Oregon State Women's Basketball: Portland Gets Revenge on Beavers with 86-61 Win

Oregon State's recent momentum came to screeching halt Saturday night in Gill Coliseum, with the Beavers getting blown out 86-61 by the Portland Pilots. Oregon State beat the Pilots 76-72 in Portland just a few weeks ago, but the Beavers could not compete in the rematch, falling to 9-10 overall and 5-3 in conference play.

Portland took control of the game early, with a 12 point first quarter from Maisie Burnham giving the Pilots a 23-16 lead after one. The second quarter wasn't much better for the Beavers, by the end of the first half Portland was ahead 47-31.

Oregon State showed a little life in the third quarter, with AJ Marotte and Carly Ferreira making some some cluth shots to try to spark some energy for the Beavers, but Portland still managed to increase their lead. The Pilots let off the gas a little in the final quarter, content to protect their lead, but Oregon State could not get a shot to land, going 3-10 from the field in the final quarter and falling 86-61

It's hard to point to any one aspect that killed the Beavers chances Saturday night, but a few of this season's usual suspects resurfaced. Oregon State has not been an elite three point shooting team this year, and Portland handily out shot them from beyond the arc. With a double digit deficit early, the Beavers went to the three often, and the shots just didn't drop. Oregon State went 5-21 on threes, compared to Portland's 14-23. A 24% three point shooting percentage.

The Beavers team shooting percentage wasn't much better. Overall the Beavers the Beavers were 19-55 from the field, hitting 35% of the shots they took. It's hard to beat a bad team with that kind of shooting, let alone a team as good as Portland.

Kelsey Rees led the Beavers in scoring, with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Kennedie Shuler also put up a solid game, with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. On a tough night for shooting AJ Marotte proved herself one of the Beavers most reliable assets, with 11 points, 2 assists and a rebound. Marotte was the only Beaver who could be counted on to make a three Saturday night, going 3 for 6 from distance.

Oregon State has another key West Coast Conference rematch when they're back in action next Thursday. They'll be traveling to San Francisco for a rematch with the Dons on Thursday, January 23rd. OSU beat San Francisco 64-57 in Gill just over a week ago, but the Dons remain a contender for a WCC title.