Beavers Survive Upset Bid From Boise State, Win 80-75 in OT

With less than 20 seconds left in regulation, it looked like the Beavers were headed for a second straight loss to a much lower seed. 13th seed Boise State was up by 4, and Oregon State had few chances remaining. But the Beavers gritted out a tough pair of final possessions, tieing things up right before the 4th quarter ended. In overtime, they took control, and got a 80-75 win to advance to the second round, where they’ll take on 5th seed Gonzaga.

The Beavers actually started strong today. Mikayla Pivec and Destiny Slocum provided scoring and assists to get the Beavers a six point lead at the end of the first. That lead continued to grow early in the second, with Pivec in particular catching fire. The Beavers led by as much as 14 that period, but then cracks started showing.

Turnovers were an issue all game, with the Beavers racking up 18 over the course of play. With 5 minutes left in the second, the Broncos began capitalizing on the Beavers’ turnovers, cutting the lead down to 8 before the half ended, 36-28.

The third was a disaster. The Beavers fell into one of the shooting cold streaks that have been killing them all season. They failed to score for a 5 minute stretch in the third, and during that time Boise State took control of the game. The team’s shooting was especially poor at the foul line; with the team as a whole shooting just over 50% during regulation. The Broncos grabbed the lead late in the quarter, but an Aleah Goodman three cut that down to just 2 points, 47-45.

Boise State maintained that lead for most of the fourth, and entered the final seconds of the game up four. Mikayla Pivec hit a layup with 13 seconds to go to get within two, and then stepped in front of the inbound pass to force a jump ball while the Beavers had the possession arrow. Katie McWilliams was then fouled on the next series, and made both her free throws to tie the game up. Boise State had a chance to score with 8 seconds left, but couldn’t seal the deal, and we were headed to overtime tied 66-66

The Beavers finally put their free throws woes to rest in what turned out to be a very physical OT. Unlike earlier in the game, the Beavers made sure to get their best shooters to the time, with Mikayla Pivec, Aleah Goodman and Taya Corosdale all taking shots. Boise State hung tough, but couldn’t make their shots fall under pressure. Oregon State pulled away in the final minute, winning 80-75.

Mikayla Pivec and Aleah Goodman led the team in scoring, with each hitting 20 points. Pivec also had 12 rebounds, and led the team in assists, with 5. Taya Corosdale also hit double digits with 13 points, and was the team’s leading rebounder, with 15.

The Beavers now have to prepare for a tough Gonzaga team, who are the Albany region’s 5th seed. That game will be on Monday, March 25th, at 6:00 PM. Check back with Building the Dam for a preview.