Oregon State
Washington State
Beavers Cage Cougars 61-56
February 09, 2015 | Women's Basketball
PULLMAN, Wash. - The No. 7/7 Oregon State women's basketball team overcame a first-half deficit to beat Washington State 61-56 Sunday afternoon in Pullman, Wash. The win gave Oregon State sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, as they broke a tie with Arizona State by virtue of the Sun Devils' loss to California.
Sydney Wiese led the Beavers with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, and knocked down four 3-pointers to tie Felicia Ragland's Oregon State's career record of 178.
The Beavers trailed by as many as 16 in the first half, before battling back to take their first lead of the game eight minutes into the closing frame.
“Washington State is very talented and difficult to guard,” said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. “They played with a lot of confidence today. We had to adjust defensively, and when we did that we were able to take a little bit of control. This was just another team win for us, and our team showed some good heart.”
With the win, Oregon State improves on the best start in school history, moving to 21-2 on the season and 11-1 in Pac-12 play.
Junior Jamie Weisner scored 14 point and pulled down six rebounds. Fellow junior Deven Hunter recorded her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 boards, as she move into the top-10 in OSU history with 615 career rebounds.
Junior Ruth Hamblin scored 10 points and blocked five shots, as she continued to build upon her Oregon State career record.
As a team, the Beavers shot 43.8 percent in the contest, while holding the Cougars (13-10, 4-8 Pac-12) to 32.4 percent, including a stingy 22.5 percent in the second half.
The Cougar offense was hot out of the chute, as Washington State hit 10 of their first 12 shots to jump out to a 21-5 lead. The Beavers would bounce back, hitting five straight attempts from the field to cut the lead to seven with eight minutes remaining in the first half. Oregon State would continue chip away at the advantage from there, scoring nine unanswered points to cut the edge to 31-30 going into the break. The Beaver defense was a big part of the team's success late in the half, as OSU held the Cougars off the board for the final 6:21 of the opening frame.
Wiese led the Beavers with 11 points in the first half, knocking down three 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.
The teams traded punches at the start of the second half. The Beavers took their first lead of the game on a Wiese 3-pointer with 12 minutes to play. The teams would proceed to trade punches from there, before the Beavers were able to create a little bit of separation. Oregon State would take it's largest lead of the day with four minutes to play, going up by seven points, but the Cougars would not give in, cutting it to three with 10 seconds left before the Beavers ground out the six-point victory.
The Beavers return home Friday, when they take on Arizona State. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Game Notes:
- The Oregon State victory, combined with California's win at Arizona State, puts the Beavers in sole possession of first place in the Pac-12
- The Beavers extended the best start in school history, moving to 21-2 overall and 11-1 in conference play
- Ruth Hamblin extended her OSU career blocks record to 256
- Sydney Wiese moved into a tie with Felicia Ragland for the Oregon State career 3-pointers record with 178
- Deven Hunter recorded 11 rebounds to move into the top-10 in Oregon State history with 615.
- Hunter also notched her third double-double of the season
