Editor’s Note: This is a column and does not reflect the views or opinions of The Daily Barometer.
Everyone loves a good underdog story, but I’m pleased to say on behalf of all Beaver basketball fans that this isn’t one.
Despite a bumpy offseason, Oregon State Women’s Basketball has positioned itself as one of the top teams in the West Coast Conference, and with a realistic dose of optimism, I believe that that’s where they’ll stay.
Oregon State’s schedule this season is a blend of traditional rivalries and tough tests as the Beavers fight for the top spot in the 12-team league.
For the first time in WCC history, the Conference is playing an 18-game unbalanced schedule, with each team playing seven opponents twice and four once.
Picked first in the 2025-2026 WCC preseason coaches’ poll with nine of 12 first-place votes, the Beavers asserted themselves as championship contenders early on.
As last year’s WCC champion, the Beavers have lived up to this expectation so far, sitting at the top spot of the conference with a strong record in in-league play. OSU currently has a record of 7-1 in the conference and 15-6 overall. The Beavers are followed by Santa Clara and Gonzaga.
“They want to be great, and they have a strong will to win,” Beavers Head Coach Scott Rueck said in a Jan. 11 postgame. “I think we’re just looking like a really good team way more often.”
While the Beavers recently broke their seven-game winning streak with a loss to Loyola Marymount on Jan. 15, the team bounced back two days later with a one-point victory over Pepperdine.
In their most recent game on Jan. 22, OSU beat a strong Bulldogs team, with a final score of 92-87 that went into overtime.
OSU’s ability to come out on top of the WCC is rooted in a synergistic veteran core that has already proven that they can carry games.
Junior point guard Kennedie Shuler has been pivotal to the team’s success, averaging 11 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.1 steals.
Senior guard Tiara Bolden has also been essential to the team’s success, averaging 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals.
Another standout player has been Jenna Villa, who transferred to OSU this year after playing two seasons at Washington State University.
Usually positioned in the post on offense and generally assigned to defend a frontcourt player, Villa has filled the hole left by senior guard and Most Outstanding Player of the 2025 conference championship, Catarina Ferreira, who has been out this season due to a knee injury.
Villa, whose presence added an immediate scoring punch to the lineup, boasts a 87.6% from the free-throw line this season and now leads the team in scoring with an average of 16.7 points.
While the Beavers don’t always light up the scoreboard, their defense is strong, keeping them in the game and their opponents on their toes.
Defensively, the Beavers are playing classic Rueck basketball: disciplined, tough and smart. They force turnovers and minimize fouls, a hallmark of his program and one of the reasons they are consistently competitive in close games.
“It’s starting to look like it has for years, and that is a stingy touch defense,” Rueck said, “It’s one shot and done, and it’s an efficient offense, and I think we’ve really grown in that area in particular.”
But what does this mean as March draws near?
Realistically, Oregon State is poised for success this season.
They’re in a position to not only win the WCC Championship but also make a run deep into the NCAA Tournament.
A strong finish in conference play could secure a higher seed and a more favorable path in March.
The road ahead won’t be easy, with tough WCC games against Gonzaga and Santa Clara looming, but if the Beavers can maintain the defensive intensity that has defined their success and tighten up their offense, they stand a good chance of coming out on top.
There’s something big brewing for OSU, and as the weeks pass and the games continue, Beaver fans have reason to believe that this team will leave their mark.
