Beavers Set to Host Southern Utah Saturday

THE GAME: The No. 16/24 Oregon State women's basketball team returns to Gill Coliseum this weekend, as it hosts Southern Utah Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will feature the Beavers' annual toy drive. Bring a new or gently used toy for donation to receive a $5 general admission ticket.

FOLLOW ALONG: A live stream of the game will be available at OSUBeavers.com, and fans can find live audio online via TuneIn or on the Beaver Radio Network with Ron Callan. Live stats will also be available.

WHAT'S COMING UP: Oregon State will host its Beavers Beyond the Classroom game next week, when UC Davis makes a visit to Gill Coliseum at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The Beavers will follow that up by heading to Las Vegas for the #Play4Kay Shootout from Dec. 19-21, before returning to Corvallis for a matchup with Arkansas Pine Bluff on Dec. 27.

TICKETS: Tickets for all Oregon State women's basketball games can be purchased at BeaverTickets.com.

SERIES HISTORY: Oregon State is 5-1 all-time against Southern Utah, and 3-0 in games played at Gill Coliseum. The Beavers have played the Thunderbirds twice during head coach Scott Rueck's tenure, earning a 90-40 win in 2011 and suffering a 62-61 defeat in 2010. The teams' first ever matchup came back in 1995, an 88-65 win for the Beavers.

Quick Hitters:
- Oregon State moved up this week to No. 16 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches' Poll and No. 24 in the Associated Press Poll.
- OSU has been ranked in the Top-25 of the Coaches' poll every week since the 2013-14 season-end poll. The Beavers have been part of the AP Poll since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- The Beavers were picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 in both the league's coaches and media poll.
- Oregon State has not lost back-to-back games since it fell to USC and UCLA on Jan. 17 and 20 of 2014.
- Oregon State's senior class of Sydney Wiese, Gabriella Hanson, Kolbie Orum and Breanna Brown (redshirt junior) has an .800 winning percentage in their three-plus seasons with the team (88-22).
- The Beavers' freshman class is the highest rated in program history, tabbed at No. 12 in the nation.
- Oregon State has one of the tallest teams in the Pac-12, featuring nine players listed at 6-foot or above. UCLA is the only Pac-12 squad to have more 6-footers, checking in with 10.
- The Beavers' 2016-17 squad has much more balance between classes than the 2015-16 OSU team. Oregon State enters the season with four seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen (by eligibility)
- This year's team is the first team to have more freshmen players (by eligibility) than any other class since Scott Rueck took over as head coach in 2010-11.
- The Beavers have held opponents below 35 percent shooting in 32 of their last 44 games
- The women's basketball team won the annual Oregon State Athletics "Other Side" Talent Show in October. The team performed a dance and singing routine set to music by Beyonce.
- Oregon State helped decorate the Boys and Girls Club for the holidays two weeks ago.

Fortress Gill:
- Oregon State has a home record of 33-4 over the last three seasons.
- The Beavers have not lost back-to-back home games since falling to Washington and Washington State on Feb. 15 and 18, 2013.
- Oregon State has won 10-straight Pac-12 home games, dating back to Feb. 26, 2014 vs. Stanford.
- Opponents are shooting 32.8 percent at Gill Coliseum since the start of the 2013-14 season
- Oregon State's loss to Marquette snapped a 12-game home-winning streak for the Beavers.

Flashback: A Look Back at 2015-16
- Oregon State is coming off its first ever appearance in the NCAA Final Four
- The Beavers won a share of the Pac-12 regular season title for the second-consecutive season, and notched their first ever Pac-12 Tournament championship.
- The Beavers are the first team other than Stanford to win back-to-back Pac-12 crowns since Oregon accomplished the feat in 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
- Oregon State set a school record with 32 wins in 2015-16, topping their mark of 27 in 2014-15. The Beavers have gone 16-2 in each of their last two Pac-12 seasons.
- Oregon State ended last season ranked No. 2 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll. The Beavers have been ranked in the Top-25 every week since cracking the rankings in the 2013-14 year-end poll.
- Oregon State reached the Final Four by virtue of a 60-57 win over national-powerhouse Baylor in Dallas Texas on March 28. The Beavers were utimately defeated in the national semi-final by undefeated UConn.
- The Beavers have hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Gill Coliseum the last two seasons.
- Oregon State saw Ruth Hamblin and Jamie Weisner selected with back-to-back picks in the second round of April's WNBA Draft. It marked the first time the Beavers have had two players picked in the same draft.
- Jamie Weisner was named Pac-12 Player of the Year by the coaches and Co-Player of the Year by the Media.
- Ruth Hamblin was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season, and was also named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Weisner, Hamblin and Sydney Wiese were all named to the All-Pac-12 team for the second-straight season.
- The Beavers led the nation in field goal percentage defense (32.4 percent) and defensive rebounds per game (31.0) last season.
- Oregon State also finished the year in the top-10 nationally in blocks (6th), rebound margin (6th), scoring defense (7th), and win-loss percentage (9th)

DISHIN' AND SWISHIN': Sydney Wiese Quick Hitters
- Is one of 36 players in Pac-12 history to make the All-Pac-12 First Team three times. Should she make the all-conference team again this season, Wiese would become just the 13th player in conference history, and second player in Oregon State history (Tanja Kostic - 1993-96) to earn All-Pac-12 honors all four years.
- Made the Pac-12 All-Tournament and Dallas All-Region Teams last season.
- Wiese is fourth in Pac-12 history and first in Oregon State history with 281 career 3-pointers. Candice Wiggins (Stanford, 2005-08) holds the Pac-12 mark with 295 career longballs.
- Is second among active players in career 3-pointers, trailing only Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell
- Ranked No. 16 in ESPNW's Preseason Top-25 Players list.
- Preseason All-Pac-12 honoree for the second-straight season.
- Currently sits eighth in Oregon State history with 1,359 career points.
- Is tied for third in Oregon State history with 491 career assists.
- Has at least five rebounds in three-straight games.
- Has made the Pac-12 All-Academic Team the last two seasons, and hopes to begin a career in broadcasting once her playing career comes to an end.

GIFT OF GABBY: Gabriella Hanson Quick Hitters
- Is known as one of the best defenders in the conference, earning Pac-12 Defensive Honorable Mention last season.
- Is ninth in Oregon State history with 106 career 3-pointers.
- Played all 40 minutes in last year's Elite Eight matchup with Baylor, scoring 10 points and hitting a key jumper with 3:28 to play.
- Started every game last season after serving as the Beavers' "sixth-player" the prior campaign.
- Averaged 12.4 points per game during Sydney Wiese's eight-game absence due to injury last season (Dec. 21-Jan. 21).

GREAT SCOTT: Scott Rueck Quick Hitters
- Was one of four finalists for Naismith Coach of the Year last season (Geno Auriemma - UConn, Muffet McGraw - Notre Dame, Dawn Staley - South Carolina).
- Finished second to Auriemma in the AP National Coach of the Year voting.
- Has a 127-77 career record at Oregon State, making him the third-winningest coach in program history.
- Rueck engineered an accelerated turnaround at Oregon State, bringing the program into national prominence during his six seasons as head coach.
- Prior to joining Oregon State, Rueck served as head coach at George Fox in Newburg, Ore., where he built the program into a Division III national power, winning an NCAA title in 2009.
- Graduated from Oregon State in 1991.

KT-MAC ATTACK: Katie McWilliams Quick Hitters
- Leads the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 9.5
- Scored 29 points in the season-opener, the only double-digit scoring game of her career.
- Pac-12 Freshman Honorable Mention in 2015-16.
- Is one of six Beavers, and the only OSU freshman to play in all 37 games last season.
- Went 3-for-3 from 3-point range against UConn in the Final Four.
- 35 of her 58 made baskets have come from 3-point range.
- Was the highest ranked recruit in Oregon State history, prior to Mikayla Pivec joining the team in the 2016 recruiting class.
- Earned numerous awards in the state of Oregon during her high school career, including: two All-State honors, Oregon Live Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Oregon Sports Award for Best Prep Basketball Player and Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year.

GERMAN SENSATION: Marie Gulich Quick Hitters
- Has failed to score in double-figures in back-to-back games, after reaching at least 10 points in the first four contests.
- Second on the team in scoring in scoring with 11.7 points per game
- Has played in all 78 games Oregon State has played the last three seasons.
- Notched her third career double-digit rebounding game Saturday vs. BYU
- Pac-12 Freshman Honorable Mention two years ago.
- Has played with both the German U-18 and U-20 National Teams.

OPEN ORUM: Kolbie Orum Quick Hitters
- Has made the first six starts of her collegiate career this season
- Is a 45.7 percent shooter over the course of her career, and hit 49.1 percent of her attempts last season.
- Notched the sixth double-digit scoring game of her career Friday vs. Idaho
- Played for the Canadian National Team at the FIBA U17 and U16 World Championships.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU: Breanna Brown Quick Hitters
- Made the Maui Classic All-Tournament Team
- Tallied her first career double-double in just 16 minutes of playing time in the season-opener vs. Lamar, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out
- Narrowly missed her second career double-double on Friday, going for eight points and 14 rebounds.
- Has tallied four blocks in a game three times this season. Her career-high entering the year was two rejections
- Is tied for first in the Pac-12 with 3.0 blocks per game this season
- Is a career 52.0 percent shooter from the floor, and is shooting 60.6 percent so far this season
- Won back-to-back California State championships in 2012 and 2013 as a member of Bishop O'Dowd High School (Oakland, Calif.).

REMAIN KALMER: Taylor Kalmer Quick Hitters
- Made her return from injury last week, after missing the first four games of the year.
- Scored a career-high 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting on Saturday.
- Named Oregon State's Most Improved Player at the team's 2016 Awards Banquet.
- Is shooting a better career percentage from 3-point range (34.4) than she is from the floor (34.3).
- Was named a Scholar Athlete all four years of high school.

ALWAYS GREENER: Tarea Green Quick Hitters
- Has seen the floor in three games, after red-shirting the 2015-16 season.
- Holds Hillsboro High School records for points and rebounds in a season.
- Born in Corvallis, Ore.

PIVEC AND ROLL: Mikayla Pivec Quick Hitters
- Rueck has compared her rebounding from the guard position to Beaver great Jamie Weisner
- Highest-rated signee in Oregon State history, coming in as the No. 24 player in the nation according to ESPN.
- Max Preps National Female Athlere of the Year
- Averaged 21.7 points, 14.1 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 4.1 assists in high school.

THROPAY AS YOU GO: Janessa Thropay Quick Hitters
- McDonalds All-America nominee her senior season of high school
- First-Team All-California in high school
- Earned MVP honors at the All-Star Classic

GET SOME TUDOR-ING: Kat Tudor Quick Hitters
- Hit four 3-pointers against Idaho State, the most by an OSU freshman since Wiese knocked down six in the 2014 NCAA Tournament
- Is 16th in the nation with a 3-point percentage of 52.2
- Leads the Beavers with 12 3-point makes
- Made 371 three-pointers in her high-school career
- Helped St. Mary's High School win the 2015 California state title

GETTING MADDIE: Madison Washington Quick Hitters
- USA Today First Team All-Nevada selection
- Helped Bishop Gorman High School reach the Nevada state title game three times
- Averaged 12.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game her senior season

THE STAFF: Oregon State Assistant Coaches and Support Staff Quick Hitters
- Associate Head Coach Jonas Chatterton enters his third season with the Beavers after spending four seasons at Colorado.
- Associate Head Coach Brian Holsinger served as an assistant coach on the Washington State staff for eight seasons.
- Assistant Coach Katie Baker was an All-Big Sky honoree at Montana
- Eric Ely takes over a new role this season as Assistant Athletic Director for Women's Basketball. Ely has been with the team since Rueck took over as head coach, spending the last six seasons as an assistant coach
- Director of Operations Sharon Rissmiller is in her second season with the Beavers. She has served as the head coach at Pacific (Ore.) and played basketball at Portland
- Assistant to the Head Coach Kendall Knotz served as a manger for Oregon State for four seasons before taking on her new role this year

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Players Mentioned

Breanna Brown

Tarea Green

Ruth Hamblin

Gabriella Hanson

Taylor Kalmer

Katie McWilliams

Kolbie Orum

Mikayla Pivec

Janessa Thropay

Kat Tudor

Madison Washington

Jamie Weisner

Sydney Wiese