Beavers Take on the Huskies in the PAC-12 Quarterfinals

The Oregon State Women’s Basketball Team takes on the Washington Huskies in the PAC-12 Tournament quarterfinals. You can catch the game on the PAC-12 Network on Friday, March 8th, at 8:30 PM PST or follow the team’s Twitter page for other ways to follow along live. Let’s take a closer look at the Huskies.

Washington (9-20 overall, 2-15 conference)

Eleventh-seeded Washington advanced to the quarterfinals with a first round upset over the sixth-seed Utah Utes, 64-54. They were led by Missy Peterson who matched her career high with 23 points. The Utes essentially limped through this game, playing only seven players due to injury.

The Beavers and Huskies last met on January 25th in Seattle where the visiting team trounced the Dawgs, 86-39. Desitiny Slocum led the Beavers with 28 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Mikayla Pivec had an equally impressive performance with 12 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, and two steals. The Huskies afterwards went on to go 1-8 to finish conference play and end up one spot ahead of the last place Colorado Buffaloes.

Who to watch

#4 - Amber Melgoza, Junior Guard

The All-PAC-12 honorable mention scored well below her 17.8 average with nine points in the win over Utah, but don’t expect her to have that kind of performance against the Beavers. In each of her two meetings against the Beavers this year, Melgoza has scored 20 points.

#44 - Missy Peterson, Sophomore Guard

As mentioned earlier, Peterson is coming off of a career high 23 points against the Utes. She connected on six of her eight shots from downtown to go along with four rebounds, two steals, and an assist. We’ll see if any of that momentum carries forward against a team she has struggled against this year; she scored just seven points total in two games against the Beavers.

#53 - Darcy Rees, Freshman Forward

The 6’4’’ freshman was able to contribute in the upset win in the first round of the tournament with 10 points and eight rebounds, two assists, and a block. While she tallied 18 combined points against the Beavers during the regular season, she shot just 24% from the floor, nearly 20% less than her season average.

Prediction

I really thought that the Beavers would be facing the Utes in the quarterfinals, but that’s why they play the game. Oregon State will have the luxury of playing the 11-seed, but don’t forget that Washington had upset on their mind in these teams’ first meeting, just an eleven point loss for the Dawgs. The Beavers will likely squash any thought of upset on the mind of the Huskies and head into the semifinals.