Oregon State Women Shine at FIBA U20 European Championship

Oregon State, which finished the season ranked 25th in the nation, is coming off a record-setting season in 2013-14.

Oregon State sophomore Gabriella Hanson. Photo Courtesy: OSU Athletics

(CORVALLIS, Ore. ) - The FIBA U20 European Championship for Women wrapped up on Sunday and featured some noteworthy performances from Oregon State incoming freshman Marie Gülich and sophomore Gabriella Hanson.

Each country played nine games in 11 days. Gülich and Germany won the Division B Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria after posting an 8-1 record and outscoring its opponents by an average of 18.2 points per game.

Hanson and Sweden went 3-6 at the Division A tournament in Udine, Italy, placing 15th. The U20 squads from each country will swap divisions next year. In FIBA competition, the bottom three teams from Division A are relegated to Division B for the following year’s European Championships and the top three finishers from Division B are promoted to Division A.

Gülich dominated inside at the Euro ‘B’ Championships and led Germany in points and blocks. She averaged 11.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 rejections per outing in 24.0 minutes each game.

She was the best player from the floor in Bulgaria, shooting 60 percent (45-of-75) and was also among the top 10 in those aforementioned critical categories. Gülich finished the event second in blocks, ninth in scoring and ninth in rebounds.

She was one of just eight players with at least two double-doubles. The first came in a 69-66 win over Bulgaria on July 8 when she dropped in 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and the second occurred just three days later against Portugal after she scored 12 and grabbed 11 boards (L, 61-57).

Gülich scored in double figures five times and closed out her European Championships with a 25-point, seven-rebound performance against Romania on Sunday. Her 10 field goals made and 25 points in that contest were both career highs in FIBA competition. This was her fourth such tournament playing for Germany.

Hanson averaged 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30.3 minutes per game for Sweden at the Euro ‘A’ Championships.

She scored 19 points in the opener against Ukraine, her best offensive outing in a FIBA tournament since she totaled 22 in the 2011 FIBA U16 European Championship for Women against Greece. Hanson scored 10 or more four times and ended her 11 days in Italy with a 12-point, nine-rebound effort in Sunday’s 59-50 win over Greece.

A skill she often displayed during her freshman year in Corvallis, Hanson crashed the offensive glass. She finished seventh at the European Championships in offensive rebounds, averaging 2.8 per game, and was the only guard among the tournament’s top 10 in that category.

Gülich and Hanson are two of five Oregon State student-athletes to suit up for a national squad this summer, joining Ruth Hamblin (Canada), Jamie Weisner (Canada) and Ali Gibson (Puerto Rico).

Oregon State, which finished the season ranked 25th in the nation, is coming off a record-setting season in 2013-14. The Beavers went 24-11 overall, 13-5 in the Pac-12, won their first NCAA Tournament game since 1995 and returns 95 percent of their scoring and 96 percent of their rebounds this fall.

Source: Oregon State Athletics

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