OSU loses to UCLA in 71-51 beatdown

Turnovers and a slow start marred the Oregon State women's basketball team Monday night as they fell in a 71-51 loss against UCLA.

The No. 11 Beavers (10-3, 1-1) ran into early foul trouble against the Bruins, forcing center Ruth Hamblin and guard Jamie Weisner to watch much of the first half from the sidelines. Hamblin had 2 fouls 4 minutes into the game and sat until the second half.

Hamblin's absence gave No. 10 UCLA (11-3, 3-0) an open season on the paint, and the Beavers' ultimately ceded 20 points in the paint and 17 second chance points, two categories that are usually big advantages for OSU. Backup sophomore center Marie Gülich played poorly in Hamblin's relief, unable to connect on the offensive end with zero points and providing an unsteady presence on defense.

Thanks to the foul-trouble, UCLA was able to build a steady lead against the Beavers, finally exploding in the third quarter behind the hot shooting of sophomore guard Jordin Canada.

The Beavers were able to cut the UCLA lead to seven in the third quarter, but were quickly buried. Canada was the enforcer, as she scored 13 points in the third and effectively put the game out of hand for the Beavers. She finished with a game-high 24 points on nine of 13 shooting, and also drained all four of her three-point attempts. Additionally, Canada chipped in five assists and two steals to round out her night. Junior guard Kari Korver, cousin of NBA sharpshooter Kyle Korver, also played well for the Bruins, providing 12 points and three three-pointers.

OSU felt the first tangible reverberations from Sydney Wiese's wrist injury, who they badly needed tonight. As Hamblin and Weisner sat on the bench, there was no one on the floor who was able to keep the offense flowing in their absence. Oregon State committed a total of 26 turnovers, totally unable to execute the offense and ultimately letting UCLA run away with it.

Freshman guard Katie McWilliams did a solid job in the first quarter, scoring seven points and hitting a three pointer in the closing seconds, but was unable to score again.

Senior forward Sam Siegner helped shoulder some of the load in the first half as well, scoring eight points on perfect three of three shooting, but was also a non-factor in the second half. Weisner finished her night with a quiet 19 points on seven of 14 shooting, and only connected on one of five of her three-point shots in her desperate attempts to keep the Beavers close.

As a result, Oregon State suffered their largest loss in 2 years, as UCLA broke a string of 21 straight losses to ranked opponents.

The Beavers will now travel back to Corvallis to take on Oregon on this Friday. OSU will need to play much better in the Civil War to prove that this game was not an anomaly, and can only hope that Wiese makes a swift return.