Oregon State women’s basketball cuts short UCLA’s winning streak
Oregon State guard Jamie Weisner’s 20 first-half points created a problem for UCLA and an opportunity for the Beavers. (Jintak Han/Daily Bruin)
By Reed MacDonald
Feb. 21, 2016 10:53 p.m.
It was going to happen eventually.
After winning nine of its last 10, No. 12 UCLA women’s basketball (20-7, 12-4 Pac-12) was on a roll. The Bruins had reached their highest ranking all season and hadn’t yet had a double-digit, convincing loss. However, playing No. 7 Oregon State on the road in Corvallis, Oregon, it seemed quite possible that UCLA’s run would end. The conference’s highest-scoring team would eventually be stopped.
Oregon State center Ruth Hamblin likes stopping things.
In the Bruins’ 64-54 loss to the Beavers (24-3, 15-1), Hamblin stopped the Bruins quite a bit. The senior center was constantly standing at the basket, her arms straight up. It was a simple position, but one that wreaked havoc on UCLA throughout the game.
“I thought she was very effective tonight,” said coach Cori Close. “I thought she was the difference maker in how she affected our shots on the offensive end. It wasn’t that she was so dominant on offense but defensively she made life really difficult for us.”
Though the Beavers won by double-digits, it did not always look like it was going to be that way. The Bruins struck early and made the Beavers look uncomfortable, keeping the score tight through the first quarter.
When the game began to look like the defensive throttling that the Bruins gave the Beavers earlier this season, it was the guard Jamie Weisner that kept the Beavers in it. Her 20 first-half points gave the Beavers a five-point lead at halftime and allowed them to settle down in the second half. With the game slower, Hamblin could gain position on offense and defense.
“We didn’t pressure as much as we did in the first half,” said sophomore guard Jordin Canada. “In the first half we were turning them over consistently and getting good shots and putting the pace. I thought in the second half we were lacking in that aspect.”
Hamblin’s defensive rebounding efficiency took away what was considered one of the Bruins’ biggest strengths, as sophomore forward Monique Billings couldn’t get the same putbacks that she normally does. With both teams coming into the game tied for the conference lead in offensive rebounds, it was the Beavers who took control of the glass, with Hamblin finishing with 16 rebounds to go along with 15 points and six blocks.
“We just got to be tougher,” said senior guard Nirra Fields. “We just gotta push her off the boards and make her uncomfortable. But she did have a couple key plays that helped them on the defensive end.”
Guards Sydney Wiese and Weisner both looked solid for Oregon State. Weisner finished with 25 points while Wiese held things down in the second and finished with 21. Fields and Canada contributed with 20 and 15 points respectively, but many of the points came with the Bruins desperately fighting back.
“Individually we can’t beat them, but if we play collectively as a group and as a unit we can definitely beat them,” Fields said. “We have more talent individually and if we put that together collectively we’re definitely the better team.”
While other teams like Arizona State are more amorphous and don’t have any pieces that really stand out, Oregon State is defined by three players: Wiese, Weisner and Hamblin. When those three play well, Oregon State is almost impossible to beat. On Sunday night, that was a reality.
