Beavers meet Oregon for second time in five days

The Oregon State women’s basketball team has the chance to sweep the University of Oregon in the Civil War series for the second year in a row on Sunday.

The Beavers (8-9, 2-3 Pac-12) played arguably their best game of the season on Tuesday night against the Ducks (2-15, 0-5).

Until the 63-53 Civil War victory, the Beavers had gone on runs that showed their potential, but weren’t able to sustain them over the course of a game. Tuesday, OSU finally put everything together, however, firing on all cylinders in a complete team effort.

“[We are] figuring out we have five people on the floor at a time that can score,” said head coach Scott Rueck. “We have just raised the level of play and expectation of ourselves. I thought that game was kind of an accumulation of the past two weeks.”

Freshman guard Jamie Weisner’s game-high 22 points, including four makes from behind the arc, and senior center Patricia Bright’s 10 points led the Beaver offense in the win.

The Beavers will need to continue to push the ball and find the open player in their game Sunday against Oregon.

“I think that if we just stick with our game plan, find open people and pass the ball well like we did, we will get open shots and get the same outcome,” said sophomore guard Ali Gibson.

Although the Beavers executed well on both ends of the floor, they did not maintain the same level of intensity for the full 40 minutes. The Ducks made a late run in the second half, capitalizing on fast-break opportunities.

“It’s a 40-minute game and you play the same way every minute,” Rueck said. “If you blink against Oregon they are going to score in transition. That is just what they do; that’s who they are.”

With one of the best defensive shooting percentages in the Pac-12, Oregon State has been successfully executing its defense, but still have areas to improve upon including its fast break transition.

 “We made sure that we worked on getting back,” said freshman forward Deven Hunter. “Awareness on talking and making sure that we knew who had the ball and where their shooters were at all times.

“We still have some things to fix,” Bright said. “But I felt like our defense was real good so hopefully that carries on until Sunday.”

Bright contributed six of the Beavers’ 10 blocks against the Ducks. That kind of performance will go a long way toward a second win over Oregon in five days.

Oregon freshman Liz Brenner gave the Beavers trouble down low on Tuesday and will be a key player for the Ducks again on Sunday. Oregon State will need to lock down the posts and keep the ball out of the paint.

“Their guard-play is really nice, but as a post player I am going to credit the post,” Bright said.  “Brenner … is [good] so I know she is going to come out better than she did the first time.”

The Ducks will be motivated after losing a home game to OSU. Momentum is on the Beavers’ side, as they have won two of their last three Pac-12 games. A win Sunday would be big as the team gets into the heart of the conference schedule.

“Coming in and playing as well as we did, and getting another win on the road, especially a Civil war win,” Rueck said. “I feel like we are riding momentum and hopefully we can capitalize that and get another win Sunday and keep progressing.”

Sarah Kerrigan, sports reporter

On Twitter @skerrigan123

sports@dailybarometer.com