Oregon State women’s basketball cruises to fourth win on Field Trip Day

Published 3:34 pm Tuesday, November 18, 2025

The Oregon State women’s basketball team extended its undefeated start to a fourth-straight win on Tuesday. Powered by senior guard Tiara Bolden’s third-straight 20-point performance, the Beavers (4-0) collected a 71-52 win over Utah State (2-2) at Gill Coliseum.

A raucous 7,513-person crowd filled the bleachers in Corvallis for the Beavers’ annual Field Trip Game. According to an Oregon State spokesperson, 65 elementary and middle schools from throughout the Willamette Valley attended Tuesday’s matchup.

With five minutes remaining, the Beavers leading 66-49 and Bolden at the free-throw line, the kids brought the house down. All because Bolden scored the 67th point.

“A little bit,” Oregon State guard Jenna Villa answered with a laugh when asked if the Beavers felt pressure to eclipse the youth’s favorite viral number. “It was more pressure for (Bolden), obviously all the kids were wanting it.”

Bolden’s player of the year campaign

Bolden scored Oregon State’s last four points in the final minutes, bringing her total to 23 on Tuesday. It’s the third-consecutive game that the senior guard crossed the 20-point threshold, scoring 23 against Air Force and 25 against Illinois. The West Coast Conference named Bolden its player of the week Monday and; although the Beavers are just four games into the season, her player of the year campaign is off to a blistering start.

“She’s playing like a senior,” Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck said. “I love the way that she’s getting to (her) best stuff. That’s what great players do, you know? We talk about it all the time — basketball at the highest level is actually not very complicated. It’s just finding ways to get to what you do best over and over and over… You go from a shooter to a scorer to a playmaker. And (Bolden) is on the cusp of that playmaker role (for us).”

Bolden shot 64% from the floor en route to her 23 points, including a 3-for-4 performance behind the arc. She added 11 boards, four steals, one assist and a block to her final line, too. She scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half against the Aggies, including 11 in the first quarter. Tuesday’s double-double performance is Bolden’s first as a Beaver and one of two to do so against Utah State.

Center Nene Sow added 11 points and a team-high 15 rebounds against the Aggies. Her 12 first-half rebounds put her on watch for Oregon State’s single-game record of 20, but limited minutes in the second half prevented it. Junior guards Kennedie Shuler (14 points, four rebounds) and Jenna Villa (10 points, four rebounds, four assists) rounded out the Beavers’ double-digit efforts.

Bolden is the first player since Raegan Beers’ 2023-24 season to post three-straight 20-point performances. Destiny Slocum is Oregon State’s last player to do so in four-straight games, achieving the feat during the 2018-19 season.

Good shooting, better defense

Bolden wasn’t the Beavers’ only hot shooter. Oregon State finished the game scoring at a 47.5% clip. It’s the first time since the 2019-20 season the Beavers did so in their first four games. According to Rueck, his team’s defense-first mentality plays just as much a factor on the defensive end of the floor.

“It starts on the other end. We’ve started off this year off in a great way defensively,” Rueck said. “They’ve bought into (our defensive identity) from day one. That was cultural last year and it’s carried over. I’ve been — obviously, you know me — very pleased with that. So, the standard on the defensive end has led to, I think, positive offensive possessions.”

Oregon State held Utah State to a 34% shooting clip. The Aggies marked the fourth of four teams the Beavers held to under 40% shooting from the field to begin this season.

Next up: Oregon State (4-0) vs. Colorado State (4-0)

When: Friday, Nov. 21

Where: Gill Coliseum; Corvallis, Oregon

Time: 6 p.m.

TV: ESPN+