Pure Fun

Thrilling. Stunning. Nonstop. On Friday, Feb. 16, an 8,525-strong crowd at Gill Coliseum — including a record 2,369 students — got a vivid demonstration of the kind of over-the-top action that made the last season of Pac-12 women’s basketball as we know it the most exciting in decades. The Beavs rallied from seven points down in the final two and a half minutes of the game to defeat No. 9 UCLA with a last-second, buzzer-beating shot by junior Talia von Oelhoffen. The fateful three-pointer from the top of the key helped catapult the Beavers, then ranked No. 11 nationally, into the top 10 for the first time since Feb. 11, 2020. This despite the team playing much of the game without sophomore star and leading scorer Raegan Beers, after an early second-quarter foul fractured her nose. “Who would ever count this team out now?” Head Coach Scott Rueck, ’92, MAT ’93, told the press after the ear-splitting cheers finally faded and happy throngs left for celebrations beyond the stadium. “I just couldn’t be more proud of them. Tonight was just pure fun.”