Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, left, hugs ahead Cameron Brink after an NCAA faculty basketball sport in opposition to Arizona State in Stanford, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024.Jeff Chiu\/Related Press<\/span>
CORVALLIS \u2013 The tip of a terrific period, at the very least for the foreseeable future, takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday in Gill Coliseum.
No. 11 Oregon State <\/a>performs host to No. 4 Stanford, the final time the 2 longest tenured Pac-12 girls\u2019s basketball coaches are scheduled to play, because of the convention\u2019s demise. Stanford\u2019s Tara VanDerveer<\/a>, college basketball\u2019s winningest coach of all time,<\/a> and Oregon State\u2019s Scott Rueck have battled since 2011 as convention foes.
Thursday\u2019s sport is No. 26 between Rueck\u2019s Beavers and VanDerveer\u2019s Cardinal. VanDerveer is 22-3 in opposition to Rueck, one-sided as is the case with many of the sequence in opposition to the Stanford legend.
Solely 5 coaches have confronted VanDerveer greater than Rueck throughout her 1,479-game faculty profession.
The Beavers have had some memorable moments in opposition to Stanford with Rueck on the bench. OSU\u2019s three wins got here throughout a stretch when the Beavers claimed three consecutive Pac-12 titles (2015-17). The Beavers 72-69 win in 2017 at Maples Pavilion is OSU\u2019s solely highway win over Stanford in 36 tries. Since 2018, Oregon State has misplaced 4 video games by three-point margins to Stanford.
Rueck stated he\u2019s \u201cunhappy\u201d the Stanford-OSU common season sequence is coming to an finish.
\u201cTeaching in opposition to Tara has been one of many joys of my profession,\u201d Rueck stated. \u201cI don\u2019t need that to finish. You possibly can study your self, get higher and you’ve got a chance to win a sport. I relish that chance and love the problem that it supplies.\u201d
Rueck, who calls VanDerveer \u201ca buddy,\u201d stated what units her aside from the pack is her consideration to particulars.
\u201cPreparation, that’s what makes them who they’re,\u201d he stated. \u201cThey’re as ready as anybody. You realize you\u2019re going to get an important sport plan in opposition to you. A group that’s so disciplined that it’s excessive degree competitors.\u201d
Rueck sees a bit of of himself in VanDerveer with regards to particulars, whereas admitting he\u2019s not at her degree.
\u201cI really feel like there\u2019s a cool respect there,\u201d he stated. \u201cOver time, we\u2019ve had some actually good video games in opposition to one another, the place we\u2019re forcing them into their weak point, they usually\u2019re forcing us into our weak point.
\u201cThere\u2019s a psychological facet to it, the place we\u2019re contained in the brains of one another\u2019s performs. It\u2019s on the degree the place we\u2019re combating for share factors. That’s the reason they’ve gained so constantly.\u201d
Throughout his 14-year tenure at Oregon State, Rueck has been concerned in a number of epic sequence. The Oregon-OSU sequence ramped up dramatically since Kelly Graves took over as Geese\u2019 coach in 2014. Till she retired in 2022, Arizona State\u2019s Charli Turner-Thorne and Rueck had many spirited battles. Most of the 25 video games between Rueck and VanDerveer had an impression on the Pac-12\u2032s annual pecking order.
Rueck has loved all of them, however the sequence that continues to be a private favourite was a four-year rivalry in opposition to Puget Sound and coach Suzy Barcomb whereas he was girls\u2019s basketball coach at George Fox.
Over 4 seasons from 2006-10, George Fox and Puget Sound performs 15 occasions, together with 4 occasions for Northwest Convention championships and three within the NCAA event. Through the 2006-07 season, George Fox beat Puget Sound twice in the course of the common season and for the NWC championship, solely to lose to the Loggers within the NCAA D-III event. The next 12 months, Puget Sound gained the NWC title, solely to lose to the Bruins within the NCAAs.
\u201cTo today, it\u2019s the best rivalry I\u2019ve been part of,\u201d Rueck stated. \u201cIt was so emotional as a result of you already know one another inside and outside. It was at all times elegant, and utterly respectful. But it surely was such a battle.\u201d
—Nick Daschel<\/a> covers Oregon State soccer, basketball and different Beaver-related athletics subjects. Attain him at 360-607-4824, ndaschel@oregonian.com<\/a> or @nickdaschel<\/a>.
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