CORVALLIS – The No. 12 Oregon State women’s basketball team overcame an early deficit to take down USC 68-61 Friday evening at Gill Coliseum.

“USC came at us aggressively and effectively,” said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. “They got comfortable and their transition hurt us early. The speed they play at takes a while to get used to. This became a grind of a game. It ended up coming down to the last few minutes, and it was big shots and big plays that made the difference. This was a great win against a very good team.”

The Beavers hit eight of their final 10 field goal attempts, and used important 3-pointers from Aleah Goodman and Destiny Slocum in the closing minutes to lock down the victory.

Junior Mikayla Pivec came up big yet again, narrowly missing a double-double with 18 points and eight rebounds. Slocum finished with 16 points and five assists.

Senior Joanna Grymek went for 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor, and also tallied nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Goodman rounded out four Beavers in double-figures with 11 points.

Sophomore Taya Corosdale put up seven points and seven rebounds.

As a team, the Beavers shot 43.6 percent from the floor, narrowly edging USC’s 43.3 percent shooting.

USC scored the first 16 points of the game to jump out to an early lead. The Trojans took a 21-10 lead into the second quarter.

The Oregon State defense clamped down in the second, holding USC scoreless for over four minutes to spark a 7-0 run. The Beavers continued to close the deficit from there, heading to the locker room down 27-26.

Grymek led the Beavers with 10 points and six rebounds in the first half.

Oregon State wasted no time in the third quarter, taking its first lead of the contest within the first 20 seconds of the second half. USC answered with 11 unanswered points to go back in front, but the Beavers responded by using a 7-0 run to level the score. The Trojans headed to the closing frame up 45-43.

The teams traded punches early in the fourth with USC going to the final media timeout up 57-54. Pivec gave the Beavers the edge back with 2:06 left on the clock. USC retook the lead, but Goodman knocked down a dagger from long range to return the lead to OSU with 1:18 to play. Oregon State was able to control the game from there, taking the win by seven.

The Beavers will host Senior Day Sunday when UCLA visits Gill Coliseum. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as Oregon State honors Katie McWilliams and Joanna Grymek in a special pregame ceremony.