Tiara Bolden tied a career-high with 25 points for the surging Beavers.
CORVALLIS — Putting on a steady performance on both ends, fueled by the constant energy of its leading scorer, Oregon State women’s basketball beat Illinois 64-59 Friday night at Gill Coliseum.
Tiara Bolden tied a career high with 25 points, including 12 during the fourth quarter, to lead the Beavers (3-0). Lizzy Williamson added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench, and freshman Lara Alonso-Basurto scored nine points on 4 of 6 shooting.
“Just a fun night in Gill,” OSU coach Scott Rueck said. “That was what we all sign up to be a part of. Just a great basketball game, two tough teams early in the season. Certainly we’re both figuring things out, so it’s a battle of survival.”
OSU held Illinois (2-1) to just 34% shooting as a team, and on the other end dished out 13 assists on 25 made baskets. Illinois, an NCAA tournament team last season, was led by Berry Wallace with 24 points and six rebounds.
It was Bolden’s clutch scoring that won it in the end for the Beavers, as she scored 12 of OSU’s 21 points in the fourth.
“I honestly had nothing running on in my brain,” Bolden said to chuckles in the postgame press conference. “I was just thinking do what the coaches need me to do, and execute. … Last game was a little harder execution-wise, but I think when we all locked in as a team and executed our plays, that just made a huge impact.”
Friday marked OSU’s first win over a power conference opponent since beating Boston College 54-49 last November.
The Beavers came out with high energy, going up 6-2 early on a pair of three-pointers by Jenna Villa and Bolden. But Illinois would settle in and bring the pressure in the halfcourt, forcing four first quarter turnovers.
Williamson provided a major boost on offense in relief of starting center Néné Sow, hitting shots inside and from midrange with a soft touch. Her presence in the pick and roll opened things up for OSU offensively, while Sow consistently held down the fort defensively.
Sow and Williamson — both transfers, listed at 6-8 and 6-5, respectively — are emerging as a reliable platoon substitution for OSU at center, with Alonso-Basurto playing some five as well when both are on the bench.
“That’s super fun, just that friendship and relationship and how it contributes to the team,” Williamson said of herself and Sow. “Obviously, we have a great height advantage (laughs) and on top of that great skillsets. It’s been fun, and it’s even better in practice when we get to go up against each other every day.”
Illinois led 18-16 after the first quarter. That extended to 22-16 before OSU turned the energy back up.
The Beavers rattled off a 13-2 run to take a 29-24 lead, with disciplined defense serving as the catalyst. Baskets inside from Williamson and Alonso-Basurto were supplemented by outside shots from OSU’s versatile group of guards.
Through three games, this OSU team is sharing the ball extraordinarily well. The Beavers had nine assists on 11 baskets in the first half, furthering that trend.
“On-brand for us,” Rueck said. “I didn’t know that stat but it doesn’t surprise me. We’ve actually been focused a lot on vision, seeing the defense. We talk about that a lot. And passing on-time. Those were themes coming into this game. Air Force the other night pressured us so much, all over the court, and we didn’t handle it extremely well.”
After going scoreless the final four minutes of the first half against Illinois, the Beavers took a 29-28 lead into the break.
Illinois took a 34-31 lead early in the third quarter, playing with pace and locking up the Beavers defensively. But OSU stuck with it, getting its hand in passing lanes and finding easy buckets on the fast break.
An 8-0 run by the Beavers reignited the crowd in Corvallis, as they took a 39-34 lead with 4:09 left in the third.
OSU led 43-41 through three as Wallace kept Illinois in it with her aggressive play on both ends.
A bucket from Alonso-Basurto made it 49-44 Beavers with seven minutes to go. Illinois hung tough with some timely outside shots, but OSU got the deficit up to eight thanks to Bolden’s scoring at all three levels.
Despite Illinois’ best efforts, Bolden was too much to overcome down the stretch.
Next game: Oregon State (3-0) vs. Utah State (1-1)
- When: Tuesday, Nov. 18
- Time: 11:00 a.m. PT
- Where: Gill Coliseum
- Stream: ESPN+
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