Beavers Battle Back to Beat Cougars

CORVALLIS, Ore. - The No. 9/9 Oregon State women’s basketball team overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Washington State 73-70 Friday evening at Gill Coliseum. 

Junior Ruth Hamblin set a career-high in points, scoring 31 on 12-for-16 shooting from the floor and 7-for-10 from the free throw line. She also matched a career-high with 16 rebounds and notched seven blocks.

Fellow junior Jamie Weisner scored 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and pulled down seven rebounds. 

“I was just so proud of the team tonight for the way they dealt with this gut-check,” said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. “I’m also very proud of Beaver Nation; that home court advantage was incredible tonight and I thought it carried us. Washington State came to play tonight. They are a very good basketball team that can score in a lot of ways. Hats off the them for a great game. I’m proud that we were able to find a way to win today.”

The victory extends the best start in Oregon State history, as the Beavers move to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in Pac-12 play. The win was also OSU’s 16th consecutive victory at Gill Coliseum.

The Cougars held a 16-point lead three minutes into the second half, but a raucous Gill Coliseum crowd helped the Beavers charge back, as OSU used a 12-2 run to cut the lead to two with just over nine minutes left. Oregon State retook the lead with 6:13 to play, holding its first advantage since there were 13 minutes remaining in the first half.

The two sides would trade the lead from there, before Weisner hit a clutch three to give OSU a 68-67 lead with 2:45 to go. The next trip down the floor Hamblin hit a layup to extend the edge to three. The Beaver defense would hold firm from there, as Oregon State took the win by three points.

Sophomore Sydney Wiese finished with 10 points and eight assists. As a team, Oregon State shot 50.0 percent in the contest, compared to 38.9 percent for Washington State. The Beavers also out-rebounded the Cougars 46-32.

Weisner hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game, as the Beavers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. The Cougars would surge back to take the lead seven minutes in, and extended the lead from there, taking a 39-30 lead into the break.

Hamblin led the Beavers with 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting in the opening frame, before exploding for 18 more in the second half. 

The Beavers are back in action Monday, when they take on Washington at 5 p.m. at Gill Coliseum.

Game Notes Washington State

• Oregon State debuted its new white uniforms with orange trim.
• The Beavers scored first for the 15th time in their 16 games this year.
• Ruth Hamblin set a career-high with 31 points and matched a career-high with 16 rebounds.
• Hamblin is the first Beavers to score 30 points since Talisa Rhea scored 30 against Oregon on Jan. 9, 2010
• Jamie Weisner passed the 900 point mark, scoring 25 points to get to 910 in her career
• Hamblin and Weisner were the first Beavers to both score 20+ points in the same game since Hamblin and Wiese scored 27 and 24, respectively, against Oregon last season (Jan. 11, 2014)