It was an impressive win over a pretty good Cal team at Gill before 5,579 screaming Beaver fans. The game was the first of the season after a loss. The first quarter was a little odd for Oregon State. Head coach Scott Rueck didn't like what he was seeing from his starters so he went to the bench early. The score was knotted at 17 after the first period....but then Oregon State flexed its muscles. Starters and his deep bench came in and dominated. Destiny Slocum wound up with her third double-double of her career with 15 points and 11 boards.
The roster is deep. Patricia Morris the 6'7" sophomore from Duarte, California had by far her best game as a collegiate player. A career high 13 points and she was 6-6 from the floor with two blocks. I made sure she was on my post-game show last night.
Another standout on the floor last night was the pride of Muldura, Australia sophomore Jasmine Simmons. She was a sparkplug off the bench for Scott Rueck and had a career high eight rebounds. She says its nice to play in a conference game early in the contest and be a part of a big win.
Head coach Scott Rueck says he was curious how his team would respond to the Beavers first loss of the season and he was pleased with the effort after a first quarter that ended up tied at 17 with the Cal Bears.
So now a big game looms. #3 Stanford plays the Beavers tomorrow at Noon. The Cardinal coming off a 32-point loss to Oregon Thursday night. The Beavs aren't happy they have an extra day of practice to get ready for Oregon State.It should be a wild one before a near sellout in Corvallis
Here is the official release on the game from Oregon State Athletics:
The No. 8 Oregon State women’s basketball team exploded to an 81-44 blowout win over California Friday evening at Gill Coliseum.
“Cal came out hitting shots, and they were very aggressive,” said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. “They shot 40 percent in the first quarter, and 11 percent in the second quarter. Our defense just took it to a different level at that point – we contested shots and created some adversity for them. That allowed us to separate from them. We had great performances throughout our roster – a great team win. This team executed well, and responded well coming off our first loss of the year. I’m excited about moving forward from here.”
Oregon State improves to 16-1 on the season (4-1 in Pac-12 play), the second time the program has reached that mark to start a year. California moves to 8-8 on the year (0-5 Pac-12).
Patricia Morris had the best game of her Oregon State career, going for 13 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the floor. Destiny Slocum tallied her third Oregon State double-double with 15 points and 11 assists.
Freshman Taylor Jones notched her sixth-straight double-figure scoring game, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds. Mikayla Pivec rounded out four Beavers in double-figures with 10 points and five boards.
Kennedy Brown scored nine points, while Kat Tudor scored eight. Jasmine Simmons tallied eight rebounds.
The Beavers shot 54.2 percent from the floor, compared to 25.8 percent for Cal. Oregon State also held a 51-25 advantage in rebounds.
Oregon State used an 8-0 run in the middle part of the first quarter to go in front 13-8. The teams ended the first quarter level at 17.
The Beavers scored 16 unanswered points in the second frame to create some separation, going in front by 17 on their way to a 37-22 lead at the intermission.
Oregon State wasted little time in the second half, extending the advantage past 20 early in the third period.
OSU headed to the fourth up 60-37 on its way to the 37-point win.
The Beavers will compete in a top-10 matchup on Sunday, when No. 3 Stanford visits Gill Coliseum.