The Beavers Pac-12 torunament run ended Sunday night as they fell short to the 12 time Pac-12 tournament winners, Stanford Cardinal, 48-43. Stanford outscored the Beavers 25-14 in the 2nd half to win the Pac-12 tournament in Seattle’s Key Arena, in front of a crowd that was mostly Oregon State fans. Stanford’s Sophomore Forward Alanna Smith came off the bench to lead all scorers with 18 pts.
The Beavers jumped out to a 16 to 3 lead after Mikayla Pivec’s three pointer with 4:34 left in the 1st quarter. The Beavers had 22-12 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. The only time the Beavers trailed in the first half was when Stanford’s Karlie Samuleson hit a three pointer to give Stanford a 3-2 early advantage with 9:40 left in the 1st quarter. The Beavers were able to lead the entire 2nd quarter, but Stanford was able to cut into the Beaver advantage thanks to solid defense and great bench play. The Beavers led at halftime 29-23.
The Beavers were able to jump out to a 34-25 lead in the third quarter, and it looked as if they would weather the Stanford storm. Stanford was able to tie the game at 34 with 3:48 left in the 3rd. quarter. The game became a see-saw battle afterwards, which the Beavs held a 36-34 advantage at the end of the 3rd.
The Beavers shooting woes continued in the 4th quarter as Stanford was able to outscore the Beavers 14 to 7 in the 4th. quarter en route to their 48-43 victory. The Beavers trailed Stanford 46-43 with 30 seconds left were forced to foul. Stanford’s Karlie Samuleson was able to seal the game by making two free throws. After sweeping Stanford in the regular season, the 6th ranked Beavers lost to Stanford for the first time this season. Sydney Wiese led the Pac-12 Regular Season Champion Beavers with 13 points and Marie Gulich added 10 points. The Beavers shot 32 percent from the field. Credit Stanford for making the correct defensive adjustments. The Beavers were a perfect 7-7 on free throw attempts. They were able to hold Stanford to 33 percent shooting.
The Beavers had another phenomenal season (29-4, 16-2). Next up for the Beavers is the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday, March 13th at 4pm on ESPN. The Beavers have less than two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Tournament. The Beavers are projected to be a number 2 seed in the tournament, and are most likely to host the first two rounds in Corvallis March 17-20. The great news for the Beavers is that the Pac-12 conference RPI is number one in the nation. According to ESPN’s Women’s Basketball Bracketology expert Charlie Creme, the Beavers needed to win the Pac-12 tournament to get a No. 1 seed, which the Beavers fell short. Exciting times are ahead for Head Coach Scott Rueck and his talent Beaver team as they prepare for the NCAA tournament.
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