Oregon State holds off No. 23 Oregon late, wins 68-65

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Talia von Oelhoffen scored 16 points and freshman Timea Gardiner, playing just her third collegiate game, added another 15 as Oregon State upset its arch rivals, the No. 23 Oregon Ducks, 68-65 in a Pac-12 Conference showdown on Friday night.

It was Oregon State’s first win at home against the rival Ducks since 2019.

The Beavers came into the game at a crossroads, dropping home-court games to Washington State and Washington last week, but got off to a fast start and playing with the lead for most of the game. Oregon came back to tie the game at 27-27 on a free throw by Taylor Hosendove with 12 seconds left, but Gardiner, a 6-foot-3 five star recruit who had been sidelined with an undisclosed medical condition, calmly stroke a 3 from the top of the key to make it 30-27 at intermission.

Oregon struggled all night to find an answer to the Beavers interior size, especially 6-9 Jelena Mitrovic and 6-4 freshman Raegan Beers. That pair, along with Gardiner, scored 10 points in the third quarter as Oregon State stretched its lead to 49-40.

Von Oelhoffen hit a 3 with 8:12 left in the game to give Oregon State a 13-point lead, 55-42, but the Ducks ralled from beyond the 3-point arc. Chance Gray the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, hit three 3-pointers in the final three minutes and Taya Hanson added another, but Endyia Rogers cracked a defense overplaying the three-point line but missed a driving layup to tie the game with nine seconds left.

Von Oelhoffen finished with seven rebounds and four assists to lead Oregon State (11-8, 3-5). Mitrovic finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Grace VanSlooten, who came into the game averaging better than 15 points per game, was just 1 of 11 from the field and finished with three points. Gray set a career high by knocking down 6 of 12 from beyond the arc and put up 18 points for the Ducks (13-6, 4-4). Taya Hanson scored 14 points and Rogers and Paopao added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Oregon State plays at Stanford Friday. Oregon travels to face California Friday.

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