Oregon State Survive Road Clash With Saint Mary's, Kennedie Shuler Nears Triple-Double
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The Oregon State women's basketball team moved to 2-0 in conference play on Tuesday night with a road win over the Saint Mary's Gaels in Moraga, California by a final score of 63-57.
Reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Week Jenna Villa led all scorers with 16 for Oregon State, draining all six of her chances from the line. Kennedie Shuler also turned in another exceptional performance with ten points, along with game highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (seven).
In the first quarter, Oregon State struggled to get in a rhythm, but a pair of threes from Ally Schimel kept them in the contest. The Gaels took a 17-12 lead into the second quarter.
MORE: Oregon State Men Drop Conference Opener Versus Santa Clara 102-64
That second quarter saw momentum swing back and forth between the two sides. Trailing the Gaels by four with two minutes remaining in the half, Oregon State surged with an 8-0 run to take a 29-25 lead into halftime. Saint Mary's finished the first half with a better overall shooting percentage than the visitors, but missed both of their attempts from three and shot just two free throws.
To start the second half, Saint Mary's had a resurgence of their own, similar to what happened for OSU in the previous quarter. The Beavers had a five-point lead with 2:48 remaining in the quarter, before the Gaels quickly answered, forced a turnover, and took a 39-38 lead into the final quarter.
MORE: Jenna Villa Named West Coast Conference Player of the Week
OSU and the Gaels traded punches throughout the fourth quarter, until the final whistle. With 48 seconds remaining and a one-point Beaver lead, Shuler made a layup in traffic, and drew the foul. The made free-throw made it a four-point play. Down four with little time left, Saint Mary's began fouling intentionally to better their chances. Tiara Bolden sank four three throws and Jenna Villa made two to preserve the OSU lead at 63-57 as the final whistle blew.
Oregon State finished 19-of-24 at the line, while Saint Mary's made eight-of-14 from the charity stripe.
With the win, the Beavers will improve to an overall record of 10-5. It will also mark just the second true road win of the year for Scott Rueck's team. Oregon State will be back in action on January 2 in Corvallis against Pacific to continue their WCC slate. Tipoff in that contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
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Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.
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