Beavers Take Down Arizona State 59-54 in First Round of Pac-12 Tournament

The Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament got started Wednesday afternoon, and the eight seed Beavers opened up their postseason with a close fought 59-54 victory over the ninth seed Arizona State Sun Devils.

Oregon State opened up an early lead over ASU with some sharp three point shooting. Talia von Oelhoffen hit two, while Emily Codding and AJ Marotte contributed one each, to help the Beavers build an 11 point lead in the first quarter. The Sun Devils managed to cut that margin to 8, thanks to a Jaddan Simmons three pointer, before the quarter ended.

Both teams struggled to score in the second, with each only adding 8 points to their total. That was enough to keep the Beavers in front 24-16 after a very low scoring first half, but with Oregon State running into a lot as the season wound down, and against a very dangerous Arizona State team, there was plenty of reason to be concerned about the second half. Ellie Mack put those concerns to rest quickly.

Mack had a huge third quarter. She put up 11 points in 10 minutes, outscoring the entire Arizona State squad, who only managed 10 in the third. Her performance was highlighted by a pair of threes that helped Oregon State pull out to a 18 point lead over the Sun Devils. As it turned out, the Beavers would need just about all of those points.

After a long cold stretch from the Sun Devils, Arizona State cut the Beaver lead to 14 points before the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was almost all ASU. After an anemic first three quarters where they only scored 26 total points, the Sun Devils exploded for 28 points in the fourth. The increased pace also opened up offensive opportunities for the Beavers, but they struggled to keep up with ASU.

Still, it was enough to keep the Beavers ahead. Talia von Oelhoffen kept her cool. She hit a clutch three to keep the Beavers offense threatening, and when the Sun Devils had to force the Beavers to the foul line she was perfect. Von Oelhoffen gave the Beavers their final points of the game, icing a pair of free throws to preserve a 59-54 win.

Mack led the Beavers in scoring with 14 points, along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Von Oelhoffen was right behind her with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Greta Kampschroeder and Kennedy Brown each added 7 points to round out the Beavers top scorers.

The road ahead is not an easy for Oregon State. Tomorrow they’ll face the Pac-12’s top seed, the #2 Stanford Cardinal. Tip off is set for 2:30 PM PT.