WBB Looks to Close Homestand with Eighth Straight Win

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State women's basketball closes a season-opening homestand on Friday when the Beavers battle Santa Clara.

The game is the final contest before OSU makes its annual trip to Maui for the Maui Classic with a chance to make the trip as an undefeated team.

GAME INFO
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Gill Coliseum
Watch: Oregon State Live Stream
Listen: Beaver Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: oregonstate.statbroadcast.com
Tickets: beavertickets.com

STARTING FIVE

Oregon State closes its season-opening, eight-game homestand on Friday when it welcomes Santa Clara to Gill Coliseum before heading to Maui
The two teams share four opponents this season with Santa Clara beating Oregon (89-50) but falling to Cal (71-56) and Texas Tech (61-56) with ASU upcoming for the Broncos
The Beavers are 7-0 for the first time since 2019-20 (15-0), all coming at home
Timea Gardiner had one of the best games of her young career in OSU's last game: recording 15 points and 15 rebounds for her second double-double
Talia von Oelhoffen tied Gardiner for the team lead with 15 points while also dishing five assists, one of seven with multiple assists and three with 4+ dimes

BY THE NUMBERS

0 - The Beavers owned the boards in its win over Western Kentucky, outrebounding the Hilltoppers 50-24 and not allowing a single second chance point (20-0)
5 - The Beavs have owned the boards so far in 2023-24, ranking fifth in the nation in rebounding margin (+16.9)
8 - Oregon State knows how to share the rock. The Beavs rank 8th in the country in assists per game (21.0) and assist on over 65% of their baskets.
57 - The Beavers are outscoring the opposition in the third quarter by 54 points (150-93) through seven games this season

15 + 15 = #30
In the victory over Jackson State, Timea Gardiner showcased skill and tenacity with her second career double-double. Notching 15 points alongside 15 rebounds, the sophomore led the Beavers in both critical categories. She also helped limit Jackson State to rebounding just 25% of their own misses after the Tigers came into the game rebounding nearly half of their missed shots. Carrying an average of 8.3 rebounds per game, Gardiner ranks eighth in the Pac-12 rankings.

MICROWAVE SCORER
In AJ Marotte's three years at OSU, she's developed a reputation as a scorer who doesn't need long to heat up. The junior scored 17 points in the first half at Arizona last season, opened this season's UC Davis game with 10 points in the first quarter and scored a career-best 23 points in a win over Western Kentucky. Marotte is deadly from mid-range and her 3PT% has improved this year from 28.6% to 43.5%.

OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).