Corvallis, OR – The No.7 Oregon Ducks took their 6-0 Pac-12 record into Corvallis to face No. 18 Oregon State in front of 6,704 enthusiastic Beaver fans. Oregon was without starting shooting guard Lexi Bando who suffered a foot injury. Katie McWilliams converted a four-point play (3-pointer + foul) from the wing with 11.4 seconds left in overtime help lead Oregon State (14-4, 5-2) to an exciting 85-79 win over Oregon (17-3, 6-1). Sabrina Ionescu had tied the game for Oregon on a three-pointer with 3.5 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to the extra stanza. The win was the 14th straight for the Beaver women over the Ducks.
The game was dominated offensively by four players. the Beavers’ Kat Tudor (34 points) and Marie Gulich (28 points) and the Ducks’ Ionescu (35 points) and Ruthy Hebard (24 points). Tudor made her first six three-point attempts and shot 7-of-10 overall from distance on the way to her career-high. Gulich, who also had 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocks, was effective scoring in the post with a variety of moves. Ionescu was unstoppable as she was able to get free for 12-15 foot jumpers which she either made or was fouled on. She made 11-of-12 free throws and added six assists. The 6-4 Hebard, who was the beneficiary of most of those assists, shot 10-of-16 and added seven rebounds.
Oregon State came out extremely hot hitting all seven of their first quarter three-point attempts in taking a 28-17 lead at the quarter’s end. Tudor knocked three down and Taya Corosdale nailed two. Oregon came back helped by a three-pointer by Ionescu to cut the lead to 28-24 early in the second quarter. Tudor then made two more 3’s early in the second quarter extending the lead to 34-26. Ionescu helped the Ducks close the gap to 42-36 at the half. She played all 20 first half minutes and scored 18 points making all seven of her free throws. Tudor matched her with 18 points for the Beavers, while the 6-5 Gulich, the reigning NetScouts Basketball International Player of the Week, added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, The Ducks’ Hebard scored ten points but sat out the last five minutes after picking up her second foul. Oregon State shot 9-of-11 from deep in the half.
Tudor’s sixth three of the night extended the lead to 49-38. The Ducks then reeled off eight straight points to cut the lead to 49-46 helped by two baskets from 6-5 Mallory McGuire. Two inside baskets from Gulic kept the Beavers in front while a layup from Maite Cazorla cut Oregon State’s lead to 53-50 a the end of the third quarter. The Ducks tied it at 57 on a Hebard lay-in off a feed by Ionescu with 6:10 remaining. After their hot start the Beavers went on a 1-of-10 three-point shooting slump which helped Oregon get back in the game.
The teams then exchanged the lead on five straight possessions with McGuire scoring to give Oregon a 63-62 lead with 4:18 left. Another Tudor three-pointer for the Beavers tied the game at 65. Then Ionescu scored for Oregon and Gulich for the Beavers. The game was tied at 67 with two minutes remaining. Ionescu scored yet again while Tudor was fouled and made both shots to tie the game at 69. A Hebard steal and lay-in gave the Ducks a 71-69 lead with 49.7 seconds remaining. Pivec then hit a corner three and after an Ionescu miss, Katie McWilliams made two free throws to give Oregon State a 74-71 lead with 19.8 seconds left. Hebard was then fouled, made of 1-of-2 free throws to make it 74-72. Tudor then made 1-of-2 free throws to give Oregon State a three-point lead with 11.6 seconds left, giving Oregon a chance to tie it with a three-pointer. Oregon State could have fouled to prevent the tying three but didn’t, allowing Ionescu to nail a three from the wing to send the game to overtime tied at 75.
Oregon State shot 13-of-26 on three-pointers for the game while Oregon without Bando, only attempted nine from deep making four. The teams battled fairly evenly on the boards with Oregon State having a +3 advantage while Oregon had a +3 advantage on the offensive glass. The Ducks only committed five turnovers against 13 for the Beavers. Oregon State moved the ball more efficiently with 22 assists on 28 made baskets. The Ducks had 12 assists on 30 baskets. The teams meet again in Eugene on Saturday afternoon.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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