Oregon State women’s basketball coach LaVonda Wagner said the four high school seniors who signed letters of intent on Wednesday represent the best of her three OSU recruiting classes, and illustrate her program’s continued rise in the Pacific-10 Conference’s pecking order.

“When I came here, we got third- and fourth-tier players,” she said. “We’re now (signing) second-tier players and now the focus is to get into that top tier. We’re vying for recruits who have other Pac-10 or power-conference options, which is different from when we came here.

“These women are ranked in the top 100. We’ve signed top-100 players.”

The Beavers landed:

• Guard Kate Lanz of Central Catholic High, a 5-foot-10 Vancouver, Wash., resident who was the 2008 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year for girls basketball. She was all-state and the Mt. Hood Conference Player of the Year in 2008 (14.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.0 spg) and was ranked as the No. 32 point guard by ESPN.com’s HoopGurlz recruiting service.

“We’re ecstatic she chose to stay in state,” Wagner said. “She’s a fierce competitor, with great court vision. She can drain the deep three or put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. She has the total game and will help us with our in-state recruiting.”

• Guard/forward Tayler Champion (6-1) of Inglewood (Calif.) High, the 53rd-ranked forward by HoopGurlz. She averaged 16 points and 9.3 rebounds and was a first-team CIF Division 2-A all-star as a junior.

“She gives us versatility on the wing,” Wagner said. “She’s a great rebounding guard who also has a 3-point shot. She’s also likes to score in transition and in traffic.”

• Angela Misa, a 6-3 post from J. Serra High in in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., an Avocado League all-star at Vista High before transferring for her senior season. She averaged 15 points and 12.7 rebounds.

“She’s athletic and strong, can score with people hanging on her and is a tenacious rebounder. She tends to be foul-prone because she’s aggressive (but) I’m excited to have a player who is overly aggressive.”

• Haiden Palmer, a 5-10 guard from Vista del Lago High in Moreno Valley, Calif., HoopGurls’ No. 72-ranked shooting guard. She averaged 17.5 points, 4.6 steals and 4.2 assists.

“She’s a good on-ball defender,” Wagner said. “She’s can also knock down the three but her best game is getting to the rim off the dribble.”

All four players are expected to join the program in July for summer conditioning, orientation and classes.

“This class has everything we needed — guards who can score inside and outside, a point guard, size and strength in the paint and size on the perimeter,” Wagner said. “We met our needs.”