Colorado State Beats Beavers 64-58, Handing Them Their First Loss of the Season

Despite holding onto a slim lead after the first half, Oregon State struggled to compete with a strong Colorado State defense in the second, struggling to score as the Rams pulled away en route to a 64-58 win. The loss is the Beavers first of the season, dropping them to 4-1 overall.

A pair of free throws and a three from Jenna Villa gave the Beavers a fast five, and additional threes from Kennedie Shuler and Allie Schimel gave Oregon State an early 11 point lead. At that point the Rams defense began to clamp down on the Beavers, and found consistent scoring from Hannah Ronsiek and Kloe Froebe. By the end of the first quarter, Oregon State clung on to a six point, 22-16 lead.

A pair of jumpers from Lexus Bargesser and an and one got Colorado State within one point at the start of the second quarter. The Beavers managed to stay just in front of the Rams, but ran into a pair of issues. The first was that Colorado State was getting a lot of offensive rebounds, getting a few chances to score on each possession. The second was that Kennedie Shuler picked up her third foul in the quarter, meaning the Beavers use of their starting point guard was going to be limited.

A Hannah Ronsiek three gave Colorado State their first lead of the game with four minutes left in the first half. Jenna Villa gave the Beavers the lead back with a jumper and a free throw. Tiara Bolden and Ronsiek traded threes, and at the end of the half Oregon State hung on to a two point, 35-33 lead.

Five straight points from Colorado State tied the game back up at the start of the second half. A pair of free throws from Ronsiek put the Rams back in front, while Oregon State's shooting went ice cold. Colorado State managed to extend their lead to seven before the Beavers got their first points of the quarter with a Jenna Villa three, but the Rams matched with three of their own, courtesy of McKenna Murphy.

Villa and Katelyn Field did what they could to chip into the Ram lead. each hitting a pair of free throws in the closing minute of the quarter to get the Beavers within three, 49-46. The Beavers were going to need to find a way to get past Colorado State's defense if they wanted to take the lead back in the final quarter.

Jenna Villa tied the game for Oregon State with a three early in the fourth quarter, but Colorado State took the lead back with a Madelyn Bragg layup. Second chance points continued to be an issue for Oregon State, as the Beaver defense struggled to get any stops.

A Lara Alonso three got the Beavers within two, but Oregon State could not get closer, giving Colorado State too many chances and making too many mistakes on offensive possessions. With 1:30 to go the Ram lead was back up to six. A Tiara Bolden layup broke a nearly four minute field goal drought, but by that point there wasn't enough time to mount a comeback, with Colorado State prevailing by six in the end, 64-58.

The Beavers have some issues to work on, as Oregon State struggled to score with the Colorado State defense clamping down on Tiara Bolden. Jenna Villa did step up for OSU, putting together her best game as a Beaver with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. She was the only Beaver to hit double digits in scoring tonight.

Oregon State has one more home game before they hit the road for the Thanksgiving break. They'lll host Long Beach State on Sunday, November 23rd, with tip off set for 1 PM PT.

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