No. 9 Oregon State women beat W. Kentucky 74-60

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Destiny Slocum and Mikayla Pivec scored 18 points apiece, Katie McWilliams added 17 and No. 9 Oregon State beat Western Kentucky 74-60 on Thursday night in the opening game of the Vancouver Showcase for both teams.

Oregon State will play No. 13 South Carolina in the semifinals Friday.

After being tested early in this one, the Beavers (5-0) took control and refused to relinquish it.

The lead changed hands several times in the first quarter, which ended in a 19-all tie. Oregon State shot 8 of 15 from the field in the opening 10 minutes, while the Lady Toppers went 8 for 17.

But the Beavers outscored Western Kentucky 22-12 in the second quarter and led 41-31 at halftime. Slocum, the team’s point guard, was a strong presence, controlling the pace and scoring eight of her 12 first-half points in the second period.

Oregon State’s inside game proved to be the biggest difference as the Beavers outscored the Lady Toppers 26-16 in the paint over the first 20 minutes.

Raneem Elgedawy paced the Lady Toppers (1-5) with 17 points, and Dee Givens added 16.

BIG PICTURE

Oregon State: Before this one, Oregon State had beaten all its opponents this season by at least 25 points.

Western Kentucky: The Lady Toppers have had a slow start to 2018-19 under new coach Greg Collins, a former assistant with the team. They are the two-time defending Conference USA Tournament champions.

UP NEXT

Oregon State will play No. 13 South Carolina, which advanced with a 101-55 victory over East Tennessee State.

Western Kentucky will tip off Friday against East Tennessee State on the consolation side.

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