CORVALLIS – The No. 6/7 Oregon State women’s basketball team took down its first ranked opponent of the season Thursday evening, as the Beavers defeated No. 18/20 DePaul 98-77 at Gill Coliseum in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT.
“This was a fun night in Gill,” said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. “DePaul is a great team. They’re coached to be really confident offensively. They’re not the biggest team, but they’re as tenacious as anyone. I liked our defensive intensity for most of the game. This was just a great night, and I’m excited to advance in the tournament.”
With the win, the Beavers will now host Missouri State in the Preseason WNIT Final on Sunday at Gill Coliseum.
Freshman Taylor Jones notched her second 20-point outing in her first three games, going for 24 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Junior Aleah Goodman finished with 16 points, six assists and five rebounds, including a contested triple from just inside half court to close out the third quarter.
Redshirt-junior Destiny Slocum finished with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds, while freshman Kennedy Brown tallied 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Senior Mikayla Pivec filled the stat-sheet with 10 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Sophomore Jasmine Simmons rounded out six Beavers in double-figures with 10 points and six rebounds.
Kat Tudor and Taya Corosdale both made their season debuts in the contest, after missing the start of the year due to injury.
The two sides went back-and-forth through the opening phase of the game, as Oregon State took a 14-11 advantage into the first media timeout. The Beavers went end-to-end in the closing three seconds of the opening frame, as Brown hit a layup to send Oregon State to the second up 21-19.
The Beavers used a 14-0 run in the middle part of the second quarter to stretch out the lead to double-figures. OSU headed to the intermission leading 46-31.
Jones had 15 points in the first half for the Beavers.
Oregon State continued to hold a double-figure advantage throughout the third period before Goodman hit a long-contested three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Beavers to the fourth up 73-54. OSU controlled the game from there on its way to a 21-point win.
Sunday’s matchup with Missouri State will tip at 1:30 p.m. and will air live on CBS Sports Network.
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