A scorpion stung a woman on the hand just before her flight from Los Angeles to Portland took off.

Alaska Airlines spokesman Cole Cosgrove says Flight 567 was taxiing on the runway Saturday night when the passenger was stung. He says the plane returned to the gate and the woman was checked by medics. She refused additional medical treatment but didn't get back on the plane.

Meanwhile, flight attendants killed the scorpion and checked overhead compartments for any additional unwanted arachnids. The flight then took off at 8:40 p.m., about an hour late. Members of Oregon State University's men's basketball team were on the flight, Cosgrove said.

He says it's unclear how the scorpion got on the plane, but the flight originated in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Oregon State Coach Wayne Tinkle told ESPN that the woman was sitting two rows in front of him.

"The plane was coming from Mexico before us, and [the scorpion] was on the plane," Tinkle said. "The woman was a real champ. She acted like it was a mosquito bite. They got it off her, but the needle was stuck."