Beavers Celebrate Season at Annual Banquet
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State women's basketball team celebrated its outstanding 2014-15 season with a banquet on Friday night in the Reser Club on OSU’s campus, as fans recognized the Beavers for their accomplishments.
The dinner served not only to celebrate the program, but also to honor the team’s lone senior, Ali Gibson, who helped build Oregon State into a Pac-12 Champion.
Head Coach Scott Rueck, along with assistants Jonas Chatterton, Eric Ely and Mandy Close handed out postseason awards, as voted on by members of the team and their coaches. Rueck also announced that the Beavers will play an international tour in Italy this August. To help sponsor the trip with a donation, click here.
Gibson was honored as the recipient of the Carol Menken-Schaudt Teammate of the Year Award, given to “the person who exemplifies what a Beaver student-athlete should be….[and one] who is looked up to because of her work ethic, attitude, support and care for other teammates and is an outstanding representative of the program.” The award is named after OSU legend and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Carol Menken-Schaudt (1979-81). Rueck often refers to Gibson as “the perfect person at the perfect time” to help build the program. The senior started all 131 games the Beavers played over the last four seasons, and ended her career eighth on Oregon State’s career scoring list.
Junior Jamie Weisner was honored as the team’s Offensive Player of the Year. Weisner averaged 13.7 points per game overall this season, and an outstanding 15.4 points per game in Pac-12 play. She ended the year second among Pac-12 guards with 6.2 rebound per game, and shot 50 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from 3-point range during conference play. Weisner scored over 20 points five times this season, and earned ESPNW National Player of the Week honors back in January, after recording a pair of 20-point games in a 7-day span.
Sophomore Gabriella Hanson was named Defensive Player of the Year. Hanson served as the Beavers’ “sixth-starter” throughout the season, helping provide a spark for the Beavers off the bench. She finished the year with 30 steals, while averaging 24 minutes per game.
For the third year in a row, Deven Hunter was recognized as the Beavers’ Best Rebounder. The junior averaged 7.6 boards per game this season. Her 689 career rebounds place her sixth in school history.
Freshman Marie Gulich was honored as the Beavers’ Most Improved Player. The German post earned Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention in her debut campaign, as she shot 45.9 percent from the field. She scored in double-figures three times on the year.
Conference and National recognition received its due as well. Oregon State saw three players earn Pac-12 First Team honors this season, the highest total in school history and the most by any conference team this year. Weisner, Ruth Hamblin and Sydney Wiese all received first-team recognition from both the coaches and the media, and Hamblin was honored as the Pac-12 media’s Player of the Year, as well as the consensus Defensive Player of the Year. Hamblin’s honors were not confined to the conference awards, as she took home AP All-America honors earlier this month, becoming the first Beaver to do so in over a decade. Also receiving Pac-12 honors was freshman Marie Gulich, who was named an All-Freshman Honorable Mention.
Academic achievements were recognized as well, as OSU place a school-record six on Pac-12 All-Academic Teams. Ruth Hamblin, Samantha Siegner, Sydney Wiese, Deven Hunter, Gabriella Hanson and Jamie Weisner were all celebrated for their work in the classroom. Hamblin was also named to the 2014-15 Capital One Academic All-America Women’s Basketball Second Team.
Gibson represented the team in honoring Rueck, who added to a long list of coaching awards this season by earning consensus Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors, as well as WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year recognition. Rueck will join USA Basketball this summer as an assistant coach for the Pan-American Games.
The 2014-15 season was the best in Beaver history, as Oregon State set a school record with 27 wins en route to the program’s first ever Pac-12 title. Along the way Oregon State proved it could beat the nation’s best teams, as it took down North Carolina on the road, swept Arizona State and defeated California.
The Beavers were in the national rankings throughout the season, moving as high as No. 7 before ending the season ranked 13th. Oregon State ranked in the top 25 in the country in eleven different statistical categories, including fifth in assists per game (18.6), ninth in field goal percentage (45.4) and 13th in field goal percentage defense (35.2). The historic season led to an increase in attendance, as the Beavers averaged a Pac-12 leading 4,167 fans per game, and welcomed 7,652 fans to Gill Coliseum for the Civil War on Jan. 9, the third-largest crowd in school history.
The evening, which was emceed by women’s basketball radio broadcaster Ron Callan, began with opening remarks from Oregon State Athletic Director Bob De Carolis. His speech was followed by Mandy Close coming to the stage to thank the team’s managers, as well as the Rebounders.
Rueck took time to thank the Oregon State administration and staff, as well as Beaver fans for their support this year. He also recognized the Oregon State alumni in attendance. His remarks were followed by a senior speech from Ali Gibson.
OSU will bring another strong squad into the 2015-16 season, as the Beavers return four starters, and will enter the season with a core group of eight upper-classmen. The team will also welcome in an excellent signing class made up of Katie McWilliams (Salem, Ore.), Taylor Kalmer (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Tarea Green (Hillsboro, Ore.). For more information on the recruiting class, click here.
