Oregon State
#6 California
Oregon State Dispatched By #6 California, 60-38
February 01, 2013 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2013
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Scroll to bottom for press conference video with Coach Rueck and Ali Gibson.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Ali Gibson scored a game-high 13 points, but #6 California boasted four players in double-figures and the Bears used their defensive speed to dispatch the Oregon State women's basketball team, 60-38, in Gill Coliseum on Friday night.
"Defensively, they're very physical, they're quick and they cover ground so fast," Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck said. "They're a veteran team that executes their defensive schemes very well. Our windows to get shots off were smaller than they are against most teams. That made us uncomfortable and we just missed a lot of shots. If you look at everything ... our shooting percentages are the obvious thing on the stat sheet that is different. We didn't make them miss and they made us miss."
With a starting lineup that features two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore, and a roster without any freshmen, the experienced Bears shot 40 percent (24-for-60) while holding a young Oregon State (9-12, 3-6 Pac-12) squad to a 27.1 percent clip from the floor (16-for-59), the Beavers' second-most difficult offensive game this season.
Cal (18-2, 8-1 Pac-12) opened the action by scoring the first four points, from which the Beavers responded with a 6-0 run to grab an early, and their only, lead of the game with just four minutes gone by. Gibson started off her solid night by scoring four of Oregon State's first six points, but the Bears countered with a 9-0 spurt of their own to grab a seven-point lead, 13-6, with 12:08 to go in the first half.
The Bears' advantage reached double-digits on a Gennifer Brandon jumper with 5:27 on the clock in the first and would grow to 13 at intermission, 27-14. Cal's junior forward scored all 11 of her points in the first half on 5-for-6 shooting and corralled eight of her nine rebounds in the game in that period as well.
Like Gibson at the start, Beaver freshman Jamie Weisner scored four of her team's first six points coming out of the break on a pair of tough finishes at the rim, but Cal, which did not attempt a three in the first 20 minutes, began hitting from deep to extend the lead.
Afure Jemerigbe made one from downtown as part of a 10-0 run for the Bears, which was capped by an Eliza Pierre triple with 13:54 to go in the game. Pierre's bucket gave Cal its largest lead of the night, 45-20, but the Beavers continued to battle.
Oregon State went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes, pulling to within 17, 45-28, midway through the period. Cal, however, kept its distance over the final 10 minutes, with the Bears' lead hovering around 20 points until the ultimate final ended up being 60-38.
Rebounding played a key role. Cal finished with 50 boards to OSU's 40, but the Beavers only gave up 17 offensive rebounds to a team that came into tonight rebounding 51.7 percent of its misses (356-of-689).
"We knew that was going to be a huge issue," Rueck said of controlling the glass. "They only out-rebounded us by 10, but they made us pay for those offensive rebounds. This is a team that if we're not on our game they could have out-rebounded us by 30. They have speed and strength at almost every spot. I thought we competed like crazy on the boards. They're going to beat us to the ball every once in a while and are different athletically than we are in spots."
The outcome, however, gave Oregon State the opportunity to get some other players game action. Ruth Hamblin played 19 minutes and had four points and two blocks in her most extended time on the court since mid-December. Fellow freshman Khadidja Toure also notched a point and played some aggressive defense in nine minutes off the bench for her longest outing since OSU's win over CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 29.
"I thought that was really big," Rueck said of getting his bench some playing time. "I wanted Ruth to experience the speed of this game. These are as athletic posts that we're going to see and we've got another pretty athletic one coming in here Sunday. Khadidja has been practicing really well for the last month-and-a-half or so. She's just hit a different level of decision-making and intensity. We've been waiting for an opportunity to give her minutes, but [our point guards] have been doing a good job and every game we're in seems like it's been a one possession game. Tonight allowed her to come out, make some plays and get her game legs. I think that's going to be a factor for us the rest of the way."
Oregon State continues its stretch against nationally-ranked opponents when the Beavers host #4/5 Stanford (19-2, 8-1 Pac-12) at 2 p.m. on Sunday in a game that will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to Our Beaver Nation. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. Former Student-Athletes are invited to join the Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events.
Follow Oregon State Athletics On YouTube.
