Oregon State women’s basketball continued their dominance in the West Coast Conference, improving their conference record to 5-0 with a win against Seattle University 68-38 in Gill Coliseum on Saturday.
The win, OSU’s seventh in a row, kept the Beavs in first place in the WCC as one of two teams with five wins and the only team undefeated in conference play.
OSU was stronger than Seattle in the offensive game, but the true difference-maker came in the Beavers’ ability to clamp down on defense.
“We talked about putting together 40 minutes defensively, clearly we did that,” Head Coach Scott Rueck said after the game.
The Beavs mostly ran a zone defense, where they were able to block shots and pick the ball off frequently. Of Seattle’s 18 turnovers, 12 came from losing the ball to a steal.
Seven of the steals came from Kennedie Shuler, who stole in the paint, beyond the arc and while in transition.
“Every game I just come in and try to let the game come to me. I just do whatever I can for the team,” Shuler said. “Obviously the seven steals – I just love playing defense, and I think it’s a great way to set the tone for the game. I don’t have any tips and tricks, I just love to play the game and I want to play hard and do anything to help this team win.”
Nene Sow was another key component of the Beaver defense. Standing at 6 feet 8 inches, she used her size to control the paint, as she often does, and collected eight defensive rebounds. She was also able to use her frame to force turnovers and create screens.
“I’m doing a better job at screening,” Sow said. “I feel like it’s not only about scoring but setting up my teammate for success. I think (Shuler) can relate to it, we just work together. Even though I don’t get the goal, she gets to finish.”
Oregon State prepped for Seattle to shoot a lot of 3-pointers, and the Redhawks did just that. 30 of Seattle’s 60 shot attempts came from behind the line. Seattle scored eight 3-pointers throughout the game, and only six of their made baskets were two-pointers.
“Their advantage against us is I think to score from the perimeter,” Rueck said. “They moved the ball pretty quick early, we were a step slow, I thought, in our zone in the first half. Then that all went away in the second half. While they shot threes, they were contested the entire second half. … We want to shut down the rim, and I thought we did a really nice job of that, forcing them to take contested perimeter shots.”
OSU didn’t rely much on the 3-pointer in their offense, and instead used Shuler, Jenna Villa and Tiara Bolden to score within the arc (18, 19 and 12 points, respectively).
The Redhawks found success in a 10-0 scoring run late in the first half adding in four blocks, but couldn’t keep it together for most of the game. Seattle only scored 11 points in the second half, thanks to the Beavs setting their sights on strong defense.
The home crowd, which was the biggest of the year barring the field trip game against Utah State, firmly stood behind the Beavs, cheering for every point and rebound. As OSU dribbled the ball out to end the game, the crowd gave the Beavs a standing ovation. At least 100 members of the band were present to keep the energy up.
“The band was incredible,” Rueck said. “I’ve never seen a band like that anywhere. That also goes with Beaver Nation, just an amazing crowd today, and I think this team is earning it.”
The results dropped Seattle to 1-5 in conference play and 5-12 overall. The Beavs rose to a 13-5 overall record.
OSU will look to continue their win streak on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. when they face Loyola Marymount University (3-2 in the WCC) in Los Angeles.
