Oregon State Women's Basketball: Upset Bid Falls Short as Gonzaga Beats Beavers 66-62
Late in December the Oregon State Women's Basketball team managed to upset Gonzaga, the last time the Bulldogs have lost this season. A month and a half later the Beavers nearly pulled off the season sweep, but a comeback in the final minute of the fourth quarter sent the game to overtime, where Gonzaga seized the win 66-62.
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After a back and forth game, the Beavers held a four point lead with less than two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, the Beavers couldn't get out of their own way, missing shots that could've secured the game and fouling Gonzaga to give them way too many opportunities at the free throw line.
One of those fouls would prove to be the deciding factor, with Sela Heide fouling Yvonne Ejim with 9 seconds left in regulation. Ejim hit both her free throws to tie the game, and a Catarina Ferreira three with one second left on the clock missed its mark, sending the game to OT.
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OT was all Gonzaga, riding high on their momentum from the end of the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored six straight to take the lead, and Oregon State wouldn't manage to get any points on the board until there was 1:32 left in the period. AJ Marotte and Kennedie Shuler managed to get the Gonzaga lead down to two, but the Beavers were out of time and forced to foul, and Yvonne Ejim hit the shots that sealed the Gonzaga win.
AJ Marotte was the Beavers leading scorer, with 18 points, 1 assist and 1 rebound. Tiara Bolden was right behind her with 16y points, 1 assist and 1 rebound.
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This game is one the Beavers will have to try not to dwell on. They were so close to picking up a huge win, but couldn't clutch it out. Four missed free throws in the fourth quarter is an especially tough pill to swallow.
The Beavers will have a week off to get themselves sorted, and when they're back in action they'll have another important game. They'll be welcoming the Santa Clara Broncos to Gill on Thursday, February 20th, a contest that could help OSU put some distance between themselves and the one of the teams chasing them in the West Coast Conference standings.
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.