Beavers to Host Aggies Sunday

THE GAME: Oregon State will play the second game of its three-game homestand Sunday, when it hosts Utah State at 2 p.m.

FOLLOW ALONG: Live streaming audio and video for Sunday’s contest will be available on osubeavers.com. Live stats will also be avaiable.

MASCOT MADNESS: Sunday’s contest will be Oregon State’s “Mascot Day”, as various mascots from around the area will face off in a halftime basketball game.

ONE DOWN: The Beavers opened the 2014-15 season Friday with an 87-65 win over Portland Friday afternoon. The Beavers shot 48.6 percent in the contest, and outscored the Pilots 50-24 in the paint. Ruth Hamblin led all scorers with 20 points, and also added six rebounds and five blocks. Ali Gibson recorded 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Jamie Weisner finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Beavers dished out 24 assists, compared to just eight turnovers.

MILESTONES REACHED: With 16 points on Friday, senior Ali Gibson became the 17th player in Oregon State history with 1,000 career points. Gibson reached the milestone when she absorbed a foul to convert a layup with 2:34 remaining. She proceeded to knock down the free-throw to end the day with 1,001 career points. Gibson will look to continue her ascent up the OSU record book, as she sits just seven points behind Robyn Clark for 16th in career points. The Woodinville, Calif. native also made her 100th consecutive start Friday evening. Gibson has been in the starting-five for every game the Beavers have played in the last four seasons.

ANOTHER MILESTONE TO COME: Junior Jamie Weisner moved a step closer to joining Ali Gibson in the 1,000 point club on Friday. With 11 points against Portland, Weisner now has 726 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.

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS: Oregon State’s victory over Portland was the team’s 17th-straight win in a season-opener. The Beavers are 33-6 all-time in the opening game of a season.

FIVE LIVE: Five Beavers scored in double figures in the season-opening win over Portland (Hamblin 20, Gibson 16, Hunter 11, Weisner 11, Hanson 10), a feat that the team achieved one time last season, in a 77-57 win over Washington on Feb. 23.

WE'RE STREAKING: Oregon State picked up right where it left off on Friday, extending the team’s regular-season winning streak to 10 games. The stretch, which began on Feb. 2 against Arizona, is four victories shy of the OSU regular-season winning-streak record.

FORTRESS GILL COLISEUM: Friday’s win was Oregon State’s 10th consecutive home victory, in a streak that dates back to Jan. 13.  The Beavers went 14-1 at Gill Coliseum in 2013-14, with their only home defeat coming at the hands of No. 2 Notre Dame on Dec. 29. OSU’s home winning streak is currently tied for the fifth-longest in school history, and the Beavers are just three wins away from matching the longest streak in school history.

WIESE HITS THREES: Sophomore Sydney Wiese continued to move up the Beavers’ career three-pointers list yesterday, as she hit a pair of long-balls to move into sixth with 114. Wiese now sits seven behind Sage Indendi in fifth, and 64 behind Felicia Ragland’s school record of 178.

NEW NUMBER, SAME WIESE:  Sydney Wiese switched from No. 21 to No. 24 this season, taking over the number previously worn by 2013-14 senior Alyssa Martin. Even with the new jersey, Wiese will look to continue building on an outstanding freshman campaign that saw her set a school record with 112 three-pointers. The total is also a Pac-12 freshman record and is second in conference history. Wiese averaged 14.3 points per game last season, making her the fifth freshman in Oregon State history to lead the team in scoring. The Phoenix, Ariz., native also set an OSU freshman record with 141 assists. For her efforts, Wiese was named All-Pac-12 (Coaches and Media), Pac-12 All-Freshman, Pac-12 All-Tournament and Full Court Freshman Second Team All-America.

WEISNER WITH THE POINTS: Junior guard Jamie Weisner also moved up the career three-pointers list on Friday, knocking down a pair to place her in a tie with Leilani Estavan for eighth in school history with 105. Weisner has proven to be one of the Pac-12’s elite scorers in her time at Oregon State, scoring 20 points or more 10 times. Weisner has been named an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention the last two seasons. She is currently OSU’s all-time leader in career three-point percentage (.386).

HAMMER TIME: Junior Ruth Hamblin recorded her third career 20-point game Friday, as she converted nine of her 12 field goal attempts. The Houston, British Columbia native also came through with six rebounds and five blocks. 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 exploded down the stretch last year, hitting double-figures 14 times in the season’s final 24 games. That stretch included a pair of 20+ point efforts in back-to-back matchups with Oregon in January.

INTO THE RANKINGS: The Beavers are ranked in both of the major national rankings heading into the 2014-15 campaign. Oregon State came in at No. 20 in the AP Poll, the program’s first ever preseason ranking, and its first ranking in the poll since 1996. The Beavers were picked 21st in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, after ending the 2013-14 campaign ranked 25th. The coaches’ poll ranking is Oregon State’s highest since 1996. The Beavers also made an appearance in the ESPNW Top-25, taking the 19th spot.

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.

WHAT COMES BACK: Oregon State returns 95 percent of its scoring and 96 percent of its rebounds this  season, from a squad that went 24-11. The Beavers also return all five starters (Ali Gibson, Ruth Hamblin, Jamie Weisner, Deven Hunter, Sydney Wiese) for the first time since the 2003-04.

WHAT’S NEW: The Beavers bring a trio of new faces into the upcoming season. Junior transfer Jen’Von’Ta Hill comes to Oregon State from Huthinson Community College where she recorded 322 assists last season. Freshman Marie Gülich brings with her extensive experience in the German national system. Fellow first-year Alex Kalmbach played in three California State Championship games in her time at Bishop O’Dowd High School. Hill and Gülich both made their NCAA debuts against Portland on Friday.

THE SCHEDULE AHEAD: Oregon State will face a challenging slate this season. The Beavers are scheduled to play five teams ranked in the preseason top-25, as well as four teams that are receiving votes. Oregon State’s nonconference schedule is highlighted by trips to No. 13/13 North Carolina (Dec. 16) and No. 4/4 Tennessee (Dec. 28). Pac-12 play begins at UCLA on Jan. 3.

SHE SCORES 20: Wiese scored 20 points or more six times last season, helping the Beavers go 6-0 in those contests. The best scoring performance of her career so far was a 26-point outburst against Middle Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

 FREEBIES: Weisner is also money from the charity stripe, where she shot 84.3 percent last season, good for third in school history. Weisner hit on 84.8 percent of her free throws during conference play, the fourth-best total in OSU history.

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.

HUNTING DOWN REBOUNDS: Junior Deven Hunter has been among Oregon State’s top rebounders the last two seasons, pulling down 7.4 and 6.1 in her sophomore and freshman years, respectively. Hunter’s 258 boards last season is the 10th-highest total in school history, and the fourth-best total by an Oregon State freshman. With another solid rebounding campaign, Hunter could move into the Beavers’ top-10 for career rebounds.

DOMINANT DEFENSE: Oregon State was one of the best defensive teams in the country last season, holding opponents to 34.6 percent shooting, the fourth-best field goal percentage defense in the NCAA. Part of the Beavers’ success came from their shot-blocking, as the team averaged 6.3 rejections per-game, also good for fourth in the country.

MORE ON THE D: The Beavers held their opponent under 50 points nine times last season, and under 60 points 15 times, going 15-0 in those contests. Oregon State’s best defensive effort came against Utah in the Pac-12 Tournament, as the Beavers’ held the Utes to 35 points on 21 percent shooting. Utah did not hit a single three-pointer in the contest.

BEAVERS ON THE MAGIC BOX: Oregon State will have 19 televised games this season, the highest total in school history. All 18 of the Beavers’ conference games will be carried on Pac-12 Networks, and OSU’s matchup with Tennessee will be shown on the SEC Network.

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.

FEAR THE THREE: Oregon State smashed the school record for three-point makes last season, knocking down 288, more than 100 more than the previous single-season high. The Beavers’ threes came from a variety of sources last year, as the squad featured four of the university’s top-10 career three-point shooters (Martin, Gibson, Wiese, Weisner). Sydney Wiese shot 42.4 percent from long range (fourth in school history), while Jamie Weisner converted on 39.9 percent of her attempts from long range (sixth in school history). Gabriella Hanson shot 40.2 percent from long range, but did not reach the necessary threshold for inclusion in the OSU record book.

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 record.

HANSON TIME: Sophomore Gabriella Hanson came into her own at the end of her freshman campaign. After averaging 4.2 points per game through OSU’s 17 nonconference clashes, Hanson exploded in Pac-12 play, scoring 9.7 points per game on 45 percent shooting. She also pulled down 5.2 rebounds per conference game, good for fourth on the team.
 
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.

ALSO THE CONFERENCE TOURNEY: Oregon State made a deep run in the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament, making it to the championship game for the first time in school history. The Beavers opened the conference tourney with wins over Utah and Washington State, before falling to USC in the title game.

HITTING THE GLASS: Oregon State averaged 43.5 rebouds per game last season, the third-highest total in school history, and the best by a Beaver team since 1990-91. OSU out-rebounded its opponent 26 times last season, posting a 20-6 record in those contests.

SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUT: The Beavers shot better than 50 percent nine times last season, going 9-0 in those games. OSU did not allow an opponent to shoot over 50 percent on the season.

BEAVER NATION: 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.