Oregon State loses, ending season

The Oregon State women’s basketball team’s season is over. The Beavers (10-21, 4-15 Pac-12) lost to USC in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament, 64-57.

Like so many games this season, Oregon State had a chance to come away with a victory, but blew it in the closing minutes of the game. The loss marks the ninth time this season OSU has lost to a Pac-12 opponent by seven points or less.

In the game, Oregon State held the lead as late as 8:51 remaining in the second half, 41-39. However, a scoring drought and a string of defensive fouls allowed the Trojans (11-19, 8-11) to come away with the victory.

USC shot a season-high 46 free throws and made a season-high 35 of them. With them, the Trojans were able to overcome a poor shooting game that saw them convert just 29 percent of their field goal attempts.

Free throws turned out to be the deciding factor down the stretch. Over the final 8:06, the Trojans attempted 24 from the charity stripe and made 19.

As a result, the Beavers watched three of their players foul out: Jamie Weisner, Patricia Bright and ShaKiana Edwards-Teasley.

A late flurry of points by sophomore guard Ali Gibson was enough to cut USC’s lead to four with 24 seconds left, but the Beavers were unable to make defensive stops or force the Trojans into turnovers without fouling.

Gibson led the Beavers with 13 points. She was followed by Mollee Schwegler, who contributed 12 from the bench off of four-for-six shooting from 3-point territory.

USC was led by three players, all of whom were sent to the foul line at least 10 times. Ariya Crook paced the team by scoring 17 points, going 10-for-12 from the line. Cassie Harberts scored 16 points and made 10-of-18 foul shots. Christina Marinacci had 13 points and made nine of her 10 free throws.

It’s a disappointing end to a rough season for Oregon State, but there is still a lot to look forward to for next year, including the continued development of the younger players.

Throughout the season, Oregon State received major contributions from its freshman class. Weisner was a major bright spot as the team’s leading scorer and second best rebounder.

Earlier this week, the media and Pac-12 coaches named Weisner a Pac-12 All-Freshman. She was also named by the coaches as a All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention team.

Another freshman played particularly well for OSU. Forward Deven Hunter was the team’s leading rebounder for the season. She averaged 6.1 per game in only 21.5 minutes per game.

Three other freshmen — Samantha Siegner, Ruth Hamblin and Khadidja Toure — each made significant contributions to the team as well.

Siegner averaged 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in only 15.1 minutes per game.

Hamblin played in 28 of 31 games and shot 50 percent from the field on the season.

Toure saw the least amount of action of the three, but was still a contributor. She shot 31.6 percent from behind the arc in her freshman campaign.

Even though the team will be graduating five seniors this year, Oregon State will see the return of a lot of talent next year. Add in the team’s improved play down the stretch and next year could be promising for OSU.

Mitch Mahoney, sports reporter
On Twitter @MitchIsHere
sports@dailybarometer.com