Scott Rueck Named to Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Watch List
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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck was named to the Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List in the midst of a stellar season leading the Beavs into the AP Top 10.
The 14th-year coach has led OSU to five AP Top 25 wins and a 21-4 record a year after going 13-18 and 4-14 in league play. His Beavs are tied for second in the Pac-12 with four games remaining. The team emerged 6-1 from a stretch of seven games with six against top 25 teams, picking up three top-10 wins during that time including one where leading scorer and rebounder Raegan Beers missed more than half of the game.
Rueck’s Beavers were picked 10th in the Pac-12 by league coaches and ninth by the media entering the season and now rank as the No. 9 team in the country by the AP. The NCAA selection committee ranked the Beavs 11th in the nation last week – a no. 3 seed in the tournament at the time.
Oregon State leads the Pac-12 and ranks sixth in the country in opponent field goal percentage (34.8). The Beavers rank second in the league in scoring defense (58.9) and lead the league in defensive three-point percentage (27.1) and defensive rebounds per game (31.1).
Rueck has coached Beers – a fellow Naismith award late-season watch list member – to two Pac-12 Player of the Week honors as a sophomore. Beers is one of the nation’s best posts, averaging a double-double and ranking second nationally in field goal percentage while averaging more than 17 points per game.
Talia von Oelhoffen has also come into her own in her third full year in the program. The junior is averaging career-highs in assists and had Oregon State’s first points-assists double-double with 20+ points since 2004. She also bought in fully on the defensive end, taking on the opposing team’s toughest assignments each night and is nearing career-bests in steals and blocks.
Timea Gardiner continues to grow throughout her first full season under Rueck’s tutelage, scoring in double-figures over her last six games. The sophomore from Ogden, Utah should be the front-runner for Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year, leading league bench players in points and rebounds per game. She scored back-to-back career-highs against top-10 teams last weekend with 21 points against no. 9 UCLA and 22 against no. 10 USC.
Rueck is a four-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, four-time Naismith Coach of the Year Semi-Finalist and two-time coach of the year finalist. Rueck is a three-time WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year and was twice the AP National Coach of the Year runner-up.
Fans can get tickets starting as low as $6 for Oregon State’s remaining two home games against no. 3 Stanford and Cal on February 29 and March 2 until 5 p.m. on Wednesday at this link.
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