The first time WSU women’s basketball faced No. 16 Oregon State University this season, the Beavers came out on top.

The Cougars led at halftime that game, but were outscored by 20 points in the final two quarters. Senior guard Caila Hailey said she has reason to believe that it will not happen again.

“When we played against them, the game was close the whole time,” Hailey said. “I think we had a small run in the second quarter and they didn’t seem rattled at all. They seemed poised. I think that’s one thing we’ve gotten better at is being poised.”

OSU (17-6, 8-4) senior center Marie Gulich, who is seventh in scoring and third in rebounding in the Pac-12, had a double-double in the game with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

WSU (10-14, 3-9) has faced some of the best post-players the conference has to offer including Monique Billings, a senior forward on the University of California, Los Angeles. Hailey said there were adjustments the Cougars made in those games that will help them face Gulich.

“We got [Billings] in foul trouble early so I think that will be the biggest key with [Gulich],” Hailey said. “Just making sure that we’re boxing her out and making sure that she’s taking tough shots and not getting the easy looks that she’s used to getting.”

OSU sophomore guard Mikayla Pivec also had a double-double for the Beavers in the first matchup. She also picked up four assists — something she is known for, averaging five assists per game. That number is good enough to be tied for seventh in the conference.

WSU has history with the guard, as she was recruited by the Cougars before ultimately choosing OSU as her school. Senior guard Pinelopi Pavlopoulou recalled Pivec’s visit to WSU and how Pivec was always able to find an open teammate in a scrimmage.

“That’s what’s very special about her,” Pavlopoulou said. “She was actually doing bad, but every time we stopped her, she found an open player. This is something that she has developed over her college career. She sees the floor a lot better, and she gets more people open.”

The Beavers have the third-best offense in the conference, scoring just over 75 points per game. Most notably, their offense has been fueled by the three-point shot.

OSU is shooting 41.5 percent from behind the three-point line, making them first in the Pac-12. They have made 204 three-pointers this year, second in the Pac-12.

Pavlopoulou said the Beavers know when to shoot the ball, and when to hold it.

“They just know how to find the right shot at the right time,” Pavlopoulou said. “They are very efficient and effective with what they do.”

On defending the three-point shot, Pavlopoulou said the team is aware that they are among the bottom of the Pac-12 in defending the three and that it all comes down to defensive rebounding.

WSU is currently ninth in the Pac-12 in three-point field goal defense.

“When the ball gets down the court and we play them from the half court, we’re pretty good,” Pavlopoulou said, “but we need to make sure to eliminate their offensive boards.”

Hailey reiterated the Cougars’ need to make sure they rebound, something the team has been working on all season long.

“I think that allowing teams to get second-chance shots will hurt us against a team like this because they are big,” Hailey said. “I think if we rebound and limit them to one shot that will help us out a lot. Our coach came up with this a couple days ago, ‘gang rebounding,’ making sure that all five are going to the glass and make sure that we’re all helping each other out.”

To keep balanced defensively with “gang rebounding” the Cougars are making sure to pay attention to their individual assignments. If the player they are guarding is not crashing to grab the offensive rebound, then the Cougar player will attack the rim to grab the defensive rebound. This way, their player stays guarded, Hailey said.

However, Hailey said none of this will matter if the Cougars can’t play a full 40 minutes of basketball, and the mentality should reflect that.

“I think we need to be mentally tough, because the story of our season is that we can’t play a complete four quarters, and I think that’s all mental toughness,” Hailey said. “Mental toughness is when things aren’t going your way, you’re still sticking to the plan and staying poised like other teams.”

The Cougars will take on the Beavers at 7 p.m. Friday at Beasley Coliseum. The game can be also be seen live on Pac-12 Networks.