Las Vegan Madison Washington knows role at Oregon State
Las Vegas native Madison Washington remembers her first organized basketball game. When she didn’t quite know the rules, or that she one day would be a top 100 recruit, or play for one of the best teams in the Pac-12.
“I was passed the ball, got the ball and took five steps without a dribble,” she said with a laugh.
That, of course, is traveling.
“If you would have seen that girl, however many years ago that was, you’d have never thought she’d be on a top 10 Division I basketball team,” said Washington, who played at Bishop Gorman High.
Alas, here she is.
Washington, a junior at Oregon State, had two points and two rebounds in a 68-67 upset loss to Washington in the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament quarterfinals Friday night at the MGM Grand Garden.
The sturdy 6-foot-1-inch forward assumes a multitude of roles for the Beavers, seeded No. 3 in the tournament and ranked No. 11 nationally.
Some nights, she plays on the wing. Some nights, she plays in the post.
Makes no difference to her.
“Maddie is as versatile a player as there is,” Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. “She brings so much energy. She’s one of the most cerebral players I’ve coached, and that allows her to play so many positions. She’s extremely valuable to us, especially in the postseason.”
That she is playing college basketball comes as no surprise. Her grandfather, Booker, played basketball at UNLV from 1968 to 1972 and averaged 21.5 points in the 1971-72 season. Her father, Booker Jr., played at San Francisco from 1992 to 1996.
Madison Washington was interested in cheerleading in elementary school, but eventually took up the family trade and emerged during junior high.
“You saw her athleticism. You saw her work ethic. It is in the blood, and I thought, ‘We might have something here,” her father said. “She worked her tail off. Everything she’s gotten, she’s earned it.”
At Bishop Gorman, Washington blossomed into the No. 89 player in the country in ESPN’s rankings and bypassed scholarship offers from South Carolina and Gonzaga to sign with Oregon State.
She played sparingly as a freshman, logging 18 appearances and 4.8 minutes per game, but started nine games as a sophomore and 16 this season. She averages 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds.
Oh, and she’s playing a career-high 16.1 minutes per game this season — some on the wing and some in the post.
“The mindset is, you need to do whatever the team needs,” Washington said. “Whether that’s inside with your back to the basket or out on the perimeter when I’m driving to the rim. Whatever this team needs is exactly what I’m going to give them.”
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.
Friday's results
UCLA 73, Arizona State 69 — Japreece Dean scored 24 points for the Bruins, who will play Oregon in the semifinals.
Oregon 77, Arizona 63 — Sabrina Ionescu had 18 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds for the Ducks.
Stanford 72, California 54 — Kiana Williams scored 23 points for the Cardinal, who will play Washington in the semifinals.
Washington 68, Oregon State 67 — Missy Peterson made a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left as the Huskies became the second No. 11 seed to reach the Pac-12 semifinals.
