Crafting a winner: Time apart plays key role in keeping the No. 11 OSU women together

The No. 11 OSU women are closer than ever -- and part of that begins with an understanding of personal time.

CORVALLIS — The Oregon State women might be playing the best ball in the country.

The Beavers have won five consecutive games, now with four straight over top-25 teams thanks to another convincing win over No. 4 Colorado on Sunday in Boulder.

The Beavers dominate with stellar guard play. The Beavers are bruising in the paint. And the Beavers have thrived with cohesion — those around the team will tell you there’s something special about the chemistry. 

The funny thing is, a day after flying back from Denver following the program’s first top-five win on the road — ever — there’s a good chance the group spends little time seeing each other today. See, Monday is the day off for the Beavers. The gym is open and optional, but this is the day where players are allowed to play catch up, pursue other interests and attempt to live a little bit of a life outside of basketball. 

“We’re a super tight team — tighter than most teams,” sophomore center Raegan Beers said. “But no matter how close you are, we all need that time away. We have our time together and we have our time away, it’s so healthy.”

Beers told me this from the basement of Oregon State’s student experience center, a building in the heart of campus which opened in 2015 and houses OSU’s ceramics room. It was the day after Oregon State beat Oregon on the road in early February, a game that saw Beers score 16 points, haul in 14 rebounds and largely toss around her out-played opposition. Beers is proud of the physical style of basketball she plays — bruises and scratches paint her arms like medals from battle — and her strength definitely came in handy as she worked out a large hunk of clay on a spinning wheel.