Ally Schimel reached for the stars: ‘She is an inspiration to all of us’

Freshman guard Ally Schimel has been the biggest surprise contributor for Oregon State women’s basketball this season (courtesy Dominic Cusimano)

Updated 3/3/2025 11:51 PM

CORVALLIS — Late in the first quarter, Ally Schimel enters the game for Oregon State against San Diego in its final home regular-season contest last Saturday at Gill Coliseum.

Within a minute, the 5-10 freshman blocks a shot, hustling all the way on defense.

In the fourth quarter, after the visiting Toreros close their deficit to 49-45, Schimel scores the first five points during a 12-2 run that increases the Beavers’ lead to 14 points on the way to a 64-51 triumph.

Typical stuff from the former Corbett High standout, who seemed destined for a small college career after her time with the Cardinals.

But Schimel reached for the stars and latched on. She walked on at Oregon State, earned a scholarship midway through her freshman season and has been a key weapon off the bench for Scott Rueck’s Beavers.

“I am so proud of Ally for taking on the challenge,” says Rueck, who earned the 600th win of his illustrious coaching career with the victory over San Diego. “Just saying ‘yes’ to the opportunity took a lot of courage on her part and a lot of trust in me.

“From Day One, she has been such a great fit in every way. She is a great person. And watching her overcome the natural self-doubt — can I do this? — has been inspirational. That is how I would define her. She is an inspiration to all of us.”

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Schimel comes from athletic genes. Her father, Bill Schimel, was a member of back-to-back state 2A championship basketball teams at Corbett High. Her mother, Kari Steele Schimel, was an All-State player at Lake Oswego High who went on to a career as a four-year starter at San Jose State.

Going back a generation is Larry Steele, who spent his entire nine-year NBA career with the Trail Blazers. Larry is Kari’s father and Ally’s grandfather.

Ally was a fine all-around athlete at Corbett, lettering in soccer, softball and golf at the 3A school located east of Portland with an enrollment of 235.

“Small schools need you to do everything,” she says. “I even ran the 200 and 400 in a couple of track meets because they needed me.”

But Schimel’s focus was basketball, the sport she had played since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. Every summer she and her three siblings would attend the Larry Steele Basketball Camp in Vernonia. Kari coached their youth teams.

“We were always playing basketball,” Ally says.

Corbett High basketball was a family affair for the Schimels. Bill Schimel is the head coach. Kari Schimel — formerly the girls head coach — moved into a scorekeeper role. Ally is the second of four children and one of three girls. Sidney is at Montana State, Lilly is a senior at Corbett and Cash is a seventh-grader.

When Ally was a sophomore in 2021-22, Sidney was a senior and Lilly a freshman. They played together on the Corbett varsity that season that reached the 3A state finals.

“That was one of my favorite years playing basketball,” Ally says.

“It was also a great moment for me as a grandfather,” Larry says with a chuckle.

Ally was first-team 3A All-State her final two seasons. Corbett made it to the state finals again in 2022-23, losing to Banks in the finals.

As a senior, Ally was 3A Player of the Year and state tournament MVP, scoring a record 42 points with eight 3-pointers in the championship game as the Cardinals won the title by beating Amity 77-51 to conclude a 27-0 season.

Ally received some offers to play college basketball at the Division III and NAIA levels. But then she heard from a surprising source — Rueck.

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The veteran Oregon State coach saw Schimel play only once in high school — the championship game her senior year. He wasn’t at the game in Coos Bay. He was at home, watching the game on-line.

“I was watching Amity because the daughter of one of my former George Fox players was playing for them,” Rueck says. “And I see this kid just going off for Corbett. The announcer compared her to Caitlin Clark because she was bombing in NBA 3’s. She had 26 or 27 points at halftime. I am like, ‘Who the heck is Ally Schimel?’ ”

Rueck searched the web for information about the player.

“Nothing came up,” he says. “I knew she was a senior. I put it in my brain: ‘I wonder where that kid is going to go (to college)?’ ”

Rueck, now in his 15th season as Oregon State’s coach, wasn’t looking for players, much less those coming out of the 3A level. At that point, he was in the midst of a season when the Beavers would go 27-8 and reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. All of his players were underclassmen, eligible to return for the 2024-25 season. “I still had my entire roster, so I didn’t need anybody at the time,” he says.

But with the NIL, the transfer portal and especially the demise of the old Pac-12, the college basketball universe turned upside down. Within weeks, Oregon State’s top seven players departed for other schools.

“Once we had so many players leave, I didn’t forget Ally,” Rueck says. “I was like, ‘I think I need to look into that Corbett kid. I am going to need some players.’ ”

Rueck watched game video of Schimel during her senior season at Corbett.

“But I didn’t need to see more of her to know you can’t teach what she has,” Rueck says. “She had some innate ability that told me it was a wise gamble to take.”

Schimel came to Corvallis for a recruiting visit. Rueck offered a chance to walk on.

“Best-case scenario, you earn a scholarship,” he told her. “Worst-case scenario, we redshirt you and you continue to grow.”

“It was kind of a no-brainer, even though it was a walk-on spot,” Schimel says. “Scott is an amazing coach. I could tell he has a lot of knowledge, that the program and the community of Corvallis is special. And it is not far from home. I knew it was a great opportunity.”

She smiles at how it all happened.

“He sees me only in my final game of high school,” Schimel says. “What are the chances of that?”

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The transition from small-school high school ball to Division I is, well, gigantic.

“Farther 3-point line, quicker decisions and pace of play, high pressure,” Schimel says, summing up some of the differences. “It took awhile to adjust.”

But Schimel made a quick impression on her coach. In Oregon State’s season-opening 65-59 loss at Colorado State, she played 23 minutes off the bench, more than two of the starters. With Rueck’s roster gutted by all the defections, he needed immediate help.

Heading into the final two games of the regular season — Thursday at Saint Mary’s and Saturday at Pepperdine — Schimel has played in all 29 games, starting in two. She has played 548 minutes, an average of almost 19 a game, more than any other reserve.

“I can’t say it surprises me,” Rueck says. “She reminds me in some ways of (former Beaver sharpshooter) Lily Hansford in that she is not overwhelming physically, but her skill and feel for the game are impactful.

“I knew she could knock down 3’s. I didn’t realize how good an athlete she is. I underrated that. She might be the fastest player on the team. She has a burst to her that is special. The level she had played at in high school didn’t demand it; this level does. That has come out of her this season.

“And her defense is so much better than I would have known. She is far ahead of where I would have predicted she would be.”

Early in the season, Schimel met with Rueck.

“Why do you think I am playing you right now?” he asked rhetorically. “It is because I can trust you. You are always in the right place at the right time to help the team be successful.”

Did Schimel expect to play this much as a true freshman?

“I didn’t have any expectations coming in,” she says. “I was just going to work as hard as I could, and whatever happens, happens. But it feels great that Scott has that confidence in me. I am trying to help the team as best I can.”

The biggest transition for Schimel has been at the offensive end. She is averaging only 3.2 points and shooting poorly, with a .320 field-goal percentage and just .257 from 3-point range, though she has made eight of 10 attempts at the foul line.

It is a bit surprising in that the mechanics of her shot are sound — reminiscent of a certain former Trail Blazer guard. Certainly, the defense she is seeing is much better than in high school. And she is taking fewer than four shots a game, with nearly three-quarters of them from 3-point range (74 attempts on 3’s; 29 from inside the arc). Most of the time, she spots up in the left corner at the 3-point line. If she gets the ball, she usually passes it off quickly.

“Ally got off to a rough (shooting) start,” Rueck says. “The college game is played at such a faster pace. That takes awhile for players to adapt. She faced a steep learning curve. I probably put her out there before she was ready, at least offensively.

“But I have confidence that she is going to rise to the occasion. You don’t put 42 up in a title game against anybody unless you have some strong inner confidence. It is in there; it is just a matter of time.”

Schimel has had her moments. In a 66-49 win over Loyola Marymount on Feb. 6, she was 5 for 5 from the field, 3 for 3 on 3s and scored 13 points with three steals in 25 minutes. In last Saturday’s victory over San Diego, she scored eight points on 3-for-3 shooting, including a trey, in 19 minutes.

“She hit two 3’s in our win at Gonzaga,” Rueck says. “I didn’t play her until the 35-minute mark. Five minutes to go and we are behind and she hits a huge 3 in overtime. She made two 3’s against UConn. We are seeing improvement in her playmaking, and she is moving well without the ball. She is figuring it out, and we are figuring her out as well, all at the same time.”

Schimel has committed only 17 turnovers all season, giving her a ratio of one giveaway every 32 minutes. Next-best among the seven rotation players is guard Tiara Bolden at one turnover per 16.5 minutes.

Schimel is by far the team leader in fewest turnovers per minutes played (courtesy Dominic Cusimano)

“Ally has a high level of discernment of when to shoot and when not to,” Rueck says. “She doesn’t make many mistakes on the floor. She is valuable even without scoring much. We have had players similar to her in the past — people who weren’t huge producers, but everything flows well with them on the floor. She is in that category. She is very accurate in execution at both ends.”

Ally learned some lessons from her grandfather on that.

“My viewpoint on the game is pretty simple,” says Larry Steele, who has worked with all four of the Schimel kids. “You have to develop a shooter’s mentality. You have to have the right form. If you are not making shots, you don’t correct it by shooting 3-pointers. You get closer to the basket.

“I will send them the occasional text: ‘Keep shooting.’ But the biggest message is you should never have a bad game. You play the overall game. The thing I am most proud of with all the kids is they understand the game. That is why Ally is getting to play this year. There is no question about that. Whether she makes shots or misses shots doesn’t change how she plays defense or is prepared to play. I have no doubt she is going to get better and better, because she knows the basics and fundamentals of the game.”

As Schimel gets more comfortable in Rueck’s offensive system, she will surely become a greater weapon.

“I just have to build the confidence that I can be somebody we can rely on to make shots consistently and be able to make some plays on offense,” she says. “I think it is going to get better as we keep going. I am starting to realize I can take a dribble and get all the way to the rim for a basket or a dump-off to a teammate.”

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Rueck had a surprise waiting for Schimel during a team holiday party on New Year’s Day. Olivia Murphy, the team’s director of basketball operations, told the players that the staff “came up with a word that we think embodies you guys individually.” Each player was given a card with the word on it.

Schimel’s card contained a little something extra — news that she was being awarded a scholarship.

Ally gasped, then blushed. “Is this for real?” she said, turning around to look at Rueck. It was. Her teammates cheered; her eyes teared.

“It is proven that you are more than enough and well-deserved to be here and on full ride,” Rueck said. “It is an honor to do that for you, but you have made (the decision) easy for us.”

“Olivia and Scott were the only people who knew,” Ally says now. “When I opened my note, I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. It means a lot. It means (Rueck) believes in me. The entire team was super happy for me. That meant a lot, too.”

It was only the second time a walk-on has gotten a scholarship during the Rueck era, and the first time the player was a freshman. Noelle Mannen earned a scholarship in her third year in the program, as a redshirt sophomore out of Beaverton’s Valley Catholic High in 2021-22.

The Beavers (15-14 overall, 11-7 in WCC action) have hopes beyond the regular season. They have won six of the last seven games heading into the final weekend at Saint Mary’s (13-14, 9-9) and Pepperdine (8-19, 3-15). A title in the WCC Tournament would thrust them into the NCAA Tournament. Failing that, there is the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) and Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).

Schimel would like to string out the season as long as possible.

“I want to win every game,” she says. “I especially want to do it for the seniors. It means a ton to AJ (Mayotte), Sela (Heide) and Kelsey (Rees). I want to win so we can keep going.

“This year has been so much fun. I have loved every second of it. We play really well together. Every girl means a lot to me. I love this team so much. I am happy I have gotten to experience it.”

Through it all, her grandfather has looked on with approval.

“I feel very proud of her love and dedication to basketball,” Larry Steele says. “It represents all the work she has done throughout her basketball career since she was a young girl. It is all based on loving the game. To get a scholarship at a university like Oregon State, under a coach and coaching staff that really knows what they’re doing — it is an amazing story line, the fulfillment of a young girl’s dream.”

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