UPSET! Oregon State Women Take Down #10 UCLA 77-72

Jan 2, 2023 - 12:01 AM

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After a tough loss against USC, Oregon State bounced back in a huge way with their biggest win of the season. The Beavers took down the 10th ranked UCLA Bruins 77-72 to improve to 9-5 overall, and 1-2 in Pac 12 play, while the Bruins fall to 13-2, and 2-1 in conference.

The Beavers jumped out to a big lead to open the game. Shalexxus Aaron started the day with a three for the Beavs, starting a 10-0 run by Oregon State to open the game. After that, UCLA finally got on the scoreboard with a Lina Sontag layup, but OSU stayed in control for the rest of the first, finishing the quarter up 18-10.

The Beavers continued to set the tone in the second, with Shalexxus Aaron again starting the quarter with a three. UCLA kept pace with the Beavers, with Kiki Rice in particular hitting some clutch shots, but without top scorer Charisma Osbourne on the court they struggled to put a dent in the Beaver lead. At the end of the first half Oregon State held onto an 11 point, 38-27 lead.

In the third quarter the Bruins started to make a game of it. 6 straight points from Kiki Rice and a three pointer from Londynn Jones got the Bruins to within 2 points, before a layup with a +1 from Bendu Yeaney and another layup from Raegan Beers gave the Beavers some wiggle room. The Bruins stayed right on the Beavers heels for the rest of the quarter, with Gina Conti capping things off with a layup to close the third. Headed into the fourth quarter, Oregon State held onto a 4 points, 54-50 lead.

Raegan Beers hit a layup and a pair of free throws to get the Beaver lead back up to 8 at the start of the fourth. UCLA finally found a rhythm though. There three point shooting was especially deadly, with back to back threes from Lisa Sontag, Londynn Jones and a second from Jones giving the Bruins their first lead of the game. A pair of Talia von Oelhoffen free throws gave the Beavers the lead back, but OSU was in for a fight in the final minutes of the game.

Ragen Beers hit a layup to give the Beavers a bit more of a lead, and with time running out the Bruins were forced to foul her to get the ball back. Beers hit both her free throws, and then blocked an Emily Bessoir layup to just about seal the deal for Oregon State. It would then be Talia von Oelhoffen’s turn at the foul line, and she also hit both her shots.

Gina Conti hit a three on the next Bruin possession to put some fear into Oregon State, who were now only up four, but Von Oelhoffen once again hit a pair of free throws. The Bruins’ Gabrile Jaquez then also hit a pair of free throws, which was matched by the Beavers’ Bendu Yeaney. Gina Conti then hit another three to get the Bruins within three, but a final set of free throws from Talia Von Oelhoffen got the Beavers out of danger with 5 seconds on the clock, and a final shot from Gabriela Jaquez went wide to end the game in a Beaver W.

Raegan Beers had another monster game, with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Talia von Oelhoffen and Bendu Yeaney each finished with 15 points, with Yeaney adding 8 assists and 7 rebounds and von Oelhoffen adding 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Shalexxus Aaron also hit double digits in scoring, with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

Up next for Oregon State is a trip to Arizona, to take on the Wildcats on Friday, January 6th and the Sun Devils on Sunday, January 8th.