OSU’s Talia von Oelhoffen to face off against Eastern Washington friend Jacinta Buckley
Packed shoulder to shoulder in the front row of seats facing TV screens at Reser Stadium’s Toyota Club, Oregon State guard Talia von Oelhoffen and teammates patiently awaited their postseason fate during the opening moments of the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.
When Oregon State’s name was called as the No. 3 seed, the crowd behind von Oelhoffen and the Oregon State women’s basketball team stood up first in a frenzy – with fans and the band pumping their fists at the Beavers’ return to the NCAA Tournament. The players stood up next and clapped lightly, their necks still craned up to see who they would play in the first round.
When Eastern Washington was announced as the Beavers’ first opponent as the No. 14 seed, von Oelhoffen just smiled. When the applause died down, she picked up her phone and immediately FaceTime called a friend.
That friend? Eastern Washington guard Jacinta Buckley – who only moments before was also seen on ESPN’s broadcast celebrating with her team.
The two will face off at 5 p.m. Friday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis to open the NCAA Tournament.
Buckley and von Oelhoffen go way back, when the pair were AAU teammates growing up in Eastern Washington. The senior guard for the Eagles started her career at UNLV before transferring to Eastern after two seasons.
She’s started 65 of her 77 total games in Cheney, Washington, and is averaging 12.9 points per game for the Eagles this season.
“It’s super exciting,” von Oelhoffen said of the opportunity to play against one of her best friends. “It’s kind of bittersweet that we have to go up against each other but I’m excited to see them as friends and compete against them.”
It's not the first time the pair have played against each other, with the last being a November date back in 2022, a 73-66 Oregon State win. Buckley scored 13 points and hauled in 11 rebounds while von Oelhoffen scored 32 points and crashed the glass for 10 rebounds.
Along with Buckley, von Oelhoffen is also familiar with EWU’s Jamie Loera, who grew up about an hour north of von Oelhoffen’s hometown in Tri-Cities, Washington. When von Oelhoffen put together her skills camp back home at Chiawana High School – aimed at raising funds for relief efforts after the island of Maui suffered massive wildfire damage – Loera stepped in to help.
“Both are amazing people and amazing players and good friends of mine,” von Oelhoffen said. “I’m excited to have them in Corvallis.”
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: March Madness: Close ties on Oregon State, Eastern Washington teams
