The thudding of a ball on the perfectly finished wood floor, echoing throughout an empty gym. The pounding of feet up and down the court. The swish of a nothin-but-net shot. Basketball is unmistakably one of the highlights of college sports, almost as unmistakable as the sounds on the court itself. Oregon State Women’s Basketball made school history last season by advancing all the way to the Final Four and the team is determined to do everything possible to conquer the giants of this season to get that far once again.

FIGHT

After the 2014-2015 season, Oregon State Women’s Basketball team was coming off as PAC-12 regular season champs, but without the PAC-12 title. Disappointment littered the end of the year with a 9-point loss to USC in the PAC-12 championship game.

No doubt there was a determination from the players to succeed at an even higher level for the 2015-2016 season. The season began with the team ranked 10th in the AP Top 25 and 9th by the USA Today Coaches Poll.The lady Beavs Basketball team then entered the PAC-12 tournament as the number 1 seed team, and were ready to go further than the year before. After a close call against Washington, they persevered and advanced to the final game versus UCLA. With an astounding 12-point deficit, Oregon State Women’s Basketball won the PAC-12 Conference tournament and crushed UCLA’s hopes of the title with a 69-57 victory.

Number one in the conference and hungry for more, the team set their sights on the upcoming NCAA tournament and the challenges it would hold. The team entered the tournament ranked 6th in the nation by both polls, and holding a 2nd seed slot for their corner of the bracket. Slowly but surely, they pressed on. They won one game, then two, then three. They made it to the Elite Eight and battled out a 60-57 win over Baylor. Then, the Final Four. Number one seeded UConn versus number two seeded OSU. It was a tough war and they fell with a 80-51 loss. But the Women’s Basketball team made school history and advanced further in the NCAA tournament than ever before. Not only that, but they finished the season ranked 2nd in the country. The team proved something about themselves and who they were; those girls would not go down without a fight and showed they belonged in the Final Four.

FIRE

But it is not over yet. Let’s focus our attention back to the current 2016-2017 season. The team is ranked 17th in the nation heading into their first game and is 5th in the PAC-12. They have an uphill battle to prove themselves once again, and are not going to go down without a fight. Beaver’s Digest had the opportunity to sit down and discuss a few facets of the upcoming season with sophomore point guard Katie McWilliams.

McWillliams commented on the pressure this year because of making the Final Four last season, and the determination to make this season just as spectacular and even more phenomenal than last. “I think there’s a little bit of pressure just because people do expect a lot from us always, [but] especially after last year,” she said when asked about the outward tension to perform at an elite level. She went on to say, “They want us to be that good again and get that far but it’s also a big motivation because we are young and we are kind of the underdogs now….We’re ranked number 5 going into the Pac-12 and that’s a big motivator for us because we want to do better than that obviously, and are striving to get that three-peat of the Pac-12 conference.” With every battle after battle, every victory after victory, every triumph after struggle, the team has proved themselves in the past. This year the athletes only have more of an incentive to smash every expectation and prediction stacked against them, to prove once again the strength within themselves and the program.

FAMILY

One vital aspect to last season’s success and equally vital to this season is the unity of the team. Without unity, McWilliams noted how every mistake can bring the team down as a whole and ultimately be detrimental to the team’s progress. She also mentioned the close relationships the women have with one another. Part of this unity and family is attributed to a retreat the team took before the beginning of the season. "The biggest thing we probably did [while on the retreat] was...share bags where you have five different questions,” she described. She said the questions included, “...your favorite quote and why; your theme song and why, like what do you live by; the hardest and best times of your life; and why you’re excited to be part of this family...It got super emotional but it brought us a lot closer because we opened up and everyone told their...whole life story so that was pretty cool and I just feel like we know each other a lot better now. I think that’s gonna translate onto the floor. We have each other’s backs and are playing for each other and as a team.” The team understands the necessity of friendship and bonds in order to reach their goal, and find the joy of this along the way.

FUTURE FOUR

That brings us to now. A team set to be underdogs for the season compared to their previous success. A team with a chip off their shoulder. A team with a tight bond that sets them apart. A team ready to emerge above all to find themselves in the Final Four once again. “You know, it was a journey in getting there last year and it’s gonna be the same thing,” said McWilliams on the goal of a consecutive Final Four appearance. “We’re gonna face a lot of adversity and...there’s gonna be ups and downs along the way. Everyone’s gonna have to step up and play their roles. Everyone’s [going to] have to hit big shots when they need to and we’re gonna have to execute offenses pretty much to the highest level possible, and our defenses have to be locked down. But we’re gonna have to play at an elite level in order to get there.” The team is ready to grasp the challenges head on, to become the elite, unified team needed to reach their goals and full potential.

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