Oregon State Women's Basketball: Beavers Fall to North Carolina 70-49 in First Round
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Oregon State's season came to an end Saturday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina's defense looked down the Beavers' shooting in the third quarter to build a big lead Oregon State couldn't come back from, with the Tar Heels moving on to the second round after a 70-49 win.
Despite some early pressure from Alyssa Ustby, the Beavers hang tough with the Tar Heels for most of the first, but as the quarter went on Oregon State struggled to score. Maria Gakdeng was tough for the Beavers to deal with, putting up 7 points in the first quarter while also bullying Oregon State under the basket. A pair of free throws from AJ Marotte broke the Beaver cold streak, but at the end of the first quarter Oregon State was down 15-9.
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Oregon State went on a bit of a run to open the second, ending in an AJ Marotte jumper that tied the game at 15. North Carolina's Lanie Grant and Kennedie Shuler traded layups, before a Marotte three pointer put the Beavers in front for the first time since early in the first quarter.
The change in the Beavers' fortunes coincided with Maria Gakdeng's exit from the game due to some early foul trouble, but when Gakdeng returned the Tar Heels defense found their footing. The game remained close, with North Carolina's Reniya Kelly hitting a jumper to give the Tar Heels a 26-24 lead at the half.
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North Carolina's Lexi Donarski hit two threes in under a minute to grow the Tar Heels' lead to 8 at the start of the third quarter. Donarski was a big problem for the Beavers in the third, she hit two more threes in the next couple minutes to help grow the NC lead to 15. The Beavers struggled to find any scoring, with their first point of the quarter coming at 6:13 from a Kelsey Rees free throw.
While the Beavers struggled, North Carolina couldn't be stopped. Lexi Donarski continued to be unstoppable from the three point line, and Maria Gakdeng and India Nivar dominated the interior. By the end of the third the Tar Heels held a 23 point 56-33 lead.
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Things didn't improve for the Beavers in the fourth. Despite some big shots from Kelsey Rees and Catarina Ferreira, Oregon State couldn't make a dent in the North Carolina lead. Alyssa Ustby and Indiya Nivar made sure to keep the Tar Heels comfortably in front, and the fourth quarter ended with UNC up 70-49. A 21 point win.
Kelsey Rees led the Beavers in scoring with 15 points and 10 rebounds, a return to form after she was limited in the WCC tournament. AJ Marotte was right behind her with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. With both players in their senior seasons, this is a game they can be proud of going out on, despite the loss.
Now Oregon State fans have another long offseason to look forward to. The Beavers surprised a lot of people this season, and have a strong core to build on. Here's to next year.
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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.