Beavs Battle to the Finish at No. 3 Stanford

Friday, January 27

Stanford, CA

8:00 PM

Oregon State

11-9,3-6Pac-12

Stanford

20-2,8-1Pac-12

Oregon St.

Stanford

January 27, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score PDF Box Score

By: Athletic Communications

STANFORD, Calif. – Oregon State left it all on the floor and took no. 3 Stanford down to the very last play on Friday night at Maples Pavilion but ran out of magic late in a 63-60 defeat.

The Beavs had a late chance to tie it up, but good shots barely missed the mark in the closing moments to allow the Cardinal to sneak away with a win.

Bendu Yeaney reached deep into her bag of tricks all night, making big shots throughout the evening to total 15 points. She also provided her normal stout defense with three steals. Jelena Mitrovic also provided big plays on the defensive end with two blocks to go with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists in an all-around effort.

Timea Gardiner showed why getting her on the floor was such a big boost for Oregon State with 16 points. The freshman made several contested shots late in the game, finishing with an efficient 7-for-11 day shooting and 2-of-3 from three.

The two teams engaged in an atypical-for-them high-scoring quarter early on. Oregon State had three four-point leads during the first at 12-8, 14-10 and 18-14 as the teams traded baskets. Shalexxus Aaron contributed two early threes while Yeaney got to the rim consistently for six points. Stanford led 22-18 after the first ten minutes.

Both squads turned up the defense to open the second quarter. After trading buckets to make it 25-20 in favor of the Cardinal, both teams were held scoreless for nearly three minutes. Gardiner broke the draught with a wing three, her first of seven points in the second. The freshman also put Oregon State ahead on a mid-range jumper with 1:41 left. Stanford retook the lead, but the Beavs entered the break within one at 33-32.

The third quarter was yet another back-and forth affair where neither team led by more than four. The Beavs took an early lead with a 6-0 spurt on triples by Yeaney and Talia von Oelhoffen, going up 40-36 with 7:07 remaining. Stanford countered with their own six-point bump to give the Cardinal a 44-42 advantage.

Both teams hit clutch shots late in the period to send the game to the fourth in a 49-49 deadlock. Gardiner created space and a shot with 17 seconds left, hitting the mid-range jumper. Then, Stanford's Haley Jones banked in an off-balance shot of her own to tie it at 49 as time expired.

The duel continued to the very end. The third-ranked Cardinal took a 55-49 lead to open the fourth, but von Oelhoffen answered with a three and then the Beavs tied it up with another 6-0 run. The three forwards provided the big buckets with Mitrovic, Beers and Gardiner combining to tie it up. After Stanford went up a pair, Yeaney got downhill and hit yet another big shot at the bucket.

The Cardinal proved to be a bit too much in the final minutes though. Two offensive rebounds extended their possession before Jones hit two free throws to go ahead. After an empty possession for OSU, Jones extended the lead to three and the Beavs couldn't get a shot from long distance to fall in order to tie it up.

The Beavers will head to California on Sunday with a chance to split the Bay trip. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. with the game televised on Pac-12 Oregon.

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