After dropping a career-high 40 points against the Northwestern Wildcats, Washington Huskies guard Elle Ladine earned national honors for her standout performance. On Tuesday, the junior was honored as one of five United States Basketball Writer’s Association’s Ann Meyers Drysdale’s Women’s Players of the Week.
“Ladine, a 5-foot-11 junior guard from San Francisco, led Washington in its new Big Ten Conference home on Saturday to a 90-71 win at Northwestern with a career-high 40 points,” the USBWA stated in a release.
“She is the first Washington player to earn weekly Ann Meyers Drysdale national player honors since 2017 when it went to Kelsey Plum, who finished her career as the NCAA women’s record scoring champion before Iowa’s Caitlin Clark broke it last season…Against the Wildcats, Ladine had her own previous high of 24 surpassed at the half with 26 and in the game, she shot 60 percent from the field and 60 percent in makes from deep, draining 6-for-10, gaining a personal best. She also matched her tops on assists with six.”
This is the second USBWA honor of Ladine’s career after she was named National Freshman of the Week in February 2023 following an upset win over No. 2 Stanford.
Ladine was honored alongside Georgia Tech’s Kara Dunn, Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, Michigan’s Kaylene Smike, and USC’s Juju Watkins.