Oregon State Women's Basketball: Beavers Close Regular Season With 73-46 Win over Pepperdine

After a disastrous performance Thursday night, the Oregon State women found their footing Saturday afternoon, putting together a dominant win over the Pepperdine Waves to close out the regular season with a 73-46 victory. The win puts the Beavers at 16-15 overall, 12-8 in conference play, and clinches the fourth overall seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament.

Oregon State once again jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter. Kelsey Reed and Tiara Bolden jump started the scoring, while Catarina Ferreira locked down the rebound game and limited Pepperdine's ability to score. By the end of the first the Beavers were up 14, 22-8.

Pepperdine looked to make things competitive in the second quarter, with Makena Mastora sparking a run that got the Waves within 9. Over the final five minutes of the half, the Oregon State defense reasserted itself, going on a 12 point run to end the first half up 21, 39-18.

The dominance continued in the third quarter. Pepperdine just could not find an open shot, while Kelsey Rees and Kennedie Shuler continued to score at will for the Beavers. Oregon State was up by 30 at the end of the third, and they maintained that lead for most of the fourth. A buzzer beater from Pepperdine's Ornela Muca managed to get the Beaver lead down to 27, 73-46.

Kelsey Rees put together another impressive performance for Oregon State, burnishing her All West Coast Conference Team credentials. She finished the day with 24 points, 6 rebounds and an assist. Catarina Ferreira was the only other Beaver to break double digits, with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists.

With the fourth seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament, the Beavers will be on bye for the first three rounds of play. The tournament gets started on Thursday, March 6th, and the Beavers will first appear in the quarterfinals, currently scheduled for Sunday, March 9th.