Oregon State WBB: Beavers Advance To WNIT Elite Eight

CORVALLIS – The Oregon State women’s basketball team advanced to the final eight of the WNIT with a dramatic 78-73 win over New Mexico at Gill Coliseum.

“This was a great basketball game against a really good team,” said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. “Give them a lot of credit – we knew what they were capable of. It’s hard to replicate what they do until you are in it. They came in and played a really good game. It took us a little while to get going, but I was impressed with the way our group kept their head. I loved how tough we were, and I loved the crowd. It was a really fun second half – a back-and-forth battle, and I was really proud of the way we made plays down the stretch.”

With the win, the Beavers will now host UCLA on Sunday.

Oregon State trailed by as many as 18 in the contest, before surging back to take the win.

Talia von Oelhoffen exploded for 25 points, knocking down five 3-pointers and pulling down five rebounds. Ellie Mack set her Oregon State high with 22 points to go with five rebounds.

Jelena Mitrovic notched her second-straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Kennedy Brown had seven points and seven rebounds.

As a team the Beavers shot 41.9 percent from the floor and held New Mexico to 37.7 percent shooting.

New Mexico got off to a hot start from the floor, hitting four of its first five 3-point attempts to go in front 18-9 at the game’s first media timeout. The Lobos headed to the second quarter in front 30-16.

UNM took an 18-point lead in the second quarter, but the Beavers scored eight unanswered points to get within nine two minutes before the break. The Lobos took a 44-36 edge into the intermission.

Von Oelhoffen had 14 points at the break.

The Beavers got within four early in the third frame, and von Oelhoffen knocked down a longball to get Oregon State within a point with 2:38 left in the quarter. The Lobos went into the closing frame up 56-53.

The teams traded punches in the fourth, with New Mexico leading 67-64 with five minutes to play. Emily Codding hit a big 3-pointer down the stretch, and Mack converted a 3-point play to put the Beavers up with just over a minute to play. Oregon State knocked down its free throws down the stretch to take the win by five.

Sunday’s game will take place at 12 p.m.

OSU Athletics

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