Oregon State WBB: Beavers Drop Round 1 of Civil War 76-64

Oregon used a dominant first half to take down the Beavers in the first exchange in this year’s Civil War, winning 76-64. The Ducks improve to 16-2, and 5-1 in conference, while the Beavers fall to 16-3, and 4-3 in conference.

Oregon State got off to a pretty great start, with an early 10 point run giving them a 10-2 lead. But you can never keep this Duck team down, Sabrina Ionesu, Satou Sabally and Ruthy Hebard seized control of the game, giving the Ducks a 25-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Ducks defense clamped down even more in the second, with the Beavers scoring only 11 points during the quarter. Taylor Jones was the only Beaver who seemed effective, scoring 17 of the Beavers 29 first half points. At the end of the half, Oregon State was down 45-29.

Oregon State made some adjustments at halftime, and finally managed to get some non-Jones players involved in the action. Aleah Goodman in particular found a rhythm, hitting a pair of threes to keep the Beavers in the game during the third quarter. Oregon State didn’t managed to whittle down the Duck lead, but it was clear the team was waking up.

That momentum continued into the fourth, with Destiny Slocum finally getting her game going. Slocum’s 12 points, including a beautiful pair of threes, helped the Beavers get the Oregon lead down to just 8 with a few minutes left in the game, Unfortunately the Beavers couldn’t get it any closer, as they couldn’t make their last few shots, and free throws from Sabally and Ionescu put the game away for Oregon.

Taylor Jones led the way for the Beavers, with 21 points and 3 rebounds. If not for Jones single-handedly carrying the team in the first half, this game could have turned out much worse. Destiny Slocum’s 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists helped get the Beavers, even if they couldn’t complete the comeback. Aleah Goodman rounded out the Beavers top scorers, with 11 points and 3 assists.

Turnovers were once again an issue for Oregon State, with the Ducks scoring 22 points off of 13 Beaver turnovers. Their free throw shooting was also exceptionally poor tonight, hitting only 4 of their 9 attempts. That’s just a few of the issues Oregon State will have to work on before Sunday.

Round 2 of the Civil War will take place at Gill Coliseum on Sunday, January 26th at 1:00 PM PT. Tickets have been sold out for awhile, but if you’re lucky enough to have one secured be sure to cheer the Beavers on for me. This will be a season defining game, and they’ll need a good crowd behind them.