Ally Schimel wasn’t supposed to make a career-high five 3-point baskets or score a lifetime-best 21 points for Oregon State in its 73-67 victory over top-seeded LMU in the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship on Monday.
She didn’t even figure to someday be playing for the Beavers while in high school at tiny Corbett, Oregon, perched above the Columbia River.
“It feels super surreal,” the sophomore guard said. “A couple years ago I never thought I’d be in this spot at all.”
Just the day before, Schimel shot 0-for-8 from the field in the Beavers’ quarterfinal win over Portland, apparently still bothered by a jammed finger that has given her trouble in recent weeks. Over the previous six games, she converted just 2 of 20 shots.
Now she leads the fourth-seeded and defending champion Beavers (23-10) into Tuesday’s championship game against No. 2 seed Gonzaga (23-9), with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line. Tipoff is 1 p.m. at Orleans Arena and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
Schimel said having her finger feel normal was a relief. “Not that I ever thought it affected it in any crazy way at all,” she said. “It just felt good to be able to hit shots in my team when we needed it.
“Of course, this feels really good. But it’s also my teammates who never lost confidence in me. They trust in me as a shooter, as a whole player.”
OSU head coach Scott Rueck would like to tell you landing Schimel was one of his greatest recruiting achievements. But that’s not how this story unfolded.
It was late in the 2023-24 season and the Beavers were headed to the NCAA Tournament with a roster of 13 players, none of them seniors. He was home watching the Oregon 3A girls state championship game when one player caught his attention.
“I tune in late first quarter and there’s this player going crazy, hitting 3s off the bounce in transition. . . from NBA range,” Rueck recalled. “The announcer says, `It looks like Caitlyn Clark out there.’ And I’m like, it kind of does. She ends up winning the state title with 42 points.”
Then the Pac-12 dissolved through conference realignment and eight of Rueck’s players bolted for new schools. As a result, he took a deeper look into Schimel as a prospect. He discovered her grandfather is Portland Trail Blazers legend Larry Steele and her mother actually played high school ball against Rueck’s wife, Kerry.
On scholarship since midway through her freshman season last year, Schimel was taking in the whole experience on Monday. “A few times I actually heard my dad yelling after my 3s,” she said. “So, I just love that they’re here because I know it means just as much to them as it does for me.”
Schimel has been more of a defensive specialist than a big scorer for the Beavers. She was averaging just 5.6 points entering the LMU game. But on the big stage she forgot all about her finger and delivered her biggest game since that night she won high school state championship “She’s a dream,” Rueck said.
LMU EARNS RESPECT IN DEFEAT: Oregon State had lost both previous matchups vs. LMU (21-9), including a 71-69 overtime loss at Corvallis in the regular-season finale. So Rueck was grateful to finally get the Lions’ number.
“LMU is a nemesis for us. That group has something about them that’s special that I respect. Hard to play against. It’s an awesome challenge for us,” he said.
The Lions had won nine in a row and still figure to land a postseason bid, likely in the WBIT. But they hadn’t lost since January and missing out on their chance to compete for the school’s first NCAA bid since 2004 was a tough swallow.
“Understanding how to handle this moment is hard,” LMU head coach Aarika Hughes said. “Today there were lulls. It’s a lot of pressure. We hadn’t been there before. It’s still jelling, it’s still growing. I’m looking to whatever our postseason entails. But I am through the roof, so proud of our players.”
No one on the floor was better than LMU guard Jess Lawson, the graduate transfer from Central Michigan. At 5-foot-7, she had 15 points and 21 rebounds against OSU in their most recent game, and she had 25 points, 10 rebounds and four steals in this one.
“Lawson is amazing,” Rueck said. “I told her afterward she has my complete respect for the way she plays this game, how hard she plays, how much she cares, how skilled she is. I’ve really loved — and hated — coaching against her. But I love watching her.”
Said teammate Maya Hernandez, “She’s such a big dog, regardless of her size. She truly plays with a lot of heart. She’s just done amazing things for this program. I’m so proud of her and I love her very much.”
PROUD OF HIS PROTEGES: No one in the crowd at Orleans Arena on Monday was more proud of LMU head coach Aarika Hughes than 70-year-old Mark Trakh, who coached her as a player at USC and later helped spawn her coaching career.
Trakh spent 26 seasons as a head coach at Pepperdine, USC and New Mexico State, winning 458 games and earning eight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
During practice at USC one day he told Hughes she would be a coach one day.
“She said, `Why is that?’ I said because you communicate really well and present yourself really well,” Trakh recalled. “I’m just really proud of her, seeing how much she’s grown as both a coach and a person. I’m not surprised. She was a young head coach and I knew it would take time. But now it’s paying off.”
Hughes went on to coach under Trakh at both New Mexico State and USC. This season she directed the Lions to their first regular-season West Coast Conference championship since 2004, earning West Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors.
“I think she’s done an amazing job,” Trakh said. “Young coach, she’s figured it out in her fifth year. She’s done a great job on the floor as far as the Xs and Os. And she’s done a great job off the court with her kids. She’s a players’ coach who really cares about her team.
“She’s really, really respected in that LMU community. So when you look at her you really get the total package of being a coach on the floor and being an ambassador off the floor.”
San Diego first-year coach Blanche Alverson also worked for Trakh as an assistant at New Mexico State and USC, as did UC Irvine head coach Tamara Inoue, whose team won the Big West regular-season crown.
“It’s a thrill watching them thrive like that,” Trakh said of his three ex-pupils
ZAGS BREEZE INTO TITLE GAME: No. 2 seed Gonzaga (23-9) and third-seeded Santa Clara (24-9) played almost evenly in the first, third and fourth quarters. But the second period tilted the game in the Zags’ direction permanently.
Leading 17-15 after 10 minutes, Gonzaga outscored the Broncos 29-11 in the second quarter for a 20-point halftime lead. The Zags shot 70.6 percent (12 for 17) in the quarter, getting points from eight players, including 13 from their reserves.
West Coast Conference Player of the Year Lauren Whittaker had 16 points and nine rebounds but she got plenty of help. Guard Allie Turner shot 4-for-5 from the 3-point arc and scored 17, three other Zags scored in double figures and the bench contributed 33 points.
“From the start of the season the goal for us was to play Gonzaga basketball. That means playing together where it’s not just one person,” Whittaker said. “I said to the girls last night if we’re going to win this thing we’ve got to win it together. I’m just really happy that everyone got to showcase their skill. Obviously, good things happen when we work together.”
By game’s end, the Zags had forged a 50-32 rebounding edge and wound up shooting nearly 56 percent from the field, including 9-for-14 on 3’s.
Head coach Lisa Fortier, whose program is aiming for its fifth NCAA bid in six seasons, said it took time for a young roster to mature. “ I think we’ve been able to pass on the cultural pieces,” she said. “We share the ball. We’re always better when we’re sharing the ball and playing together.”
BRONCOS FEEL FATIGUE: Asked how Gonzaga was able to seize control in the second quarter, first-year Broncos head coach Loree Payne said the Broncos ran out of gas a bit.
“They made a lot of their shots and we didn’t,” she said, alluding to Santa Clara shooting 3-for-15 in the period. “I think our team was battling, they were trying as hard as they could. That depth piece comes into play. At some point you kind of hit that wall of the second day. It’s tough to hit a wall when you’re playing against a team this good.”
Payne said she is hopeful the Broncos earn a postseason bid, possibly to the WBIT. Her players endorsed that request. “We’ve earned it,” junior forward Ava Schmidt said. “We showed everybody this year we can play, we can hang. I can’t wait to continue that and put on one last show for our seniors.”
Schmidt also suggested what fans saw this year is just the beginning. “This is a winning program and it’s going to continue to be a winning program,” she said. “Just super-proud to be able to come in fresh and make that impact.”