Oregon State Takes Down Portland 64-54 in Season Saving Game

A week ago it looked like the Oregon State women's season was on the ropes, with back to back losses to Gonzaga, Portland and Santa Clara, three of the best teams in the West Coast Conference. Last Saturday the Beavers snapped their losing streak with a win over Pacific, and Thursday night they pulled off a gritty, 64-54 win against the Pilots to move to 20-9 for the season, and 12-4 in conference play.

The first quarter set the tone for the game. It was Tiara Bolden, and everyone else on the court. Bolden scored 10 of the Beavers 16 points in the first quarter, including a three that was Oregon State's first bucket of the game, Lainey Spear did what she could to keep the game close for the Pilots, but at the end of the first Oregon State held on to a 2 point, 16-14 lead.

The second quarter remained close, but momentum swung back toward Portland as Oregon State's shooting cooled off. A six point run by the Pilots late in the quarter gave them the lead back, with a free throw from Florence Dallow giving them a one point, 27-26 lead at the half.

The second half opened with a Jenna Villa three to put the game right back into Oregon State's hands. Tiara Bolden followed that up with another three, and the Beavers were off to the races. Oregon State went on a 17 point run at the start of the quarter to take a commanding lead against Portland, with 12 of those points coming from Bolden. Portland finally found some shooting in the latter half of the quarter, with a three form Nicole Anderson cutting the Beaver lead to 12, 50-38, as the clock wound down.

Things got a bit tense in the fourth, as Oregon State again struggled to score consistently. Nicole Anderson and Lainey Spear led the charge for the Pilots, capitalizing on Beaver miscues and turnovers to get the Oregon State lead down to four with less than a minute to go. That was as close as things would get, as the Pilots were forced to foul for a chance at the win, and Oregon State proved to be too much at the foul line, and too much defensively. Portland would not get another point on the board, and the Beavers pulled away for a 64-54 win.

After being a supporting player in much of the Beavers' recent success, tonight was a showcase for Tiara Bolden. If you needed a reminder about how important she is to this team, she delivered that tonight, with 29 points and six rebounds. That's nearly half of the Beavers points, with no other Beaver hitting double digits.

Oregon State will be back in Corvallis for one more game this weekend, taking on Washington State at Gill on Saturday, February 21st. Tip off is set for 1 PM.