Donovyn Hunter came off the bench in her first game at Oregon State.

She scored 14 points and had six assists with no turnovers as the Beavers rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The 6-foot freshman guard from South Medford High has been in the starting lineup ever since, and the Beavers are 7-0 entering Friday’s home game against Santa Clara (9-2).

Hunter didn’t know if she would play such a big role so early in her career.

“A lot of people will ask, from your outside circle and your friends, are you gonna start? Are you gonna play? And you’re just like, ‘I don’t know.’ I’m just here to enjoy the moment and whatever happens, happens,” Hunter said. “I came in with an open mind, so seeing the trust that they have in me to even play me as much as they do is just really cool for me.”

Hunter is averaging 6.4 points and 3.6 assists per game. The best part of her offensive game might be what she doesn’t do, which is turn the ball over. Hunter has committed just four turnovers this season and has a 6.25-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which now ranks No. 2 at the NCAA Division I level after leading the nation the past two weeks. This would be stellar for a senior, much less a freshman who has played seven collegiate games.

But Hunter knows that right now, offense is icing on the cake. Head coach Scott Rueck has Hunter in the lineup because of her defense and she fully understands that.

“I always grew up focusing more on defense. My mindset is, if I come out hard on the defensive end and get a stop, or allow them to turn it over, that gives me confidence in a game,” Hunter said.

Hunter has great lateral quickness and is able to defend opposing point guards. Over the past couple of years there have been times when Rueck has used a zone defense, not for defending in the key, but in order to better defend the 3-point line. Hunter’s presence makes it less likely that will be necessary.

She is skilled at defending ball screens on the perimeter. There were times during Saturday’s win over Jackson State when the Tigers tried to create offense by setting a pick on Hunter on the perimeter. But she is adept at fighting over the top and staying with the ball handler.

Hunter also has the quickness to go under screens and be in the right position to cut off a potential drive.

Hunter says Rueck goes over those details in the scouting report before each game.

“He does a really good job with telling me when to go over a screen, when to go under it. How to hedge and then quickly get over. He’s just very smart and a very good coach, so he’s helped me tremendously,” Hunter said.

As good as she is defending those high screens, Hunter knows there is still room for improvement.

“In game time, it looks like I do a good job getting around screens, but in practice, I wouldn’t say I struggle, but I have to put a lot more emphasis on working on that. You have Raegan Beers screening you in practice, so it’s a lot harder,” Hunter said.

Hunter is joined in the starting backcourt by junior guard Talia von Oelhoffen. Hunter fills the point guard spot and frees von Oelhoffen to take on a more creative role.

“T’s been in the point guard spot for the past couple of years. I would say this year, she’s transitioned to a wing spot knowing there were other point guards coming in,” Hunter said. “Not everyone sees her in practice, but that girl can find anybody at any point and is very good at seeing the court.”

Von Oelhoffen said passing is her favorite part of the game and she enjoys getting everyone involved.

“Dono does a great job running the one. I kind of just approach every game, whatever I need to do, and that’s different night to night,” von Oelhoffen said.

Having Hunter and von Oelhoffen on the floor together gives the team more flexibility, especially in running the fast break. Oregon State is trying to get more easy baskets in transition this year and scored a season-high 19 fast-break points in the win over Maryland-Baltimore County.

“We kind of just tell each other, if you get the rebound you go, if I get the rebound, I’ll go. It really helps … and the rest of the team knows we’ll both find people on the offensive end,” Hunter said.

Hunter was a top-100 recruit coming out of high school and had many different options, but choosing Oregon State was a “no-brainer” she said. Her family was always a top priority and the pandemic made her even more certain she wanted to stay close to home.

Her parents have attended every home game, her grandparents have been able to see her play, and on Saturday a group of her high school teammates came up together to watch the game.

The preseason trip to Italy helped her get to know her new teammates and she said the coaching staff is really good at checking in with players. In particular, she credits assistant coach Aleah Goodman with helping her make the transition to college basketball.

“Especially with Aleah being a coach, just speaking in my position, she’s able to just be in my ear all day, every day. It’s reassuring because she did so good at her job when she was here playing. So knowing that if I’m just listening to her advice, it’ll work because it worked for her,” Hunter said.