Elle Ladine’s impact on the Pinewood girls basketball team this season can be summed up in the stat sheet. In a program that typically succeeds behind balanced scoring, the Washington-bound standout carried a heavy load to keep the Los Altos Hills school among the Bay Area’s best.
The senior averaged 23.4 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. She was the only Pinewood player to post double figures in those categories.
The Panthers finished 22-3, went undefeated in the West Bay Athletic League and reached the Central Coast Section Open Division final and Northern California Open Division regional.
For this, Ladine is the Bay Area News Group’s player of the year.
MORE BASKETBALL HONORS
- All-Bay Area News Group boys basketball team
- All-Bay Area News Group girls basketball team
- Bay Area News Group boys basketball player of the year
Where would Pinewood have been without its 5-foot-11 star?
“We would have had to have made a lot of adjustments, that’s for sure,” longtime coach Doc Scheppler said. “On our team, she was the player that commanded attention and we used her in ways that forced the other team to make concessions. She did a great job of improving her ability to make decisions with the ball that were the right basketball decision rather than ‘you’re our best player, we need you to score.’”
In other words, Ladine got her numbers in a team structure. Four other Pinewood players – Alex Facelo, Emily Lee, Jade Ramirez, Kaile Cruz – combined to average more than 35 points per game. They made 177 3-pointers while shooting 36%.
“It’s a fun way to play,” Ladine said. “No one is selfish on the court. Everyone knows their role and does it. It’s really fun because something is always happening. Someone is always moving.”
That said, Ladine’s presence changed how Pinewood played and Scheppler coached.
“The modern way to play basketball is whoever gets the rebound, gets it and goes,” Scheppler said. “We’ve never played that way. We always outlet to our point guard because the point guard is the one that has the best vision … and is the one that can create advantages with her ability to get the basket, the ability to handle double teams.
“Elle was our best player. She wasn’t our point guard. But she was the only player I’ve had that when you get a rebound, take it and go. When she got boards – and she got a lot of them – she created a situation for the other team that a) you’ve got to get back on defense and b) you’ve got to account for her. As the season went on, she did a great job of finding players while she’s attacking the basket in transition and our spot-up shooters thrived with her.”
Ladine’s emergence as Pinewood’s best player happened between last season and this one.
In an abbreviated season last spring, which ended with Pinewood beating Archbishop Mitty to capture its first CCS Open Division title and finish 17-0, Scheppler started five seniors. Ladine, who transferred from Lowell-San Francisco after her sophomore season, came off the bench during a season in which she also played on her AAU team simultaneously.
“Last year, I was like half AAU, half high school ball,” she said. “I didn’t really know a lot of the plays or Doc’s system. I really focused (in the off-season) on just getting to know the system and really just learning all the plays.”
The result: Ladine shot 52% from the field and 41% from beyond the three-point arc this season, plus she averaged a team-leading 4.6 assists per game.
“This year I knew every single play,” Ladine said. “That made a difference, for sure, compared to last year.”
It showed, on the court and the stat sheet.
Girls players of the year since 2012-13
2021-22
Bay Area News Group: Elle Ladine, Pinewood
2021
Bay Area News Group: Natalie Pasco, San Ramon Valley
2019-20
Bay Area News Group: Ashley Hiraki, Archbishop Mitty
2018-19
Bay Area News Group: Haley Jones, Archbishop Mitty
2017-18
Bay Area News Group: Haley Jones, Archbishop Mitty
2016-17
South Bay/Peninsula: Haley Jones, Archbishop Mitty
East Bay: Haley Van Dyke, Campolindo
2015-16
Mercury News: Madeline Holland, Archbishop Mitty
East Bay: Sabrina Ionescu, Miramonte
2014-15
Mercury News: Marissa Hing, Pinewood
East Bay: Sabrina Ionescu, Miramonte
2013-14
Mercury News: Kelli Hayes, Archbishop Mitty
East Bay: Mariya Moore, Salesian
2012-13
Mercury News: Kelli Hayes, Archbishop Mitty
East Bay: Oderah Chidom, Bishop O’Dowd
