In her final regular season home game at Gill Coliseum, Senior Forward Marie Gulich put on a show, leading the Beavers to victory over USC. The Trojans won earlier this season on their home turf, but despite putting up a tough effort, couldn’t get the job done in Corvallis.

Oregon State took an early lead in the first quarter, but twelve first half turnovers got USC right back in the game, leading to a one point lead for the Trojans at the half. The Beavers battled back in the second half, and cut down on giving the ball away, to take the lead back. The Trojans kept it close, but some clutch shooting from Kat Tudor and Marie Gulich’s ability to shut down the post sealed the victory for Oregon State.

Gulich was the star of the night, with a fitting send off for her Gill Coliseum career. She finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Gulich was dominant on both offense and defense, gliding around USC defenders and shutting their front court out of the key.

The low point of the night may have been early in the third quarter, when Marie Gulich was called for one of the iffy fouls that have followed her around all season. Arguing these has been a season long crusade for Scott Rueck, and he earned himself a technical tonight. This really got the crowd into the game, and Gill Coliseum was rocking for the rest of the night.

Kat Tudor had another strong game, with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Getting Tudor into the game has been a key for Beaver wins all season; Tudor did little in the losses against UCLA and USC earlier in the year, but was a big part of the wins against both teams this weekend.

The leading scorers for the Trojans were Guard Sadie Edwards and Forward Kristen Simon, with 16 each. Minyon Moore was also a big threat, with 8 points and 5 assists.

The win for the Beavers puts them at 21-6, and 12-4 in conference play. They’ll be hoping for a UCLA loss against Oregon tomorrow, to help keep the standings at the top of the PAC nice and tight. Meanwhile, USC falls to 17-10 overall, and 7-9 in conference play.

Up Next

Oregon State hits the road for the last week of the regular season, with a trip to the Arizona schools. First up is Arizona, who has struggled this season, with a 2-13 conference record. The Beavers beat the Wildcats 88-48 earlier this season in Corvallis. The rematch is set for 7:00 pm on Friday, February 23rd.

USC will finish up their regular season with visits from the Mountain schools, first up will be Utah on Thursday, February 22nd.