UCLA Women's Basketball Runs Out of Steam Again, Falls to Oregon State

Still saddled with injury troubles on their shortened road trip, the Bruins kept things close until the Beavers pulled away late.

(Jared Tay/All Bruins)

Despite never leading, the Bruins stayed safely within striking distance of the Beavers in Corvallis on Sunday afternoon. 

Until they just couldn't hold on any longer.

UCLA women's basketball (9-7, 4-4 Pac-12) bought just enough time to lick its wounds by forfeiting Friday's game against Oregon due to a lack of available players, setting up a return to play Sunday against Oregon State (11-5, 4-2). In addition to preseason injuries to forward Emily Bessoir, guard Gina Conti and forward Angela Dugalic, guard Jaelynn Penn suffered a hand injury earlier in January and guard Charisma Osborne hurt her ankle for the second time this year Wednesday against No. 8 Arizona.

But getting back on the court wasn't enough for the Bruins, who wound up losing 72-58 in a contest that went just a few minutes too long for their shortened rotation.

Guard Camryn Brown made her season debut and forward Brynn Masikewich was playing just her second game of the year, bringing reinforcements to the second unit, but neither broke double digit minutes or scored a point against the Beavers. The only other player to come off the bench, forward Izzy Anstey, ended up fouling out, leaving the starting five as the only main contributors to eat up the needed minutes.

It seemed like UCLA playing without its leading scorer and down a handful of bodies was going to be a mess right out of the gates, as Oregon State held an 11-2 lead through five minutes of play.

Still, despite the early hole and lack of options for coach Cori Close, the Bruins somehow stayed in it.

Guard Dominique Onu hit a pair of 3-pointers, then guard Natalie Chou got a triple of her own to go, cutting the Beavers' lead to four at the end of the first quarter. UCLA had an eight-minute stretch in which Anstey was the only player to score, though, and Oregon State went back up by 14 as a result.

The Bruins got another pair of buckets out of Onu and Chou to make it 32-22 at halftime, and then it was forward IImar'I Thomas who opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run all on her own to make it a two-possession game. UCLA's defense turned up the intensity and held Oregon State to 0-of-7 shooting to start the second half, even if the Beavers wound up hitting three shots in a row before the end of the period.

Guard Chantel Horvat opened up the fourth quarter with an and-1, and after Chou hit a 3-pointer, Horvat hit another layup to make it a four-point game just inside the eight minutes. Responding to four fast break points from the Beavers, the Bruins stormed right back with a basket by Thomas, some free throws by Chou and another inside shot by Thomas.

UCLA found itself down by just two points with 4:35 left to play, before it found itself in a similar position it faced earlier in the week.

It their loss to the Wildcats on Wednesday, the Bruins were up by one heading into the final four minutes, only to end up on the wrong end of an 11-0 run to end the game.

The Beavers strung together a 19-4 run on Sunday, shutting down the gassed blue and gold with a barrage of 3-pointers, and-1s and free throws. A 3-pointer just before the buzzer by Chou ended that run, but what was done was done.

Chou tied Onu for the team lead with 13 points on that shot, with Thomas and Horvat also breaking into double-figures. Anstey's eight points off the bench supplemented guard Kayla Owens' two, but getting outscored 26-8 in bench points and 14-2 on the fast break doomed the Bruins down the stretch.

The seriousness of Penn and Osborne's injuries has yet to be determined, meaning the rotation could remain in flux moving forward.

UCLA will get back to competition Thursday night against Stanford at Pauley Pavilion, looking to get back in the win column for the first time in four games.

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