Beavers Squeak Past 18th Ranked Sun Devils, 57-54

Oregon State Women’s Basketball leaned on their workhorse, Marie Gulich, to pace them to a 57-54 win over Arizona State. Arizona State led most of the game, but Gulich got the Beavers the lead for good with 40 seconds left on a dime from Katie McWilliams. The Sun Devils had a chance to tie the game on a three-pointer in the closing seconds, but Mikayla Pivec got her hand on the final shot attempt to seal the deal.

This game matched up the conferences best scoring defenses, and that was reflected in the final score as each team averages around 56 points. The Beavers did not help themselves early as they missed multiple open layups in the first quarter, scoring just 10 points.

While the layups started to fall in the second quarter for Oregon State, Arizona State’s Robbi Ryan started getting warmed up as she hit four straight shots to finish the half 6-for-8 and lead all scorers at the break with 12. The lead was as high as nine points for the Sun Devils in the first half, but the Beavers held on and cut the lead to two at halftime thanks to a buzzer-beating three by Katie McWilliams. That three-pointer was the only one made for the Beavers as their drought continues from beyond the arc.

Turnovers kept Oregon State down most of the game as they coughed it up 15 times while giving up 13 offensive rebounds that led to 10 second chance points for their opponent. Fortunately for the Beavers, their defense held the Sun Devils to 35% shooting, so damage from those giveaways and boards was kept to a minimum.

Gulich was the star of the game with a game high 20 points on 75% shooting to go along with six rebounds and three blocks. Pivec shook off her first half shooting woes to finish with 12 points, six boards, two assists, and two blocks. Ryan led the Sun Devils with 19 points before fouling out late in the game.

The 22nd ranked Beavers move to 12-4 while the 18th ranked Sun Devils drop to 13-4. On Sunday, Oregon State will host Arizona to wrap up the weekend. Come back to Building the Dam to check out a game preview and the recap of that game.