Oregon State
South Dakota State (1st Round)
Wiese, Hamblin Lead Beavers By SDSU
March 20, 2015 | Women's Basketball
The Oregon State women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the season year in a row and for the third time in history on Friday with a 74-62 victory over South Dakota State before a Gill Coliseum crowd of 3,706.
The Beavers (27-4) used a 15-2 run early in the second half to turn a 36-32 deficit into a 47-38 lead with 15:23 remaining. They maintained separation from the that point on to ultimately subdue the Jackrabbits (24-9), champions of the Summit League.
Sophomore guard Sydney Wiese scored a game-high 23 points and junior center Ruth Hamblin added 17 for the Pacific-12 Conference-champion Beavers. Hamblin was 5-for-5 from the field and had 10 of the 15 points in the decisive run, which Wiese capped off with a 3-pointer.
OSU will now play Gonzaga at 4 p.m. Sunday in search of the second Sweet 16 berth in school history. The Beavers lost to Long Beach State in 1983 in their first Sweet 16 appearance, long before the tournament was expanded to its present 64-team bracket.
It lost to at Western Kentucky in 1995 and to South Carolina in Seattle last season in its previous second-round appearances under the 64-team format.
Gonzaga, from the West Coast Conference, advanced with an 82-69 win over George Washington of the Atlantic-10. The Beavers are 2-0 all-time against the Bulldogs; they last met in the opening round of the 2004 WNIT in a game the Beavers won 69-64 at Gill Coliseum.
OSU is a No. 3 seed in the Spokane Regional; Gonzaga is No. 11.
Friday's opener was also the first women's NCAA game ever played at Gill Coliseum. OSU improved to 4-6 all-time in NCAA games.
"What a gutsy great win for our program," OSU coach Scott Rueck said. "It was a graet atmosphere for women's basketball, what an incredible crowd, especially at 2 p.m. on a Friday. I was so impressed that so many came out to support us, but not surprised.
"I was very impressed with South Dakota State. They are a very well-coached, disciplined, hard-nosed, talented team. We knew that they would come in here swinging and try to punch us first, and they did.
"They were laser-focused , knocking shots down. They played a great game and we beat a very good team."
SDSU led by as many as seven points (28-21) in the first half before the Beavers responded with 11 unanswered points to take their first lead of the game, 32-28. However, the Jackrabbits scored the final six points of the first half and the first two of the second to jump back in front 36-32.
Two consecutive baskets by Hamblin tied the game. After an SDSU turnover, senior guard Ali Gibson scored following a Wiese steal and feed to send OSU ahead 38-36 with 17:53 to play. OSU would not trail again.
A blocked shot by Gibson led to a Hamblin basket and a 40-36 cushion. Following an SDSU missed 3-pointer, Hamblin scored on a stickback for a 42-36 spread and she scored again after another errant trey for a 44-36 lead after another SDSU misfire.
A basket by Mariah Clarin stopped SDSU's scoring drought but Wiese buried a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and OSU had some breathing room at 47-38. A subsequent 8-2 run bumped the lead to 57-44 with 12:02 to play and SDSU got no closer than 10 points thereafter.
"I was really happy to see us relaxed and settled down, especially in the second half," Rueck said. "I thought our defense was at a different level and I really think that was the difference in the game."
SDSU shot 45 percent in the first half, 40 percent in the second. The Jackrabbits also missed 8 of 9 from deep in the second half after making 3 of 9 in the first.
"I thought that played a role today a little bit," Rueck said. "You never know how two weeks off will impact the team."
Wiese hit 5 of 9 from deep to extend her school-record total to 203 in less than two seasons. She also had four assists, upping her team-leading total to 173, and two steals.
Hamblin's 17 points were the most she'd scored since a similar effort in a Feb. 13 win over Arizona State that positioned the Beavers to capture their first Pac-12 title. She was 8-of-11 from the field, had seven rebounds and four blocks.
Gibson was 7-for-7 from the line and added 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior forward Deven Hunter grabbed 12 rebounds to pace OSU's 38-31 advantage, and added four assists.
Macy Miller had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists and Megan Waytashek had 14 apiece for the Jackrabbits in just the second-ever meeting between the teams. OSU won the earlier matchup, 68-65 on Nov. 27, 2004, at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, USVI.
