A win over Oregon State in the 93rd women’s basketball Civil War would be “wholesome,” Jillian Alleyne said.
Wholesome, as in well-being of the mind, spirit and health of the body.
Nothing could be more accurate.
No member of the current Oregon team has taken down the No. 11 Beavers, but this weekend presents two new opportunities to snap the current seven-game skid. The Ducks head to Corvallis on Friday for the 93rd Civil War, a 7 p.m. showdown on Pac-12 Networks and the first of two games in three days.
The Beavers will make the short trip to Eugene on Sunday at 5 p.m. as the 94th meeting between the two programs. The Ducks currently lead the series all-time, 59-33.
“Oregon State is legitimately one of the best teams in the country because they do everything well,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “They really have no weakness. They have size, they have depth, they have quickness. They have playmakers and skilled players. Obviously a great coach. Scott [Rueck] has done amazing things there.
“It’s going to be a heck of a challenge. We’re going to have to play as well as we can possibly play.”
The Ducks took town UCLA 62-46 on Monday, the program’s first Pac-12 win under Graves.
“It showed we some character and shows we have the makeup to be a good team,” Graves said. “Hopefully we can carry that into this week.”
The Ducks’ losing streak in the Civil War spans seven games, with the Ducks’ last win in January 2011, when Oregon took down the Beavers in Eugene, 81-72.
“It’s always been a fairly close game—it’s always been a battle, but we’ve never come out on top,” junior Lexi Petersen said. “So this weekend is going to be extra sweet if we can battle and come through.”
If the Ducks want to stop the Beavers, they’re surely have to shut down Ruth Hamblin. She has averaged 13.2 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game so far this season.
Both Hamblin and Jamie Weisner are teammates on the Canadian women’s senior basketball team and practiced over the summer together in Edmonton.
“As a player, for her to represent Oregon State and the state of Oregon, it’s huge,” Alleyne said.
The Beavers sit atop the Pac-12 in scoring defense (56.7 points per game), while ranking second among teams in scoring offense with 78.6 points per game. They also rank first in the conference in scoring margin with 21.9 points per game on average.
“They know who they are and they play to their strengths,” Graves said. “The players don’t try to do more than they’re capable of doing. I think that’s a real testament to the coaching staff and the kind of players they’re getting and have.”
For Graves and the Ducks, current Oregon assistant Mark Campbell can offer some insight into what the Ducks will expect on the court. He was an Oregon State assistant and associate head coach for four years before leaving Corvallis in April to join Graves’ inaugural staff.
“He knows these players and recruited basically all of them,” Graves said. “He knows this program. He was there from the beginning. We’ve picked his brain just like an NFL team would when a player is traded from the Browns to the Bengals.”
The Beavers’ current mark of 12-1 is the best start in program history.
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne
