No. 18 Oregon State women down No. 7 Oregon 85-79 in OT
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – Kat Tudor made seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 34 points, and No. 18 Oregon State snapped No. 7 Oregon’s nine-game winning streak with an 85-79 overtime victory Friday night.
Marie Gulich added 28 points and 15 rebounds for the Beavers (14-4, 5-2 Pac-12), who extended their Civil War rivalry winning streak over the Ducks to 14 games.
Sabrina Ionescu had a career-high 35 points for the Ducks (17-3, 6-1), including a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime.
Gulich’s turnaround jumper with 1:42 left in the extra period gave the Beavers an 80-77 lead. She made one free throw to extend the lead.
Ionescu made two of three foul shots to close the Ducks within 81-79, but Katie McWilliams made a 3-pointer and free throw with 15 seconds left to put it out of reach.
Hebard finished with 24 points for the Ducks.
The Ducks announced shortly before the game that they would be without senior guard Lexi Bando because of a leg injury. No other details were available. The team said Bando, a starter averaging 10.5 points per game, will not be available for Sunday’s rematch in Eugene, either. McGwire started in her place.
Oregon trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Hebard’s layup tied it at 57 with 6:17 left in regulation. Her short jumper gave Oregon a brief 59-58 lead, but Gulich answered with a baseline jumper.
The teams traded the lead down the stretch. Mikayla Pivec made a 3-pointer to give the Beavers a 72-71 lead with 49 seconds left and Katie McWilliams added a pair of free throws. Hebard and Tudor both missed one of two free throws before Ionescu nailed a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left to send it to overtime.
The Beavers had jumped out to an early 17-8 lead after a 3-pointer and free throw from Tudor. She made another 3 to give the Beavers a 28-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. The sophomore guard led all scorers in the opening period with 10 points, including all three 3-point attempts.
Collectively, the Beavers made their first seven 3-point tries and nine of their first 10.
Oregon closed the gap in the second quarter when Ionescu raced to chase a ball that rolled half-way across the court then calmly drained a 3-pointer to pull within 28-24. But the Ducks couldn’t get any closer than four points and trailed 42-36 at the half. Ionescu and Tudor each had 18 points.
Tudor’s 3-pointer put the Beavers up 49-38 in the third. The Ducks pulled within 51-48 on McGwire’s jumper, but Gulich answered with a layup on the other end before Maite Carzola’s basket to keep Oregon within 53-50 going into the fourth quarter.
Hebard’s layup got the Ducks within one, but they were unable to get closer until her basket tied it at 57 with 6:17 left.
Oregon is off to its best start in conference play since joining the Pac-10 in 1986. The Ducks were coming off a 74-64 victory at home over then-No. 18 Arizona State.
The Beavers have won two straight after falling to UCLA and USC on the road to open the season. Those losses snapped an eight-game winning streak. But Oregon State rebounded last weekend with wins at home against then-No. 18 Arizona State and Arizona.
THE BIG PICTURE
Oregon: The Ducks’ last win in the series was on Jan. 23, 2011, in Eugene (81-72). McGwire is the daughter of former NFL quarterback Dan McGwire and niece of former Major League Baseball player Mark McGwire.
Oregon State: Going into the game, the Beavers were making 42.5 percent from 3-point ranked to rank No. 1 in the nation. … Sophomore forward Janessa Thropay sang the national anthem and was treated to a warm ovation from the near-capacity crowd at Gill Coliseum.
UP NEXT
The teams play again on Sunday in Eugene.
