Oregon State
Washington State
Beavers' Comeback Bid Falls Just Short Against WSU
February 15, 2013 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2013
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Note: Scroll to bottom for post-game press conference video with Scott Rueck, Deven Hunter and Jamie Weisner.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Beavers staged a furious second-half rally, erasing a 16-point deficit to tie the game with 32 seconds remaining, but a WSU jumper with just three ticks on the clock went through and the Oregon State women's basketball team's comeback bid fell just short against the Cougars, as OSU dropped a 51-49 contest on Friday night in Gill Coliseum.
"I'm really proud. I'm proud of this team all the time anyway," Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck said. "We've had some really tough losses this year and this was another one, [but] this team will never quit. That's not who they are. They battle like crazy and they did that again tonight."
Oregon State (9-16. 3-10 Pac-12) was in its largest hole of the game, 40-24, with 14:55 on the clock when the Beavers kicked things into high gear. Over the next 14:23, OSU went on a massive 25-9 run to tie the action, 49-49, with 32 seconds left.
An Alyssa Martin layup brought the Beavers to within eight, 48-40, with 4:24 to go and sparked an even more decisive 11-1 run that brought things even. The Cougars' Lia Galdeira hit a free throw for WSU's only points during the stretch, but was followed by a three from Jamie Weisner.
Galdeira turned it over on Washington State's (10-14, 6-7) next possession which led to a Deven Hunter layup off an assist from Mollee Schwegler. With the Beavers deploying full-court pressure, Weisner stole the inbounds pass with her team down four, 49-45, and 1:26 remaining.
The Beavers called timeout and Rueck got a look for Schwegler. Her shot hit back iron, but Hunter's hustle resulted in an offensive rebound and put-back bucket to bring her team within two, 49-47, with just over a minute left.
Oregon State's pressure again got to the Cougars as Weisner stole yet another inbounds pass. The Beaver freshman was fouled, missed the front end of her one-and-one, but crashed the boards to rebound her own miss and secure another possession for OSU. Weisner eventually fought through traffic down the right side of the lane and scooped it in with 32 seconds to go to tie the score for the first time, 49-49.
"Shots aren't going to fall every game," Weisner commented. "You just have to keep playing with your heart. That's one thing somebody can't take from you night in and night out - your heart. I thought we fought down the stretch and had a chance ... in this game."
With a two-second discrepancy between the game clock and shot clock, Washington State maneuvered across half court and Galdeira held the ball until there were a little less than 10 seconds remaining. She dribbled in the key, spun and was stopped, but then heaved up a shot while fading away to her left with an OSU hand in her face. The improbable attempt from just inside the left elbow went through and the Cougars went up 51-49 with just three second left.
After an OSU turnover, Khadidja Toure forced a Washington State miscue to get the ball back for the Beavers and give her team one more chance, but an inbounds play from the midline in front of the scorer's table was well defended and Oregon State couldn't get a clean look as the clock expired.
"Galdeira loves that moment," Rueck said. "[She] wants the ball down the stretch and hit just an unbelievable shot to win this game."
Weisner led Oregon State with 11 points, four steals and three assists and fellow freshman Samantha Siegner pulled down a career and game-high 10 rebounds. Galdeira led all scorers with 17 on 5-for-18 shooting.
Oregon State found itself fighting back after a tough go from the floor in the first half, in which the Beavers shot just 20 percent (6-for-30) and went 0-for-8 from three. The team's 40.6 percent clip (13-for-32) in the second wasn't enough to overcome Washington State's 29-16 halftime advantage.
"One of the things we talked about at halftime was that we were getting great looks, the ball was just not going in," Rueck added. "I thought we executed pretty well ... but the ball just didn't fall for us for whatever reason. I thought we were executing well enough to not only be in the game, but to be ahead."
The Beavers are back in action on Monday, hosting Washington at 6 p.m. That contest will be carried on the Pac-12 Networks with Ann Schatz and Anne Myers Drysdale on the call. Tickets, including $1 general admission tickets for OSU's Fill Gill promotion, are available by visiting beavertickets.com.
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