Strong Second Half Propels Oregon State to their Third Win

Behind a 9 to 0 opening scoring run Oregon State looked ready to cruise for their third win of the season, but UC Riverside held tough.  The Highlanders took advantage of Beavs turnovers to chip away at the Oregon State lead, and were able to tie the score 11 to 11 at the 6:18 mark of the first quarter.

The two teams then played a bit more of an even game, but throughout the first period the Beavs were able to stay ahead of the scrappy UC Riverside team (and especially Rejane Verin with her strong scoring performance).

UC Riverside though was able to hang with the Beavs and the Highlanders took their first lead 32 to 30 lead at the 8:52 mark of the second quarter..

But the Beavers went on a 10 to 0 scoring run to help the OSU take their lead back at the 4:51 mark behind a Katie McWilliams 3-point field goal, which allowed Oregon State to take a 47 to 42 lead into the halftime.

The first half stats saw Oregon State shooting 57% (17-30) and UC Riverside shot 47% (15-32). The Beavs hit six of their twelve 3-point shots and converted seven for eight of their free throws. Additionally Oregon State out rebounded UC Riverside 20 to 12, but turned it over nine times to the Highlanders’ four.  Sydney Wiese led Oregon State with 13 points (which included going three for three in 3-pointers), Gabriella Hanson and Ruth Hamblin both chipped in 7 points each. UC Riverside leading scorers were Rejane Verin with 14 points and Annelise Ito with 11 points.

For the early part of the second half, Oregon State again came out blistering, and after UC Riverside closed the OSU lead to 3 points the Beavs ran off ten straight points to take a 59 to 46 lead into the first media timeout at the 7:10 mark of the third quarter. After the break the run only increased to when finally the Highlanders broke their scoring drought at the 5:12 mark of the third quarter, but this was only after the Beavers went on a 16 to 0 scoring run to increase their lead to 65 to 46. At the buzzer the Beavs outscored UC Riverside 23 to 12 in the third.

The fourth quarter saw the Beavs keep the score at 14 point margin or better throughout the final minutes of the game. Kolbie Orum had a nice second half, especially in the last quarter, and combined with another strong game by the team leader Sydney Wiese, all helped the Beavs claim their third win of the season.

The second half very much saw the Beavs determine the tempo, control the boards, and continue their hot shooting; and the drama of the first half all but disappeared except for a bit more turnovers than Coach Rueck will be happy with.

The final numbers saw Oregon State shooting a nice 56% (31-55) for the game, and the Beavs defense held  UC Riverside to 39% (25-64). OSU went 10-21 in 3-pointers, hit 14-17 of their free throws, and had 42 rebounds (to the Highlanders 24 boards). Again the one weak spot was the Beavers turning the ball over a total of 17 times, to UC Riverside's 9 turnovers.  Oregon State scoring leaders were Sydney Wiese with 22 points, Ruth Hamblin followed with 16 points, Jamie Weisner contributed 14 points, and Gabby Hanson had 12 points. UC Riverside leading scorers were Rejane Verin with 25 points and Annelise Ito finished with 13 points.

Oregon State (3-0) will be leaving soon for San Juan, Puerto Rico this week to play in the San Juan Tournament, November 27-28.

Go Beavs!