Oregon State Women's Basketball Picks Up Key Win Over Liberty
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The Oregon State Women’s basketball team defeated Liberty 64-57 Saturday night at Seabury Hall in the Maui Classic. The Beavers are now 8-5 overall and have won back to back games for the third time this season. In a game that Oregon State trailed by 10 in at one point, it was a gutsy performance and a big win by coach Scott Rueck’s side.
It was a back and forth and nervy affair through the first two quarters, with the Beavs and Liberty finding themselves tied at the half. Oregon State was able to get more production out of their bench than Liberty was, with the Beavers reserves accounting for 15 of their 64 points, while the Flames bench managed just 12 points from two different players.
The Beavers were led by guard Kennedie Shuler, who was able to record 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc. Shuler was tied for most rebounds on the Beavs with Nene Sow, as both collected six boards off the glass.
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Shuler, the Junior from Gresham, is now averaging 8.8 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, and 5.6 assists per game. Shuler’s 21 points are the most she has recorded in a game this season, scoring six more points than her previous best of 15 against Virginia Tech.
The Beavers will now enjoy more than a week off, with their next matchup coming as the opener in WCC play against San Francisco and St Marys, who they play in the span of just three days at the end of December. The Beavers will have to tighten the screws on defense in the next few games as they allowed Liberty to shoot 43 percent from beyond the arc.
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Oregon State will want to carry over a few stats with them into the next few games. The Beavers were excellent at the free throw line, converting on 85 percent of their attempts. Oregon State also forced 12 turnovers and had 13 fast break points in their win over Liberty.
The Beavers return to action and the mainland on Sunday, December 28 against San Francisco at 2 p.m. PT.
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Kyle is a 2019 graduate of Southern Oregon University and currently does play-by-play for SOU football and men’s and women’s soccer. He hosts a daily sports show in southern Oregon on The Ace Sports Radio, 107.9 FM and 1300 AM. Kyle also does play-by-play for the Rogue Valley Royals hockey team and the North Medford High School Black Tornado for TableRockSports.net. Kyle lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife and a Dalmatian named Penny.