OSU takes 75-51 victory on Field-Trip Day

Oregon State did it for the kids.

The #7 Beavers (8-0) dominated CSU Bakersfield (1-10) 75-51 for their eighth straight win on Beavers Beyond the Classroom day. Children from 53 different schools across the state were in attendance today (including over 780 kids from the local Linus Pauling Middle School,) cheering the Beavers on to victory. Attendance at Gill Coliseum was 7,824, which was good for the third-highest attendance ever for an OSU women's basketball game.

The kids' energy may have played a part in invigorating the Beavers today, as they did not relinquish the lead for the entirety of the game. OSU started slow, but as the game progressed they put their foot on the gas pedal and quickly put it out of reach for the Runners.

Stifling defense once again proved to be the X-Factor for the Beavers, as they held CSU Bakersfield to 27.6 percent shooting, including 0-10 from the three-point line. The Beavers dominated the overwhelmed Runners from the beginning and took care of business.

The first half looked like a similar performance to last week's game against Idaho, in that the Beavers shut CSU Bakersfield down on the offensive end, only allowing a field goal percentage for the Runners. For all of the Beavers success on defense, they still had their struggles on offense. Despite all but shutting down CSU Bakersfield in the first quarter, they only emerged with a 15-10 lead thanks to too many missed shots.

Coming off of her 1,000^th point game against Idaho, Sydney Wiese scored the first bucket of the game with a three-pointer. From there, she mostly played the role of facilitator, dishing out a game-high five assists.

The Beavers cranked it up in the second, hitting a couple of threes and riding a 7-0 run to give themselves a comfortable 29-12 lead with 6:00 remaining.

Ruth Hamblin finally got involved, using her size and strength advantage in the post to get some points on the board. CSU Bakersfield could not do much to stop Hamblin, and her post presence helped open up the rest of the court for her teammates. She was able to garner several offensive boards throughout the game, helping OSU stay afloat on offense with 11 second chance points in the first half.

Hamblin would finish the game with 12 points and eight rebounds on a perfect 6-6 shooting from the field.

The Beavers shot markedly better in the second quarter, improving their team shooting percentage to 47% en route to 22 points. Overall, the first half was a very jointed performance for OSU. Nine Beavers ended up scoring before they took a 37-22 lead into halftime.

The second half was more of the same. The Beavers continued their lethal combination of tough defense and playing down low on offense, extending their lead to 60-32 by the end of the third quarter. OSU ended the game with 51.6 percent shooting from the field.

CSU Bakersfield's main source of offense came from forward Batabe Zampare, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Guard Dajy Vines also put up a decent offensive showing, scoring 12 points on 5-10 shooting. Outside of Vines and Zampare, however, the Runners were a combined 5-31 from the field.

Conversely, everyone on the Beavers' roster scored. Jamie Weisner paced the Beavers today with 14 points, but it was the team effort on both sides of the ball that propelled OSU to the blowout win.

The Beavers will be off until this Saturday, Dec. 19, when they take on Tennessee at home. The game will be one of the first of many big tests for OSU this season as they look to avenge last year's loss to the Vols and keep their undefeated record intact.