Oregon State Women's Basketball: Beavers Go 0-2 At Tournament in Tempe
Oregon State had a rough time in the desert this past weekend. The Beavers traveled to Tempe to participate in the Briann January Classic, and picked up two losses for their troubles; a 73-35 thumping by Minnesota and a 79-60 drubbing by Arizona State.
Saturday's game against the Gophers didn't start as a blowout. The Beavers kept pace with Minnesota for most of the first quarter, Threes from Tiara Bolden and Kennedie Shuler helped Oregon State keep things close, and OSU finished the quarter only down 2, 13-11.
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The second quarter is where things started going wrong. After AJ Marotte tied the game for the Beavers, Minnesota went on an 8 point run to take the lead back. The Beavers closed the gap again, but the Golden Gophers had another run to close out the half up 10, 30-20.
Minnesota added another 6 points to their lead in the third quarter, but it was the fourth quarter where the game turned from a blowout into something much uglier. Kelsey Rees hit a jump shot with 9:02 left in the game, and that was the last basket the Beavers would score. While Oregon State scoreless for nearly an entire quarter of the game, Minnesota added another 20 points to their lead, for a 73-35 final score. A 38 point loss.
While Sunday's game against the Sun Devils wasn't the blowout the Beavers faced against Minnesota, it still wasn't remotely competitive. After a close first quarter, Arizona State went on a run to build a 7 point lead by the start of the second.
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The game never really got closer after that. Arizona State didn't go on many huge runs, but every quarter they would tack on another 7 points to their lead. In the fourth the Beavers finally started to fight back, with Catarina Ferreira sparking a 22 point quarter for the Beavers. That didn't manage to cut into much of the Sun Devil lead, as Arizona State still won 79-60, but Oregon State certainly fought for it.
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It's hard to have a breakout game in a double digit loss, but Ferreira has a case for one. She finished the game with 22 points and 11 rebounds, her first double double at Oregon State. While the Beavers have struggled this season, Ferreira has looked solid as a starting guard, and Sunday's game showed just how much potential she brings to the team.
Up next for the Beavers is a trip to Champaigne on Friday, November 22nd, to take on Illinois. After that, they'll be in the Bahamas for the week of Thanksgiving, where they'll be participating in the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship. They'll have there toughest game of the season then, as they have to take on the Connecticut Huskies. That game is set for Monday, November 25th.
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.