Hamblin Named CoSIDA Academic All-District
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State women’s basketball sophomore center Ruth Hamblin was selected to the 2013-14 Capital One Academic All-District Women’s Basketball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) it was announced Thursday. Hamblin now advances to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
The Academic All-District Women’s Basketball Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. The teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada with District 8 encompassing Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Canada.
Hamblin, a native of Houston, British Columbia, currently has a 3.98 GPA as a pre-mechanical engineering major. She’s the only non-senior among the NCAA Division I representatives from District 8 and has the highest GPA. Only four Division I underclassmen in the entire country received recognition on their respective Academic All-District squads.
On the court, she is quickly becoming the next in a line of great Oregon State shot blockers. Her school-record 10 rejections against Oregon on Jan. 13 came just two weeks after she tied the previous mark with nine against No. 2 Notre Dame on Dec. 29. She has 73 already this season, which is second in the NCAA, and averages 3.65 per game, a rate which is fifth in the country.
The Canadian is on pace to finish the year with an astounding 113, which would be second in Oregon State and third Pac-12 history. She has 105 career blocks to her name in just 48 games, already 10th all-time at Oregon State. Her 73 blocks are currently fourth in OSU single-season history. Hamblin averages more blocks than 234 teams in the country.
The best game of her breakout sophomore season came when Hamblin posted Oregon State’s first triple-double in 30 years against rival Oregon on Jan. 13. The 6-foot-6 center totaled 23 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 10 blocks in the Beavers’ 84-70 win, their seventh straight in the series. Her performance, only the third triple-double in Oregon State history, was the 14th triple-double in the NCAA this season and the first by a Pac-12 player. It’s the 17th triple-double in Pac-12 history and the first to be accomplished with blocks.
Hamblin, averaging 9.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, has also been the most efficient Pac-12 player from the floor this year in conference games. She’s made 48-of-71 from the field in league contests, a 67.6 percent clip, and has actually been successful on 44 of her past 60 (73.3 percent). She is third in the Pac-12 from the field when including non-conference games, shooting 55.6 percent (79-for-142) overall this season.
Oregon State (12-8, 4-4) is off to its best conference start in a decade, currently sits 36th in the official NCAA RPI and has played the nation’s 10th-toughest schedule according to WarrenNolan.com. The Beavers are in Tempe for a game at No. 15 Arizona State tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. PT.