Eugene, OR – The No. 14-Ranked Oregon Ducks squared off against their state rival the Oregon State Beavers on senior day at Matthew Knight Arena Sunday afternoon. The Beavers took control early in the second half with a barrage of 3-pointers and had six players scoring in double figures for the game. It was Aleah Goodman’s brilliant 20-point performance that ultimately led the Beavers to an 88-77 victory to end the Pac-12 regular season and split the season series. Oregon State is riding a 3-game winning streak and peaking at the right time for March Madness.
In the first quarter, the Beavers took an early 11-6 lead at the 4:46 mark with Goodman leading the charge. She was heavily involved in pick and roll situations with fellow teammate Taylor Jones. Goodman, a senior and point guard for Oregon State, connected on her first two attempts from the field and was able to spot open teammates off the bounce with her precision passing for spot-up jumpers. She had six points in the opening quarter, two rebounds, two assists, and a block. Goodman, who was honored as the National and Pac-12 Player of the Week, made 8-of-13 from the field to score 20 points as well as four assists and three rebounds.
Oregon would rebound quickly with a 10-0 run of their own to give the Ducks a 19-15 lead. Sedona Prince displayed her array of moves and her ability to score both inside and out. Towards the end of the first quarter, she ended the run with a jump hook in the paint. Oregon soon led 21-18 with Prince scoring 10 points and collecting two rebounds. She would continue her dominance on the court throughout the duration of the opening half as she went 8-for-11 to tally 18 first-half points. Without Prince’s shooting numbers, the remaining Ducks combined to shoot 28 percent as a team, only making 7-of-25 attempts. The 6-7 redshirt sophomore went 9-for-15 in all, scoring 24 points and adding five rebounds.
To start the second quarter, the Beavers stepped up their defense and capitalized on the offensive end with a 6-0 run. They held the Ducks scoreless for the first 3.5 minutes until Prince returned to the game and connected on an 18-footer to cut the deficit to one at the 6:29 mark of the period. Oregon State extended their lead to 36-31 on a 3-pointer by Sasha Goforth who scored nine points in the quarter. Only a freshman, she demonstrated a great deal of confidence on the court, especially when it comes to shooting. She had a total of 17 points, connecting on two 3s and shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Oregon State went into the locker room with 38-35 lead.
The third quarter was controlled by the Beavers who outscored the Ducks 23-15. Oregon State’s Ellie Mack (14 points) scored six straight points while Goodman, once again, made a string of plays including a step-back 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to give the Beavers a 13-point lead with 1:27 remaining in the quarter. The Ducks shooting woes continued as they went 4-for-17 as a team. Oregon seemed to struggle to find their offensive flow in the absence of freshman point guard Te-Hina Paopao, who was out with a foot injury.
Down the stretch, Oregon State caught fire from the perimeter to further extend their lead. Taya Corosdale started out by hitting a 3-pointer from the corner. She finished 4-for-5 from the perimeter and scored 14 points. Talia Von Oelhoffen followed suit by spotting up for a 3-pointer to push the game out of reach for the Ducks at 74-57. She added six rebounds and three assists. Multiple Beavers got in on 3-point shooting, leading Oregon State to connect on 5-for-6 from beyond the arc in the quarter. As a team, they shot 55 percent (11-of-20 3FG) on 3s in contrast to the Ducks’ 50 percent shooting (6-for-12 3FG). In the fourth quarter, Taylor Mikesell tried rallying the Ducks and cut the lead to eight, but the team could not overcome the large deficit. The junior was given added responsibility as the primary ballhandler and was able to dribble off screens to pull-up from both the mid-range and perimeter. She tallied 16 points (7-for-16 FG), three assists and two rebounds.
In her last regular season game as a Duck, senior Erin Boley moved up to a fourth place tie in school career 3-point makes with 211. She was steady in shooting the ball for Oregon, scoring 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting. The Ducks had their chances to overcome their own inconsistent shooting as they did outrebound the Beavers 16-6 on the offensive glass and generated 18 more field goal attempts. However, Oregon State’s persistence in getting to the free-throw line (23-of-24 Fts) and their 3-point shooting contributed to their success.
Oregon (13-7, 10-7) and Oregon State (9-6, 7-6) will now get ready for the Pac-12 conference tournament in Las Vegas which starts on Wednesday. The Beavers earned the 5th seed and will challenge California (1-15, 1-12) in the opening round. A Beaver win would make for a rematch in the quarterfinals between state rivals as the Ducks are seeded 4th and start with a bye. Oregon won the conference tournament last year defeating the Stanford Cardinal 89-56 and will look to retain their conference title.
This article was written by Chad Mart, a scout and correspondent for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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