Beavers Open Pac-12 Slate With Friday Night Tilt Against USC
Jan. 3, 2013
Free Live Stream | Live Audio (Fee) | Gametracker | Tickets | Game Notes The Game: Oregon State (6-6) will return to action after a 13-day layoff when it opens up its Pac-12 slate with a game against USC (3-8) on Friday. Tipoff at Gill Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tracking the Beavs: The game will be streamed live for free on Oregon State's Pac-12.com channel and air on the radio on KEJO 1240AM with Ron Callan on the call. Live stats are also available via Gametracker and fans can follow @OregonStateWBB on Twitter for all game day information, including score updates, photos and observations. Tickets: Tickets for the game are available by visiting beavertickets.com, calling 1-800-GOBEAVS or visiting the Oregon State Athletic Ticket Office located at Gill Coliseum, open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Rundown: Oregon State fell to 6-6 on the year after a 66-48 loss to Texas Tech at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on Dec. 21 ... The Lady Raiders' 40.7 field goal percentage broke a school-record streak of 15 straight games in which the Beavers had held their opponents under 40 percent ... OSU is third in the league in field goal percentage defense and 28th in the nation (.337) ... Deven Hunter is 10th in the league averaging 7.4 boards per game ... Jamie Weisner is 27th in the Pac-12 in scoring averaging 10.4 points per game ... The two are looking to produce only the third season in program history with freshmen leading those categories ... Weisner also is sixth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.372) ... OSU underclassmen have accounted for 58.5 percent of the team's scoring ... Oregon State is third in the Pac-12 in rebounding at 45.6 per game and 40th in the country in rebounding margin (+7.5) ... No Beaver team has finished averaging more than 40.0 since 1996-97 ... OSU leads the league in blocked shots (69) and is 20th in the nation, averaging 5.8 per game ... Individually, Ruth Hamblin is tied for fourth (1.8) and Patricia Bright is sixth (1.7) in the Pac-12 in blocks per game ... Hamblin is sixth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (.559) ... Ali Gibson is eighth in steals (2.4/game) and just four away from 100 in her career.
Taking On The Trojans: Oregon State is 19-37 all-time against USC, including an 11-15 mark in Corvallis. The Beavers defeated the Trojans in overtime, 65-61, last Jan. 21 in Los Angeles and will be aiming to win two in a row against USC for the first time since 2004. Conference Openers: OSU is 6-20 all-time in Pac-12 openers, with two of those wins coming in the past three seasons. The Beavers are 5-10 when the conference season begins at home and have met the Trojans in the first game of the league slate on six occasions, going 2-4 in those contests. A Good Year: The Beavers' 16 wins in calendar year 2012 were their second-most over the past decade. In 2009, OSU won 19 total games. Drastic Defense: Oregon State is third in the league in field goal percentage defense and is 28th the nation (.337). Before playing Texas Tech, OSU had not allowed its last 15 opponents to shoot over 40 percent, the longest such streak in team history. In its last 200 minutes of basketball, OSU has held its opponent to a combined 30.6 percent shooting with 89 makes in 291 attempts. Cal State Fullerton's percentage from the field on Dec. 13 (19.1) was the lowest a Beaver defense has forced since it held Washington State to only 17.4 percent (12-for-69) on December 28, 2001. You Can't Win If You Don't Score: The Beavers' wins against Saint Martin's and Cal State Fullerton marked just the second time in program history OSU had held back-to-back opponents to 40 points or less, limiting both teams to just 36. The 72 combined points is tied for the fewest Oregon State has ever allowed in consecutive games. In 2006, the Beavers defeated Texas Pan-American on Feb. 27, 79-34, before downing Washington State, 77-38, in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament on March 3. Youth Is Served: The Beavers' much-heralded freshman class, ranked as high as 17th in the nation coming into the season, is making an immediate impact on the court. Ruth Hamblin, Deven Hunter, Samantha Siegner, Khadidja Toure and Jamie Weisner have played 42.2 percent of the team's minutes (1,024-of-2,425) and are responsible for 46.4 percent of its scoring (333-of-718 points). When adding in Oregon State's lone sophomore, Ali Gibson, underclassmen have accounted for 56.0 percent of the Beavers' minutes (1,359-of-2,425) and 58.5 percent of their scoring (420-of-718 points). Weisner & Hunter: Freshmen Jamie Weisner (10.4 ppg) and Deven Hunter (7.7 rpg) are pacing the Beavers in points and rebounds, respectively. If the season ended with both leading Oregon State in those categories, it would only be the third time in the history of the program freshmen had done so. Tanja Kostic topped OSU with 18.2 ppg and 8.2 rpg in 1992-93 and Betty Collings (11.6 ppg) and Kathy Vanderstoel (10.3 rpg) split the honors in 1977-78. Hunter would be the seventh OSU freshman to lead her team in rebounding and first since Judie Lomax in 2006-07. She is currently 11th in the Pac-12 in rebounding average. Weisner would be only the fourth to do so in points, joining Alyssa Martin (2010-11), Kostic (1992-93) and Collings (1977-78). She is averaging 14.0 points over her last three games. More Weisner: Jamie Weisner is also one of the most potent threats in the Pac-12 from deep. Nearly half of her made field goals have come from behind the arc (16-of-45) and her .372 three-point percentage (16-for-43) is sixth in the league and the tops for any freshman. Only four Beaver players have ever shot better than 40 percent from deep for an entire season, the most recent being Sage Indendi in 2010-11 (.410), and the freshman record is Talisa Rhea's .370 clip (67-of-181) in 2007-08. 50 And Below: OSU, which is 3-1 this season when holding opponents below 50 points, is 101-7 all-time when doing so, including 15-2 in three years under Scott Rueck. Ready When Called: Head Coach Scott Rueck has used four different starting lineups this season, but no matter who begins the game on the floor, those on the bench have been ready and willing when called upon. Nearly half of Oregon State's scoring has come from its bench, which averages 27.0 points per game as part of the team's 59.8 total. The Beavers' non-starters have outscored their opponents by nearly a two-to-one margin, 324 to 176. Controlling The Glass: Oregon State is third in the Pac-12 in rebounds, averaging 45.6 per game, and is second in the league in defensive boards (375). No OSU team has averaged more than 40.0 since the 1996-97 season (41.1). The Beavers' 61 rebounds against Sacramento State were their most since they grabbed 61 against Washington State on Dec. 28, 2001. No team has had a better rebounding effort since OSU tallied a school-record 74 boards against Hawai'i on Dec. 20, 1993. The team's +7.5 rebounding margin is 40th in the country. Ruth At The Rim: Freshman Ruth Hamblin has converted 38 of 68 attempts from the floor this season and is sixth in the Pac-12 with a .559 field goal percentage. Each year of Scott Rueck's tenure has seen a player shoot at least .560 from the field. El Sara Greer shot .560 in 2010-11 and Patricia Bright converted at a .579 clip last year. No Chance: OSU, which paces the league again this year with 69, has led the Pac-12 in blocked shots the past two seasons and finished in the top 30 nationally both years. In 2011-12 the Beavers swatted a total of 183 shots after rejecting 143 the year before. Oregon State's 5.8 blocks per game average is currently 20th in the nation. The Beavers have already had two games this year with 10 or more blocks (Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton), something they did a team-record five times a season ago. Five Minutes To Victory: Oregon State is 5-0 this season when holding a lead with five minutes remaining in the game. Over the last two years, the Beavers are a robust 23-1 when they are up on their opponent with 5:00 left on the clock. Formidable Front Line: The Beavers have six players on the roster 6-2 or taller for the first time since 2000-01 and that size advantage has proven fruitful in helping OSU control the paint. OSU has outscored its opponents 350-206 down low. Last year, the Beavers outscored each one of their non-conference opponents in the paint en route to an 11-2 record against all foes outside the Pac-12. A Look At The Long Ball: Alyssa Martin has 105 three-point makes in her career, tied for fifth all-time at OSU. The Beavers drained 182 three-point buckets last season, the fourth-highest mark in the Pac-12 and number two in Oregon State annals. OSU's 2010-11 team made 194 triples to set the school record. Ali G: Sophomore guard Ali Gibson is eighth in the conference with 2.4 steals per game. Gibson, who now has 96 thefts in her career and is OSU's active leader in that category, swiped 67 balls a season ago, the third-highest total for a freshman in Oregon State history behind Brenda Arbuckle's 75 in 1983-84 and Lisa Channel's 70 in 1982-83. Block Party: Patricia Bright has 19 blocks in 11 games to place sixth the Pac-12 and give her 134 in her career, moving her into fifth place on Oregon State's all-time list. In 2011-12, she blocked a school-record 115 shots to finish sixth in the nation. That total is the second highest in Pac-12 history and comes just one year after former OSU center and current professional El Sara Greer swatted a then-school record 92 in 2010-11. Oregon's Stefanie Kasperski is the only other league player to ever reach triple digits (119 - 1988; 111 - 1989). Bright single-handedly had more blocks than five Pac-12 teams last year (UCLA - 103; Cal - 110; Colorado - 110; Washington State - 86; Arizona - 80). Block Party II: Freshman Ruth Hamblin's 1.8 blocks per game ranks tied for fourth in the Pac-12 as well. The Canadian center is on pace to break the OSU freshman record for blocks in a season (Brenda Arbuckle; 47 in 1983-84) and along with Bright, the pair makes Oregon State one of only two schools with a couple of the league's top six shot blockers this season. Filling Gill: Oregon State's 1,113 attendance average is its highest in the non-conference since 1995-96 when that number was 3,695 before Pac-10 play began. The 2,597 fans in attendance for the Nov. 29 game against CSU Bakersfield was the Beavers' largest non-conference regular-season crowd in the last 17 years. OSU defeated Montana, 62-51, in front of 4,118 on Dec. 22, 1995. Pac-12 Prognosticators: Oregon State was picked fifth in the 2012 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' poll. That preseason recognition is the highest the Beavers have ever been selected since the league began tallying coaches' votes before the 1998-99 season. Previously, OSU had been tabbed as high as seventh on three occasions, prior to the start of play for the 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2009-10 campaigns. Proving Them Wrong: OSU, which was predicted to finish last in the conference in 2011-12, leaped over more than half of the league during the season. The Beavers ended up with a 9-9 mark in Pac-12 action to finish in a tie with UCLA for fifth. In ending the year seven spots above where they were picked at the beginning of the season, Oregon State made the largest jump between expected finish and actual result in conference history. No school had ever outperformed expectations by more than five places in the league's final standings. In 2000-01, Washington was predicted to finish tied for sixth and actually ended up in a three-way tie for first with Arizona State and Stanford. In 2004-05, USC was tabbed seventh in the preseason poll, but tied the Sun Devils for second place at the end of the year. Huge Improvement Under Rueck: After a 20-13 season, the 11-game improvement in the win column from Scott Rueck's first year at the helm (2010-11; 9-21) was the greatest single-year leap in that category since Oregon State's 1990-91 squad went 17-11 after winning just five games the previous season. That leadership also earned Rueck Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors as voted on by the conference media last March. Missing Piece: Oregon State will be without an integral piece of the puzzle this season as senior guard Sage Indendi is out for the year after undergoing a surgical procedure on her ankle. Indendi, who won a national championship with Coach Rueck at George Fox, had started 63 straight games for the Beavers the last two seasons, averaging 9.5 points and 3.6 rebounds. A proficient long range shooter, Indendi set the OSU record for three-point field goals with 75 in 2010-11 and is third on the school's all-time list with 121 in her career. Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to Our Beaver Nation. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. Former Student-Athletes are invited to join the Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events. Follow Oregon State Athletics On YouTube.
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Freshman Ali Gibson scored four of the team's final nine points as the Oregon State women's basketball team handed USC its second loss in Pac-12 play in overtime fashion in a 65-61 decision at the Galen Center in front of a crowd of 1,803 on Saturday afternoon.
