said of the defensive changes, adding: “They defended everything well against us inside, outside. And it seemed like we couldn’t make a shot, either. Shots we usually make, they weren’t falling for us today.”

The Beavers struggled without Beers, who missed her fourth straight game with a broken nose. Oregon State hit 7 of 25 shots in the first half and made just 12 more the rest of the way to finish 35.2% from the field. Beers averages 17.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Oregon State is 2-2 without her.

Daniels was particularly effective in the paint for the Huskies with her back to the basket, maneuvering around taller players with nifty finger rolls and short jumpers. Hannah Stines had eight points and eight rebounds for UW.

“My speed is my strength, but it can also be my weakness at times when I don’t know how to slow down,” Daniels said. “So I think just throughout the game, making those adjustments, knowing when I need to kick out, when I’m one-on-one. And our guards do a great job of moving on the back side, too, and that helps me with a lot more space inside.”

The Huskies led 14-5 after the first quarter, during which they forced seven turnovers and drew two charges. UW had six steals and 18 points in the paint against Oregon State’s much larger frontcourt in the first half.

Oregon State cut it to 46-38 with a mini-run in the second half that included back-to-back field goals by Donovyn Hunter. But Lauren Schwartz and Ladine gave UW its biggest lead, 52-38, with a little more than six minutes left.

Ladine was 3 of 4 on 3-pointers, hitting two run-stopping 3s in the second half, after failing to score in UW’s win over Oregon on Friday.

“We have a lot of amazing players and so it could be really anyone’s day,” Ladine said. “And that’s what’s so special about us.”

BIG PICTURE

Oregon State: The Beavers trail No. 3 Stanford — which secured at least a share of the conference title Sunday — by two games in the Pac-12 standings, with two games remaining for each team, including their matchup at Oregon State on Thursday night. Oregon State would need to beat Stanford and have the Cardinal lose their season finale at last-place Oregon to catch Stanford.

Washington: The Huskies got a feel-good win to finish their home schedule, but they will need wins next week against two ranked opponents on the road to be considered for the NCAA Tournament after starting 11-0.

UP NEXT

Oregon State: Closes the season with games at Stanford on Thursday and vs. Cal on Saturday.

Washington: Plays at No. 11 Colorado on Thursday and at No. 18 Utah on Saturday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball