South Salem's Katie McWilliams fills many roles for OSU women's basketball team

CORVALLIS – To set the record straight, Oregon State’s Katie McWilliams is a capable scorer.

The 6-foot-2 junior guard from South Salem High School made seven 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 29 points in the 2016-17 season opener against Lamar.

But it’s in her DNA to be a facilitator, and that is why in evaluating McWilliams’ contributions to OSU it would be a mistake to judge her on scoring alone.

“That’s just kind of the player I’ve always been. It’s just kind of my comfort zone,” McWilliams said Thursday. “Obviously I wanna get out of that comfort zone at some point, but I think I’m doing a lot of things to help the team with what I’m doing now.”

Perhaps the statistic that defines McWilliams best this season is she leads No. 19-ranked OSU (13-4, 4-2 Pac-12) in minutes played heading into Friday’s game against No. 6 Oregon (17-2, 6-0) in Corvallis.

“She’s not the most aggressive in personality,” OSU coach Scott Rueck said. “However, she’s a winner and she’s willing to do whatever it takes for her team to win.”

And if that means deferring to teammates like senior center Marie Gulich (16.5 points per game) or sophomore guards Mikayla Pivec (12.2 ppg) and Kat Tudor (12.1 ppg) when it comes to scoring, so be it.

McWilliams is averaging career-highs in scoring (5.9 points per game), rebounding (4.5) and assists (4.0), and her assist-to-turnover ratio is fifth best in the Pac-12 and ranks 24th nationally. Her length and court awareness are key attributes that have made her an asset on the defensive end.

Add McWilliams' versatility – she can play point guard, shooting guard, and small forward – and we’re talking about a valuable player on a team that has won three consecutive Pac-12 championships.

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“She affects the game in so many ways even if you don’t see it on the scoreboard points-wise,” Pivec said.

It’s no coincidence that McWilliams played on successful teams in high school and college.

McWilliams averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists as a senior at South Salem, helping the Saxons win the OSAA Class 6A state championship. She was named the Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year.

"I think she shot 10 times a game and was player of the year," said dad Nick McWilliams, her coach at South Salem who is currently an assistant boys basketball coach at Silverton High. "She's an all-around player."

In her two seasons at OSU, the Beavers have advanced to the Final Four and Sweet 16. A fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament is within reach.

In this weekend’s Civil War games – OSU and Oregon meet for a second time Sunday in Eugene – McWilliams will likely spend at least part of the games guarding all-Pac-12 sophomore guard Sabrina Ionescu, who set an NCAA record this season with eight career triple-doubles.

OSU has prevailed in 13 consecutive Civil War matchups, but Oregon is the team to beat this season in the Pac-12.

The Beavers are a young squad with only two players – co-captains McWilliams and Gulich – who played significant minutes on the 2016 Final Four team.

There have been growing pains, including back-to-back losses at UCLA and USC the second weekend of Pac-12 play, OSU’s first two-game losing streak since the 2013-14 campaign. But they came back last weekend with home victories over Arizona State and Arizona.

“This team is definitely different than the last two years, but I feel like we’re a lot closer just as far as friendships go,” McWilliams said. “It’s made it really easy to come together as a group on the court, and especially during the hard times when we’re not playing to the potential that we want to be playing.”

Rueck said McWilliams’ game has improved in every aspect this season, and her consistency is important because “you know exactly what you’re gonna get every minute.”

The moment is never too big for McWilliams. She has appeared in eight NCAA Tournament games, and made all three of her 3-point attempts in the Final Four game against perennial power UConn.

“She’s been in the battles, like from freshman year on,” Gulich said. “Just having her on the floor, being poised and calm, helps us out.”

McWilliams stepped into the point guard role when all-Pac-12 guard Sydney Wiese was sidelined for eight games with a broken hand during the Final Four season, and she played with considerable poise for a freshman.

On a team with one senior on the roster, McWilliams is providing steady leadership.

“She has definitely taken me under her wing and shown me the ropes,” said Aleah Goodman, a freshman guard from Milwaukie. “During games there will be down time and she’ll come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, you’re doing great, keep it up.’

“She’s just one of those players who kind of does it all.”

McWilliams plans to step away from the court this summer and travel to Guatemala in August as part of Beavers Without Borders. Initiated in 2011, the program offers global experiences for student-athletes at OSU to assist in large-scale service projects.

“I’m excited to meet some new student-athletes as well as make an impact in another community,” McWilliams said.

McWilliams is a kinesiology major and has plans to pursue a career as a massage therapist when her playing days are over. But she still has the rest of this season and her senior year, and would consider playing professional basketball overseas if it’s the right fit.

For now, the focus is on pursuing another Pac-12 championship.

“We haven’t reached our potential yet,” McWilliams said. “We’re grinding every single day to get better.”

ghorowitz@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/ghorowitz

Civil War women's basketball

When: 8 p.m. Friday at Gill Coliseum, Corvallis; 5 p.m. Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene.

Records: No. 19 OSU (13-4, 4-2 Pac-12); No. 6 Oregon (17-2, 6-0).

TV: Both games on Pac-12 Networks