Oregon State Women’s Basketball: Opponent Preview - Cal Poly

The Oregon State Women’s Basketball Team takes on the Cal Poly Mustangs in the first game of the 2018-19 season. Tip-off is slated for 7 PM PST on Friday. These teams last met back on December 20th, 2015, in Corvallis where the Beavers won, 80-43. Check out the team’s schedule or Twitter page for updates on how to follow along live (at the time of this writing, there is no TV or streaming options, but you should be able to listen). Let’s take a closer look at the Mustangs.

Cal Poly (not ranked, 1-0 overall, 0-0 conference)

Last season: 17-12 overall, 11-5 in Big West Conference (2nd), no postseason

Cal Poly opened their season against the Urban Knights from Academy of Art (NCAA Division II), winning 87-65. The Urban Knights were shorthanded as they only had six players ready to play, so even when they jumped out to a 19-16 lead after the first quarter, it was only a matter of time before the Mustangs would take over.

Their head coach, Faith Mimnaugh, has been the lead woman for 22 years! Most of the players on the court had not been born when she took the helm.

Who to watch

Senior forward Devin Stanback will be the player to keep an eye on. She leads all returning players in scoring, rebounding, and shooting accuracy. On Tuesday night against Academy of Art, Stanback led Cal Poly with 18 points.

Freshman guard Gianna Silvestri made an impact in her debut by sinking five three-pointers against Academy of Art. If Cal Poly wants to make things interesting on Friday night, she’ll need to continue to hit those shots early and often.

Prediction

This should be one of those games where every Beaver sees some time and even gets a basket. Despite showing some early season kinks, Oregon State should win big.