Oregon State Proves It Belongs in Heartbreaking Loss to #9 USC

Friday, January 5

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Oregon State Proves It Belongs in Heartbreaking Loss to #9 USC

January 05, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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By: Athletic Communications

LOS ANGELES – Oregon State proved it belonged among the nations' best on Friday, but the Beavers couldn't quite pull off the win in a 56-54 defeat to no. 9 USC at the Galen Center.

Talia von Oelhoffen led Oregon State with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists in another outstanding effort. The nation's second-leading scorer - JuJu Watkins – had a game-high 28, but the Beavers forced her to do so on 33 shots and an 11-for-33 day from the floor. AJ Marotte and Donovyn Hunter led the defensive effort on the freshman.

Hunter also was OSU's second-leading scorer with 13 points, including three three-pointers. The freshman calmly handled USC's pressure, getting the Beavs into their sets with just two turnovers in 35 minutes.

"While this is one that feels like it got away from us, it is one to build on and that locker room is going to be a hungry one," said head coach Scott Rueck "I've been saying it: I think this team has all the makings of a great team. This was not our 'A' game – give USC credit for that - but we're still going toe-to-toe with a great USC team ranked in the top 10."

The Beavers jumped out to the early advantage, emerging from a period that was mostly back-and-forth with a 15-11 lead. Marotte did most of the offensive damage with eight points in the frame on two triples and two free throws.

The teams strung dueling runs together in the second with an 8-0 spurt from the Women of Troy putting them up 19-17 before an identical run by the Beavers regained an advantage at 25-19. Talia von Oelhoffen provided a team-high five points in the second and the Beavs entered the half up 28-25.

USC regained the advantage in the third with a late run, all coming from Watkins. The freshman scored the period's final seven points to give the hosts a 43-42 lead. Von Oelhoffen was superhuman to keep OSU in the game, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and assisting on the Beavs' only other field goal.

Neither team strung together much of a run in the fourth quarter and the period's largest lead was 56-51 in favor of USC. Raegan Beers, quiet for much of the night due to foul trouble, came through with an and-one to close the gap to two, but two shots in the final 15 seconds missed the mark to allow the Trojans to slip away.

Up next, the Beavers face the other half of the Crosstown Showdown, battling no. 2 UCLA on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network.

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