Beavers Finish Home Stand With 71-55 Win Over Long Beach State
The Oregon State women's basketball team has spent the first part of their season at home in Gill Coliseum, but over the Thanksgiving break they'll finally be out on the road. Before that, they welcomed Long Beach State to Corvallis for one last home game before the holiday. After a close three quarters, the Beavers pulled away in the fourth for a 71-55 victory The win puts the Beavers' record at 5-1 on the season.
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The first quarter started solidly for the Beavers, with an Ally Schimel three and a pair of layups from Kennedie Shuler giving Oregon State a 7-0 lead. But the Beach battled back, with threes from Kennan Ka, Morgan Mack and Jaquoia Jones-Brown eating into the Beaver lead. In the closing seconds of the quarter a driving layup from Long Beach State's Rosie Akot tied the game 16-16.
Neither side could pull away from the other in the second quarter. Tiara Bolden and Jaquoia Jones-Brown traded threes early in the period, keeping the game knotted and after Long Beach State managed to take the lead Jenna Villa's regular scoring made sure the Beavers were never too far behind. A pair of free throws from Villa gave Oregon State a one point lead late, but a three from LBSU's Christy Reynoso gave the Beach a two point, 33-31 lead at the half.
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A Khlee Pepe layup got the Beach lead up to four at the start of the third, but the Beavers were never far behind. Halfway through the period a pair of free throws form Tiara Bolden, followed by a Bolden layup on a fast break, gave the Beavers back the lead. The teams traded the lead back and forth over the final minutes of the quarter, with a Judit Oliva Fernandez jump shot giving Long Beach State a one point lead headed into the fourth.
After being a close game for three quarters, the fourth was Beaver domination. Oregon State opened the fourth with a 13 point run and never really looked back, holding Long Beach State to only seven points in the quarter. Lara Alonso and Jenna Villa led the way for the Beavers, with seven and six points in the fourth, respectively, but it was a team wide effort. Only two Beach players managed to score in the final period, with a Morgan Mack three the final points in the game, cutting the Oregon State lead to 16, 71-55.
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Tiara Bolden and Jenna Villa tied for Oregon State's scoring lead Sunday afternoon. They each finished with 14 points, with Bolden adding seven rebounds and Villa finishing with 10 rebounds and an assist. Lara Alonso also hit double digits in scoring, with 10 points, 5 rebounds and an assist. Kennedie Shuler finished with eight points, but her 14 assists were a big part of Oregon State's scoring yesterday.
The Beavers will be back in action on Thursday, November 22nd. That's Thanksgiving Day, and they'll be in the Virgin Islands taking part in 2025's edition of the Paradise Jam. Their first round match up is going to be a tough one, as they take on the 17th ranked, undefeated Vanderbilt Commodores. Tip off is set for 5 PM PT.
Having grown up in Pocatello, home of the Idaho State Bengals, John Severs is a lifelong fan of small schools that don't always deliver a lot of wins. Prior to writing for On SI, John covered the Beavers for SB Nation's Oregon State blog Building the Dam, with a focus on baseball and women's basketball. When he's not watching college sports he spends most of his time reading, playing video games and annoying cats.