OSU uses balanced scoring to defeat the Women of Troy

On a rainy Friday night, the No. 7 Oregon State women’s basketball team thrashed visiting USC, 76-52 for their 13th-straight win.

The Beavers (23-3, 14-1 Pac-12), with the victory, are one shy from the program’s longest winning-streak since the 1982-83 season.

The Trojans (18-11, 6-9) and OSU endured a sluggish first quarter, as both teams struggled to shoot the ball, combining to shoot 7-for-29 in the opening period.

The only Beaver with the hot hand was junior guard Sydney Wiese, who started the game with six points on 2-for-2 shooting. At the end of the first quarter, the game was deadlocked at nine points apiece, with the Trojans out-rebounding the Beavers 13-9.

“Tonight, I liked our resilience and toughness,” head coach Scott Rueck said. “I thought early in the game USC was the aggressive team.”

OSU started to break the game open in the second quarter, when they went on an 8-0 run, including back-to-back three-pointers from senior forward Deven Hunter and freshman guard Taylor Kalmer. With 6:53 remaining in the first half, the Beavers led 17-13.

The run was finally snapped by USC freshman guard Aliyah Mazyck, who was fouled and made a pair of free-throws to bring the game back to within two. Both teams traded baskets after, and then senior forward Temi Fagbenle made two free throws for the Trojans to tie the game at 19 with 4:11 to go in the second period.

At the end of the first half, the Beavers held a 29-23 advantage. Wiese led OSU with nine points and five assists at the break, while junior guard Alexis Lloyd led USC with seven points. Both teams continued to struggle from the field with the Beavers shooting 31 percent, and the Trojans only making 29 percent of their shots.

Senior guard Jamie Weisner, who tied a career high with 27 points last game against Utah, ended her 0-for-6 start by scoring an and-one layup. Weisner made four-consecutive field goals for the Beavers minutes later and the Beavers led 50-30 seven minutes into the second half.

Weisner finished the quarter with 16 points, helping OSU to a 21-point advantage heading into the fourth.

“My shot kind of felt off in the first half, so I was just like ‘get to the hoop and get fouled, make something happen,’” Weisner said on her performance. “Once I had that mindset, it just started flowing from there.”

“Our mindset was to pick it up on both ends of the floor,” Wiese said on that deciding third quarter. “The first quarter was sort of lackadaisical on the defensive end for whatever reason, and I think that fueled us that second half, especially the third quarter.”

“In the third quarter, I just felt like we got into such a good rhythm offensively,” Rueck said. “That ball was really flowing, we were getting stops and we were making them miss.”

Rueck, sensing control of the game, opted to play the bench for much of the fourth quarter.

OSU continued to dominate the second-half, going on a 9-0 run, to blow out to their largest lead of the game at 25 points. When the final buzzer sounded, the Beaver fans in attendance sent the team out with a standing ovation.

Weisner finished the game with 18 points, and Wiese had 14 points, dishing out nine assists as well. Senior center Ruth Hamblin ripped down 13 rebounds and blocked five shots, while freshman guard Taylor Kalmer tied a career-high with 10 points.

OSU will play UCLA on Sunday for Senior night, where they will look to avenge their lone Pac-12 loss against the Bruins earlier this season.

“This group has the ability to put themselves in the correct mindset,” Rueck said. “I mean, they’re not a group that overlooks anybody, they bring their A-game every night.”

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