CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State women’s basketball took undefeated Arizona State to the brink Sunday afternoon, but came up just short in a 55-53 overtime loss at Gill Coliseum.
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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State women’s basketball took undefeated Arizona State to the brink Sunday afternoon, but came up just short in a 55-53 overtime loss at Gill Coliseum.
The Sun Devils entered the matchup 11-0 under first-year head coach Molly Miller and left Corvallis still unbeaten at 12-0, though not without a fight from the Beavers (6-5). Oregon State erased an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter and forced overtime before a late three-pointer by Last-Tear Poa sealed the win for ASU.
“I thought it was really just a war, a basketball war, and I was really proud of our team for rising to that,” head coach Scott Rueck said.
Down 48-40 late in regulation, the Beavers caught fire. Oregon State knocked down four of its next six shots, three from beyond the arc, capped by back-to-back triples from Tiara Bolden that tied the game at 50-50 with 26 seconds remaining.
Kennedie Shuler and Jenna Villa delivered key plays throughout the rally, with Shuler battling on the glass and Villa providing timely offense.
Bolden opened overtime with a basket, and Shuler drilled a three-pointer 57 seconds into the extra period to give Oregon State a 53-50 lead.
From there, the Beavers’ shots stopped falling. Oregon State missed its final six field goal attempts, allowing ASU to claw back. After a Brackens layup cut the deficit to one, Poa buried the game-winning three with 16 seconds left.
“It hurts to come up short in a game like this, but that doesn’t change the fact that we had an opportunity to win this game,” Rueck said.
Villa led the Beavers with 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Bolden finished with 13 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter and overtime, along with six rebounds, two steals and a block. Néné Sow provided a major spark, pulling down 12 rebounds in 24 minutes, while Shuler added 10 boards.
Oregon State now heads to Maui for the Maui Classic, where the Beavers will face Liberty and Montana State.
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