No. 10 Oregon State Heads to No. 8 Tennessee

THE GAME: The No. 10/12 Oregon State women’s basketball team (10-0) returns to action with a tough test on Sunday, as it heads to Knoxville for a matchup with No. 8/11 Tennessee (9-2)

FOLLOW ALONG: Oregon State will make is TV debut this week, as Sunday’s contest will be carried live on the SEC Network. Sam Gore and Nell Fortner will be on the call. Live audio will also be available on the Beaver Radio Network, or online at OSUBeavers.com.

MOVIN’ ON UP: The Beavers moved up to No. 10 in the AP poll this week, the highest ranking in school history. OSU also jumped to No. 12 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches’ poll, their highest ranking in that poll since 1996.

HITTING THE ROAD: This week’s game is part of a 35-day stretch without a home game for Oregon State, which began against North Carolina earlier this month. The extensive road stretch has already featured games in Chapel Hill and New Orleans, and will continue with a two-game swing in Los Angeles after the Beavers’ trip to Knoxville.

AMONG THE LAST STANDING: Oregon State is one of seven remaining unbeatens in the nation, just five of which come from power-conferences. The Beavers are also the only Pac-12 Conference team without a loss this season.

OUT OF THE GATE: With 10 consecutive victories to open the season, Oregon State is now off the the best start in school history. The previous school record for wins to start a year was seven in 1978-79 and 1994-95. All 10 of the Beavers’ victories have come by double-figures., and the team’s average margin of victory is 26.8 points.

BIG WIN: Oregon State’s win over No. 6 North Carolina on Dec. 16 was one of the biggest victories in school history. The then sixth-ranked Tar Heels are the highest-ranked team the Beavers have ever defeated on the road, and the highest ranked team OSU has beaten since it topped No. 3 Stanford back in 1992. The Beavers held the Tar Heels to just 27.3 percent from the floor, as OSU handed UNC its first loss of the season.  The Beavers led by as many as 20 in the game, and never trailed. Ruth Hamblin led Oregon State with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Deven Hunter pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds.

REJECTION RUTH: Junior Ruth Hamblin is poised to break the Oregon State blocks record this week, as the 6-foot-6 Canadian sits just one rejection short the the school record, which was set by Brina Chaney (2001-04). Hamblin is also moving up the OSU list for career double-doubles, sitting ninth with 18.

HAMMER TIME: Junior Ruth Hamblin has been a force for the Beavers early in the 2014-15 campaign. Hamblin is averaging 14.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, despite averaging less than 22 minutes per contest through the first eight games of the year. The 6-foot-6 center was named Pac-12 Player of the Week last week, after helping the Beavers to a trio of victories, including a win over No. 6 North Carolina. Hamblin has six double-doubles this year, as well as a 20-point game. She leads the NCAA in shooting percentage at 68.9 percent. Hamblin, who was nicknamed the “Canadian Hammer” by former Oregon State men’s basketball player Joe Burton, set a Pac-12 single-season record for blocks with 141 last season. She also provided scoring from the post, leading the conference with a 67.8 field goal percentage in league play. Hamblin pulled down 299 rebounds in 2013-14 (fourth in school history) and posted the Beavers’ first triple-double in over 30 years by putting up 23 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks against Oregon on Jan. 13. The Hammer earned All-Pac-12 (Media) and All-Pac-12 Defensive Team (Media and Coaches) honors for her efforts.

KEEP HAMMERING: Hamblin turned a corner midway through her sophomore campaign. After scoring in double figures four times in her first 39 collegiate games, Hamblin has reached double-digits 22 times in her last 33 games, including three 20-point performances.

WATCH WIESE: Sophomore Sydney Wiese was named to the Naismith Award Watch List earlier this month, joining 49 of the nation’s top players. The sophomore has picked up right where she left off at the end of her freshman year, putting up 13.2 points per game this season. The point guard is shooting 51.7 percent from the field, and a matching 51.7 percent from three-point range. She leads the team with 31 long-balls this year.

WIESE HITS THREES: Sophomore Sydney Wiese continued to move up the Beavers’ career three-pointers list on last week, moving up to 143 made three-pointers in her career, She sits seven long-balls behind former teammate Alyssa Martin for third in school history. Felicia Ragland (1999-2002) holds the Oregon State record with 178.

BIG THREE: This year’s Oregon State squad features three of the top seven three-point shooters in school history. Ali Gibson has knocked down 152 threes in her career, placing her third in the OSU record book. Wiese sits fifth with 143 and Jamie Weisner is sixth with 125.

WE'RE STREAKING: Oregon State picked up right where it left off to open the season, extending the team’s regular-season winning streak to 19 games. The stretch, which began on Feb. 2 against Arizona, is the OSU regular-season winning-streak record. Overall, the Beavers have won 22 of their last 24 games. Every win in that stretch has come by double-figures.

HELPING OUT: Oregon State is the national leader in assists per game with 23.2. The Beavers smashed the school assist record with 40 helpers on 45 baskets against Sacramento State on Dec. 6, en-route to a 109-61 victory. OSU has 232 assists on the season. The school record for assists in a season is 579, set back in 1980-81. Wiese leads the Beavers with 60 assists, good for 15th in the nation.

FORTRESS GILL COLISEUM: With five home wins to open the season, Oregon State has now won 14-straight games at Gill Coliseum, in a stretch that dates back to  Jan. 11.  The mark is a new school record, breaking the previous mark set in 1995-96. The Beavers will finish calendar year 2014 undefeated at home.

FEAR THE LONG BALL: Oregon State is 11th in the nation in three-point percentage at 38.8 percent. OSU has already hit 87 shots from downtown this season, and is already well on its way to passing the school record of 288, which was set last season.

SUPER SIX: Oregon State put six players in double-figures for the third time this season against Sacramento State, as Deven Hunter (20), Ruth Hamblin (18) Sydney Wiese (17), Jamie Weisner (16), Kolbie Orum (11) and Ali Gibson (10) all surpassed 10 points. The Beavers also placed six in double-figures against Portland and Utah State.Prior to this season the Beavers last had six double-digit scorers against UCLA back on Jan. 2, 2004, when Leilani Estavan, Mandy Close, Shannon Howell, Brina Chaney, Hollye Chapman and Krystal Turner all put up double figures.

NEW SEASON, SAME FIVE: Oregon State returns all five starters from a last season, a group that helped the Beavers to a 24-11 record. The quintet of Sydney Wiese, Jamie Weisner, Ali Gibson, Deven Hunter and Ruth Hamblin started 26 games together last season, and have started all 10 games this year. This season marks the first time since 2003-04 that the Beavers have returned all five starters.

ALL SHE DOES IS WIN: Junior transfer Jen’Von’Ta Hill boast an impressive win-loss record of 81-3 over the course of her collegiate career, which is currently in its third season. The point guard started her career at Hutchinson Community College, where she went a combined 71-3 and made a pair of NJCAA Final Four appearances.

HITTING SHOTS: Three Beavers are shooting over 50 percent through the first 10 games of the season. Ruth Hamblin leads the way, knocking down an NCAA leading 68.9 percent of her attempts (62-for-90) this year. Sydney Wiese is shooting 51.7 percent (54-for-87), including a blistering 51.7 percent (31-for-60) from beyond the three-point arc, while Marie Gulich is shooting 51.2 percent (22-for-43). As a team, Oregon State is shooting 48.5 percent

HITTING THE CENTURY: Dec. 6th’s 109-61 win over Sacramento State marked the 14th time in school history Oregon State has scored over 100 points, and the first time since Nov. 15, 2013, also against Sacramento State. The 109 points was the third-highest total in school history, and the highest since Jan. 8, 1982 when OSU put up 117 in a win over Portland State.

PACING THE PAC: Oregon State leads the Pac-12 Conference in a wide variety of statistical categories, including field goal percentage (.485), field goal percentage defense (.318) and scoring margin (+26.8). The Beavers also sit atop the league list in rebounding margin (+10.3), blocks (6.0 per game) and assists (23.2 per game).

WATCH OUT FOR WEISNER: Junior Jamie Weisner has established herself as on of the premier scorers in the Pac-12 and it showed against North Carolina, as she scored in double figures for the seventh time this season, finishing with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting.

SPREADING IT AROUND: Ten different Beavers have scored in double figures at least once this season, and Oregon State has played at least nine players in each of its 10 games this year. Ruth Hamblin and Sydney Wiese have scored in double-figures eight times apiece.

MILESTONE REACHED: Senior Ali Gibson became the 17th player in Oregon State history with 1,000 career points in the season-opener against Portland. The Woodbridge, Calif. native reached the mark when she absorbed a foul to convert a layup within the final three minutes of the contest. Through the first 10 games of her senior campaign, Gibson now has 1,077 career points, good for 14th in school history.

ANOTHER MILESTONE TO COME: Junior Jamie Weisner moved a step closer to joining Ali Gibson in the 1,000 point club. With 11 points in New Orleans, Weisner now has 833 career points. Should Weisner reach the 1,000 point plateau, she and Gibson would become the first OSU teammates to both have 1,000 career points since Hollye Chapman and Leilani Estavan in 2004.

HITTING THE BOARDS: Oregon State has a +10.3 rebounding margin through the first 10 games of the season, good for 19th in the nation and first in the Pac-12. The Beavers are pulling down an average of 45.8 boards per game, and are led by Ruth Hamblin (8.9 per game), Deven Hunter (7.1) and Jamie Weisner (6.1). Oregon State has also snagged an impressive 145 offensive rebounds this campaign, getting the board on 43.2 percent of its missed field goal attempts.

RUNNING WITH THE PAC: The Beavers were picked to finish third in both the Pac-12 Coaches’ and Pac-12 Media polls. The selections were Oregon State’s highest ever in both polls. OSU also received two first-place votes in the Coaches Poll and one first place vote in the Media Poll.

RUECK BUILDS SUCCESS: Head coach Scott Rueck has engineered an impressive turnaround in the Oregon State women’s basketball program, helping the Beavers match a school record with 24 wins last season. Since returning to his alma-mater in 2010, Rueck has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year (Media) twice (2012 and 2014) and was the WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year last season. For his efforts, Rueck received a two-year contract extension in October, keeping him at Oregon State through the 2019-20 season.

BEAVERS ON THE MAGIC BOX: Beginning with Sunday’s contest, all 19 of Oregon State’s remaining regular season games will be televised. Sunday’s matchup will be carried live on the SEC Network, while all 18 of OSU’s league games will be aired on Pac-12 Networks.

GROWING UP: After having one of the youngest teams in the nation the last two years, the Beavers bring a solid combination of youth an experience into the 2014-15 campaign. Although this Oregon State squad features just one senior (Ali Gibson), the team enters the year with five juniors. Third-year players Jamie Weisner, Ruth Hamblin, Deven Hunter and Samantha Siegner were all part of a 2012-13 freshman class that was ranked as high as 17th in the nation, and the quartet has helped OSU’s growth as a program. Adding to the group of upper-classmen is junior Jen’Von’Ta Hill, who has extensive experience at the highest level of junior college basketball, helping lead Hutchinson Community College to a pair of NJCAA Final Four appearances.

BEAVER NATION: The Beavers brought in a crowd of 7,537 for their Beavers Beyond the Classroom game Dec. 9 against Idaho. Oregon State is averaging 3,053 fans per game this year. If that pace holds, 2014-15 will be OSU’s second-best attended season in history (5,258 in 1995-96). Oregon State posted a home attendance of 30,737 last season, the team’s highest total since the 1995-96 season. The Beavers’ home slate was highlighted by a crowd of 5,208 at the final home game of the season, when Oregon State defeated Arizona State 66-43.

MY NAME IS JONAS: The Oregon State coaching staff features a new face this season, as the Beavers welcome in assistant coach Jonas Chatterton. Chatterton joins the Oregon State staff after spending the last four seasons at Colorado, including one year as associate head coach. Chatterton has a total of 12 years experience in Division I, and has been invited twice to attend the Nike Villa 7 Consortium, a conference that brings together the nations best college basketball assistant coaches.
 
SO INTERNATIONAL: Five Oregon State players competed for their national teams this summer, traveling to different continents and continuing to build their games. Ruth Hamblin played for the Canadian Senior Women’s National Team at the Zafer Cup in Turkey in August. Her best game was against the host Turks, when she scored four points and grabbed seven rebounds. She later made the 14-player practice squad for FIBA World Championships camp, but was not selected for the final 12-player roster. Jamie Weisner played for the Canadian Senior B National team at the William Jones International Cup in Taiwan in August. She led Canada’s 5-0 run to the title by averaging 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds. Ali Gibson played for the Puerto Rican national team, which placed second to Cuba at the FIBA Americas Centrobasket Femenino in Monterrey, Mexico, in July. She was the team’s third-leading scorer and averaged 8.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Gabriella Hanson played for the Swedish U-20 team at the FIBA Euro ‘A” Championships at Udine, Italy, in July. She averaged 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30.3 minutes per game. Marie Gülich played for Germany’s U-20 team at the FIBA Euro ‘B’ Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, in July. She averaged a team-leading 11.6 points and 1.4 blocks in helping Germany win the event with an 8-1 record6

TOURNAMENT TESTED: The Beavers returned to the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 1996. Oregon State opened the tournament with a 55-36 win over eight-seed Middle Tennessee, before falling to No. 1 seed South Carolina in the second round.

STANDOUT CLASS: Oregon State welcomed in an oustanding class of signees earlier this month, as a trio of high school seniors signed natioal letters of intent. Katie McWilliams highlights the exciting group, coming to the Beavers with a five-star rating from ESPN. The 6-foot-2 guard is the No. 40 ranked player overall and is eighth in ESPN’s guard rankings. Kalmer will join McWilliams in the back-court. The 5-foot-7 point guard received a three-star rating from ESPN, and is listed as the No. 31 point guard in this year’s recruiting class. Green is a 6-foot-4 post player, with a three-star rating from ESPN, and is listed as the No. 45 post player in this year’s class.