Oregon State WBB: Beavers Complete 14-Point Comeback To Defeat Cal
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BERKELEY, Calif. – One could hardly be blamed for writing off Oregon State on Friday night.
The Beavers trailed by 14 points with 4:06 left in the third quarter after back-to-back-to-back three-pointers from California before Dominika Paurova sparked a massive comeback for a 71-64 victory.
The freshman scored all of her career-best 16 points in the second half and combined with Timea Gardiner, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter en route to 18 on the game, to lead the Beavs to the win.
“This was a fantastic, gritty, tough, Oregon State win. I could not be happier or more proud of this group for finding a way tonight against seemingly all odds,” said head coach Scott Rueck.
Raegan Beers dominated the first quarter, scoring 10 points in the games’ first six minutes. The Beavers led 15-8 at the period’s conclusion largely due to the post play and holding the Golden Bears to 25 percent shooting from the floor. The sophomore battled through foul trouble to finish with 19 points.
The second quarter was a struggle for the Beavers, who struggled to create separation against a physical California defense. Whistles went against Beers and Kelsey Rees, sitting them down for much of the period while Cal made a 13-0 run.
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The third quarter saw more of the same as the game started to feel like it got away from the Beavers. Then, trailing by 14, Paurova scored nine straight points and Kennedie Shuler found Lily Hansford open with a chance to cut the deficit to two.
Hansford – who hit clutch, go-ahead threes in the wins over Oregon and Villanova – did her part, draining the triple and cementing OSU’s comeback. The sophomore finished with 10 points on 2-of-3 shooting from three and a 4-of-5 day from the free throw line.
Cal would get the lead back out to seven, but Gardiner, Paurova and Hansford took over in the fourth. The trio combined for 24 of OSU’s 31 points in the final 10 minutes. Gardiner went 2-for-2 from three, Paurova got to the rim at will, and Hansford calmly made 4-of-5 free throws along with a three.
The Beavs shot an otherworldly 72.7 percent from the field in the final quarter. OSU made all four of its threes. Shuler pulled down three crucial rebounds in addition to facilitating the offense and hounding Cal’s shooters to a 3-of-13 period from downtown.
Oregon State heads across the Bay on Sunday for a showdown with no. 8 Stanford. The contest will be televised on Pac-12 Network with tip set for 2 p.m.
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