Oregon State Women's Basketball: Beavers Take Down Santa Clara 74-72 in Overtime

Stop me if you've heard this one before. A West Coast Conference opponent took the Beavers to overtime, but behind clutch plays from their big names the Beavers managed to pull off a gritty win. This time it was the Santa Clara Broncos who failed to take down Oregon State, with the Beavers pulling off a 74-72 win on the road to improve to 9-9 overall, and 5-2 in WCC play.

After Kelsey Rees opened up scoring with a layup, Santa Clara took control of the game with a pair of threes from Madison Naro and Olivia Pollerd. Pollerd was hard for the Beavers to control in the first quarter, putting up 9 points, but the Beavers kept things close An AJ Marotte three and a pair of Kennedie Shuler free throws got the Beavers within one point at the quarter, 16-15.

The second quarter was much the same, with Santa Clara maintaining a slim lead over Oregon State but not managing to put the Beavers away. The biggest change was the approach of the OSU defense, who were able to take Pollerd out of the game. Pollerd, who has been on the West Coast Conference's leading scorers this season, was limited for the rest of the game, until she finally found her footing late in the fourth quarter.. At the end of the first half, an AJ Marotte jumper gave the Beavers a two point lead, their first since the start of the game.

Marotte added another jumper and a three pointer at the start of the third to extend the Beaver lead to seven. Madison Naro and Malia Latur managed to get the Broncos back in the game, tying the game around the halfway point and then taking the lead with a Latu jumper, but after that Santa Clara's shooting went cold, with threes from Kelsey Rees and AJ Marotte getting the Beaver lead back up to 7. An Olivia Pollerd jumper cut the lead to 5, 49-44, at the end of the quarter.

Oregon State managed to hold a solid lead for most of the final quarter, especially with the Broncos hitting another cold shooting streak. With 3:40 left in the game, the Beavers held a 12 point lead, and at that point Santa Clara finally found a way to attack the Oregon State defense. Alana Goodchild had a big fourth quarter, putting up 7 points, but it was a team effort.

The Broncos slashed the Beaver lead from 12 to 2 over the course of three minutes. With seconds left on the clock Sela Heide was sent to the foul line. Unfortunately for the Beavers, Heide missed her first foul shout. Down three with seconds left on the clock, Santa Clara found an open Alana Goodchild from deep behind the three point line. Goodchild shot found its mark, tying the game as time expired.

Oregon State finally broke their scoreless streak at the start of OT, with a free throw from Kennedie Shuler. Santa Clara took the lead with a Madison Naro three, but Kelsey Rees answered with a three of her own, and a Sela Heide jumper got the Beaver lead back to three. Oregon State's inability to defend the perimeter proved costly in extra time, as Alana Goodchild tied the game again, with another three. Ally Schimel and Sela Heide combined to get OSU another three point lead, before Malia Latu tied the game again. Another three.

AJ Marotte managed to give the Beavers a one point lead after a free throw following a dead ball foul. The Beavers attacked the Santa Clara defense aggressively on the next possession, burning a lot of time, but eventually Malia Latu found enough space to get off a jumpshot, giving the Broncos a one point lead with four seconds left on the clock.

The Beavers needed someone to step up and make a play, and Kennedie Shuler answered the call. Kelsey Rees found her under the basket, and while she was well defended, Shuler forced the play, making the layup and picking up an and one. With the Beavers up two with a second on the clock, AJ Marotte stole the ball to end the game in a 74-72 Beaver win.

Marotte was one of the Beavers leading scorers tonight, putting up 18 points, 4 assists and a rebound. Marotte went 3 for 4 on three point shots, which proved crucial as the Beavers keeping pace with Santa Clara's three point game was critical for the win.

Sela Heide matched Marotte's point total, finishing the night with 18 points, 8 rebounds and an assist. The Beavers handily won the points in the paint, 36-24, and Heide's control of the key was a huge part of that. Kennedie Shuler, who hit the winning shot, was another big piece of the Beaver win, with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Kelsey Rees also hit double digits, with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

It was an exhausting, but Oregon State only gets a day off before they're back with another crucial West Coast Conference game. On Saturday they'll be back in Gill Coliseum for a rematch with the Portland Pilots. Just a few weeks ago the Beavers handed the Pilots their first loss of the season, on the road in Portland. The Pilots must be itching to get their win back.