Oregon State Women's Basketball: Beavers Fall to Pacifc 66-63 in First West Coast Conference Game
After the Thanksgiving break the Oregon State Women's Basketball team hit the road for their first game against a West Coast Conference opponent. On the trip to Stockton, sloppy turnovers cost the Beavers a win, as the Tigers beat Oregon State 66-63 in overtime to drop the Beavers to 3-6 on the season, and 0-1 in conference play.
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The first quarter was a low scoring one. Lauren Glazer got Pacific an early lead, but Sela Heide and Ally Schimel helped the Beavers keep things close. The second quarter was much the same, but turnovers began to cost the Beavers a lot of scoring opportunities. A late three from Anaya James allowed Pacific to head into the locker room with a 27-21 lead.
The Beavers cut down on turnovers in the third quarter and began chipping away at the Pacific lead. Late in the quarter AJ Marotte tied the game with a jump shot, and then gave the Beavers their first lead since the first quarter with a clutch three pointer.
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In the final period of regulation, the Beavers did a great job controlling the post, forcing the Tigers to the perimeter where their shooting was inconsistent. Unfortunately for the Beavers, the inconsistency didn't last, as Anaya James and Nyah Lowery hit threes to get the game back to even.
With less than 10 seconds left in the game, turnovers returned to ruin the Beavers day, with AJ Marotte losing the ball out of bounds to cost the Beavers their chance at putting the game on ice. Pacific couldn't score on their last chance either, sending the game to overtime.
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In OT Sela Heide put the Beavers in front early, but Oregon State couldn't shut down the Pacific offense, as the Tigers held the lead for most of the extra time. After free throws, Pacific held a three point lead, and the Beavers couldn't find a good shot at the perimeter, with Catarina Ferreira missing an attempt as time expired.
All in all the Beavers turned the ball over 29 times Thursday night, compared to 14 turnovers from Pacific. It's hard to win a game that way, but Oregon State kept things close. AJ Marotte once again led the Beavers in scoring, with 17 points, 5 rebounds and an assist. Sela Heide had another big game, with 14 points 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. Kelsey Rees rounded out the Beavers' top scorers, with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
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Oregon State will take a week off after tonight's game, and when they're back in action they'll be back to nonconference play. They'll be back in Corvallis taking on UC Irvine next Sunday, December 15th.
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 Sports Illustrated, 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.