Oregon State Women’s Basketball: Beavers Fall in Sweet Sixteen Against Louisville, 61-44

The Beavers 2019 season ended in the Sweet Sixteen, with a 17 point loss to #1 seed Louisville, 61-44. The Beavers once again suffered from poor shooting, while Louisville’s excellent perimeter attack found plenty of openings in the Beavers’ defense.

Louisville jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, going up 13-4 before the Beavers fought back. Mikayla Pivec led the charge, scoring 7 in the first quarter, to get the Cardinals lead down to 6, 21-15, at the end of the quarter.

Lousville’s three point shooting looked to be a problem for the Beavers early, with the six in the first half making up the lion’s share of the Cardinals points. With 5 minutes left in the quarter, the Beavers finally managed to lock down the perimeter, holding Louisville scoreless for the remainder of the half.

Unfortunately, the Beavers failed to capitalize on the Louisville drought. The Beavers scored just 4 points to get the Cardinals lead down to 7 at the half.

Cold shooting continued for both teams as the second half opened. It took almost three minutes for either team to score, and 4 and a half minutes before the Beavers got back on the board with a lone free throw. The Cardinals finally broke through the Beavers perimeter defense late in the third to pull away, while during the entire quarter the Beavers could only muster 5 points, all from Mikayla Pivec.

The Beavers never managed to get the margin back under 10 points, as Louisville hammered them relentlessly in the fourth, pulling away for a 61-44 win. The offense recovered a bit, scoring 16 points in the quarter, but by then it was not nearly enough.

Mikayla Pivec tried her hardest to carry the team, scoring 17 points, more than double anyone else on the team. She was the only Beaver who scored in the horrendous third quarter. She also added 9 rebounds and 3 assists.

Destiny Slocum and Aleah Goodman each contributed 8 points. Goodman hit one of the two three point shots the team made this game, and had 1 rebound and 2 assists. Slocum added 5 rebounds.

It’s a tough end to a promising season for the Beavers, but the team still accomplished a lot this year. Building the Dam will have season recaps coming in the next week, and a look ahead at next season.