They'll raise two banners Sunday morning at Gill Coliseum. One to celebrate last season's NCAA tournament Sweet 16 berth, Oregon State's second straight, and one for its Pac-12 championship, OSU's third consecutive.
Then the Beavers will take the floor for a difficult matchup that could help reveal whether their current team can match those lofty standards.
No. 18 OSU (2-0) hosts sixth-ranked Notre Dame (2-0) at 11 a.m. Sunday in a marquee matchup that begins a tough week for the program, with a road matchup against 11th-ranked Duke looming next Saturday, as well.
The Irish, led by Wooden Award candidate Arik Ogunbowale, have already won on the road against a formidable opponent once this season thanks to a 13-point win against Western Kentucky, which received votes in last week's AP poll, on Tuesday.
"The preseason is what it is -- to test yourself," said coach Scott Rueck, whose program is 48-5 at home since the beginning of the 2014-15 season. "You want some tests that are formidable, games that you certainly could be beaten, to find out what you're made of and where you need to go for the Pac-12 schedule. That's really ultimately what's going to determine what kind of season we're going to have."
Notre Dame has served as OSU's litmus test before. In 2013, the second-ranked Irish had to hold on late in a game that helped legitimize OSU's rebuild under Rueck. Two seasons later in South Bend, ninth-ranked OSU lost by one to the third-ranked Irish despite playing without injured standout Sydney Wiese.
Wiese won't be playing Sunday, either, after her graduation. But in Oregon State's opening two victories this season, sophomore Mikayla Pivec has shown she's more than a capable replacement at point guard despite having not played the position since seventh grade, averaging 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists against 3.0 turnovers.
"She's getting more comfortable and she's made a lot of progress the way she sees the floor," said senior forward Marie Gulich, whose 17.5 points per game are a team high, and whose 5.5 blocks per game are second-most in the country. Gulich's optimism extends beyond Pivec, saying that a team that entered the season with multiple question marks has provided early answers.
Oregon State's Marie Gulich
"The holes are filling really quickly, quicker than I thought," she said. "People are taking on roles and embracing them. We're making a lot of progress and i think you can see it on the court, as well."
Pivec's eight assists in Wednesday's 98-41 win against Utah Valley were part of OSU's school-record 35 assists, on 37 field goals, as the Beavers whipped the ball around Utah Valley's zone defense and made 17 of their 28 three-point attempts.
"The second game definitely gives us a little confidence in our outside shooting and what we're capable of offensively," said Pivec, who called Notre Dame a "huge opportunity."
"The first game was getting the rust off. Our intensity wasn't there at times against North Dakota and we had to fix that."
Oregon State also limited Utah Valley to single-digit points in the game's final three quarters, but the Irish are a whole different beast offensively, averaging 99.5 points per game and shooting 52.1 percent from the field. Those numbers have been helped by second-chance opportunities; the Irish rank fifth nationally with an average of 22 offensive rebounds per game.
A third of those boards have been grabbed by Jessica Shepard, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Nebraska and former Big Ten Freshman of the Year whose waiver to play immediately this season was granted in late October by the NCAA.
"Our box-outs will be essential to keep us in the game," Gulich said.
Meanwhile Ogunbowale, a 5-8 junior guard, is averaging 21 points per game.
"She loves to get to the rim and is just so explosive in transition," Rueck said. "She attacks in the quarter court and has the ability to shoot over the top. keeping her away from the basket is easier said than done. We're going to see amazing players throughout the year and this is one on a team that has several. This is a great test for our defense."
And for the Beavers, as a whole.
"It will show where we're at," Gulich said. "I'm super excited for that. I think we'll be good. We can keep up."
-- Andrew Greif
agreif@oregonian.com