Second Half Comeback Falls Short for Oregon State Women, Beavers Fall to Virginia Tech 78-67
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Oregon State found themselves in a big deficit midway through the third quarter of Saturday's game against Virginia Tech. The Beavers mounted a big comeback, getting within three points of the Hokies, but couldn't pull off the upset, falling 78-67 in the end, dropping their record to 5-3 overall.
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It didn't take Virginia Tech long to build a large lead on the Beavers. Mel Daley and Mackenzie Nelson combined for 15 points in the first quarter, and while a pair of Jenna Villa threes helped the Beavers out in scoring, it wasn't enough to get close to Virginia Tech, who left the first quarter with a 12 point, 26-14 lead.
The second quarter was closer. The Beavers weren't able to cut into the Virginia Tech lead, but the Hokies were unable to pull away. Oregon State got Kennedie Shuler more active in the second quarter, getting the Beavers some more scoring, but OSU couldn't really slow down the Virginia Tech offense. A pair of free throws form Hokie Leila Wells gave Virginia Tech an 11 point, 44-33 lead at the half.
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Unfortunately for the Beavers, the start of the third swung back to Virginia Tech decisively. Oregon State's shooting went cold while Virginia Tech's stayed solid, allowing the Hokies to build a 20 point lead with 5:25 left in the quarter.
At that point though, Oregon State finally woke up. Kennedie Shuler, Jenna Villa and Lara Alonso finally found some scoring for the Beavers, and the Oregon State defense completely iced out the Hokies. A Jenna Villa layup at the close of the quarter got the Virginia Tech lead back down to 12, 62-50.
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The Beavers momentum continued at the start of the fourth, with a quick seven points from Jenna Villa helping to cut the Virginia Tech lead to three. That was as close as the Beavers would get, as Mel Daley got Virginia Tech's offense firing again, along with a pair of Carys Baker threes that managed to get the Hokies back in comfortable position. One last Kennedie Shuler jumper got the margin to 11 points to close the game in a 78-67 win for Virginia Tech.
Another big game is on deck for the Beavers - next Wednesday, they'll head down to Eugene for the rivalry game against Oregon.
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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.