Oregon State women’s basketball ends home stand with win vs. LBSU

Oregon State women’s basketball ends home stand with win vs. LBSU

Published 4:38 pm Sunday, November 23, 2025

The story is the same on Sunday as it was Friday for Oregon State women’s basketball (5-1) despite different outcomes.

The Beavers’ 71-55 win over Long Beach State (0-6) closed out a six-game home stand to begin their season. Oregon State’s 24-7 fourth-quarter run insulated its win over Long Beach State. That came despite the “Beach” (the nickname nomenclature LBSU prefers as of 2018) holding a lead for nearly a quarter and a half on Sunday.

“I love the start of the game, just like the other night (vs. Colorado State). And then I loved the fourth quarter,” Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck said. “Both of those stretches of time felt like normal basketball. And the rest felt like we entered the twilight zone somehow. Nothing made sense… You’re scratching your head just going, ‘How do we navigate something that just doesn’t make sense?’”

Second-quarter ‘Twilight Zone’

The second quarter hasn’t been kind to the Beavers this season. On Sunday, it was the only quarter that Beach outscored Oregon State. LBSU’s Christy Reynoso knocked down a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining in the half, giving Beach a 2-point advantage through the first 20 minutes.

Rueck said postgame that his team’s confidence and rhythm disintegrated in the second quarter. Oregon State still out-rebounded LBSU (13-11) and committed fewer turnovers (5-2, Beach), but LBSU’s shooting — and the Beavers lack thereof — kept it afloat. Oregon State shot just 5-for-19 in the second quarter, while Beach hit on seven of its 15 attempts, including 3-for-8 from 3-point depth.

Rueck added that Oregon State’s language barrier — the roster represents seven different countries — continues to be a challenge. Particularly so when the Beavers are on the opposite side of the court for the first half.

“It just feels like we’re fighting this uphill battle,” Rueck said. “It causes you to press a little bit where we’re trying to help them. Then the language barrier — or just learning our language of basketball — has been a little bit of an issue. Our rotations have been off a little bit… It’s hard to explain.”

Come the second half, the Beavers ironed out some of their issues. LBSU again kept it close in the third quarter before Oregon State slammed the door in the fourth. The Beavers opened the final 10 minutes on a 13-0 run before surrendering a basket with 4:55 left on the clock. The Beach sent Oregon State to the charity stripe 22 times in the second half and the Beavers knocked down 16 from it.

Guards Jenna Villa and Tiara Bolden paced the Beavers’ scoring efforts with 14 apiece. Villa (5-for-17 FG%, 0-for-7 3pt%) logged the first double-double of her Oregon State career, too. The Washington State-transfer’s 10 rebounds led Oregon State, with center Lizzy Williamson (7 pts, 6 rebs) finishing second.

Record-matching day for Shuler

Shuler put her name into the Oregon State record book Sunday, too. The junior guard’s 14 assists tied her for the second-most in a single-game performance, and one shy of tying the record. She’s the third player in program history with 14 in a game, tied with Judy Spoelstra (vs. Santa Clara; Jan. 1983) and Boky Vidic (vs. Cal; Feb. 1995).

Vidic also holds two shares of a three-way tie for the single-game record of 15. She achieved it once in 1993 (vs. San Diego) and again in ‘95 (vs. Arizona). Mercedes Fox-Griffin’s performance vs. Arizona in 2007 is the most-recent 15-assist game by a Beaver.

“I had the mindset of pushing in transition,” Shuler said postgame. “Trying to make the defense confused about their matchups. So, yeah, just seeing the defense and just playing basketball.”

Shuler came within two points of a double-double. The guard scored eight, but shot just 2-for-6 at the free-throw line. This season, Shuler has made just five of her 20 free-throw attempts. She’s a career-51.9% shooter at the stripe.

Next up: Oregon State (4-1) vs. No. 17 Vanderbilt (6-0)

Oregon State heads to the Virgin Islands for the 2025 Paradise Jam tournament. They’ll open play on Thanksgiving Day against the No. 17-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores, a 2024-25 NCAA Tournament squad.

When: Thursday, Nov. 27

Where: Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

Time: 5 p.m. (PT)

TV: ESPN+