LaVonda Wagner returns for her fifth season as the head coach of the Oregon State women's basketball team and is just a year removed from engineering one of the top turnarounds in the history of the program.



Wagner's club won 20 games in 2008-09, the most since the 1994-95 season. Oregon State improved by eight victories last season, one of the top marks in the nation. And the Beavers made their second Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) appearance in her four seasons as head coach.



Furthering their successes, OSU went 9-9 in Pacific-10 Conference play to finish in a tie for fourth, which is the highest finish for the Beavers since the 1995-96 season. Seniors Brittney Davis and Mercedes Fox-Griffin and sophomore Talisa Rhea were recognized by the league for their fine play during the regular season.



Rhea, for one, began the season off on the right foot by breaking the Pac-10 single-game record for three-pointers with 10 against Sacramento State. She finished with 42 points in that game, one of the top 10 performances in school history.



That began a year that included a season sweep of Oregon, the first for OSU since 1993. The 2008-09 season saw OSU hold Portland State to 24 points in December, a school record and one point off tying the Pac-10 single-game record. The Beavers also won 11 non-conference games last season, the most in Oregon State history.