Women's basketball continues to struggle

The Oregon State women’s basketball team extended its losing streak to six consecutive games, falling to No. 21 Colorado and Utah this weekend.

In Sunday’s game against Utah (13-10, 4-8 Pac-12), the Beavers went down at the start of the game and were never able to shift the momentum in their favor, losing 40-66.

The Beavers (9-15, 3-9) went down 12-0 after turning the ball over seven times in the first eight minutes of the game. Oregon State’s first bucket did not come until 10 minutes into the game.

Similarly against Colorado (19-5, 7-5), it took the Beavers six minutes to make a single basket while the Buffaloes scored 14 points.

In both games, the early deficits were due to turnovers. Oregon State had a total of 42 turnovers in its two games this weekend. The Beavers currently have the second-highest rate in the conference for turnovers per game (17.5).

Against Utah, the Beavers were not only plagued with turnovers but with poor shooting as well. Nothing seemed to be falling for the Beavers, as they only shot 29.6 percent from the field.

Oregon State managed to shoot 53.8 percent from three-point range against Colorado on Friday, but it was the opposite story Sunday, as the Beavers shot 16.3 percent against Utah, going only 2-for-12.

The Utes’ ability to hold freshman guard Jamie Weisner to only six points was a key factor in their win. Weisner was able to put up 22 points Friday night against Colorado, but struggled to find shots against Utah.

Fellow freshman Ruth Hamblin came in and made a difference right away for the Beavers against the Utes. She had a team high of eight points and six rebounds with all eight of her points coming within the team’s first 10 points of the game.

The Beavers continue to rely heavily on their freshman class as together they combined for almost 50 percent of the teams minutes. They have strength in their freshmen, but are dealing with some of the struggles that come with playing a young team.

They have a chance to redeem their two overtime losses against the Washington schools this weekend as they face Washington State this Friday night at 7 p.m. at Gill Coliseum.