Beavers Battle Cardinal in Three Point Loss

DiJonai Carrington stole the inbounds pass with 8.1 seconds left to seal the win for the Stanford Cardinal in a 60-57 heartbreaker for the Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers had battled from behind nearly the entire game to give themselves a chance for just their 10th win over the mighty Cardinal.

It was a game of runs as Stanford busted out the gates for an 11-0 run that made it look like Oregon State was in over their heads against a formidable defense. After a much needed timeout, the Beavers responded with their own 8-0 run to show that they would not back down on their home court. They tied it up midway through the second quarter on a Taylor Kalmer three, and eventually went into halftime down by one.

Oregon State then grabbed their only lead on first possession of second half on hard layup by Mikayla Pivec that sparked a 7-0 run. Stanford answered with a 17-2 run to turn their six point deficit early in the third quarter into a seven point lead going into the fourth.

The Beavers chipped their way back to find themselves down, 59-57, with 20 seconds left. They inbounded the ball from the sideline all the way to under the basket to Marie Gulich, who couldn’t connect on the point blank shot due to a well played double team. After several missed free throws by Marta Sneizik and Brittany McPhee, it looked liked the home team may get one last opportunity to tie the game, that is until Carrington flew in front of an intended pass for Pivec.

Offensive rebounds were the key for Stanford’s road upset. They snagged nine more than Oregon State, including three in the final two minutes of the contest to spoil the comeback. The win snapped a losing streak for the Cardinal at Gill, where they hadn’t won since February of 2015.

Oregon State was led by Katie McWilliams with 16 points, and nailed four timely three-pointers. Pivec continued her all-around game with 15 points, eight assists, five boards, and two steals while Kalmer provided another solid effort from the bench with 12 points. Gulich scored just seven points in her first game where she didn’t reach double digits, and Kat Tudor found herself smothered at the three-point line in a scoreless effort. Brittany McPhee led Stanford with 18 points and 12 rebounds, including six offensive.

The Beavers (16-6, 7-4 Pac-12) will look to right the ship on Sunday against the Cal Bears, and the Cardinal (15-8, 9-2 Pac-12) will head down to Eugene to take on the Oregon Ducks.