CORVALLIS – The No. 5/7 Oregon State women’s basketball team hosted a capacity crowd for its annual Beavers Beyond the Classroom game, as 9,301 fans, mostly local students, watched the Beavers take down Southern Utah 95-45 Thursday.
“This was a lot of fun,” said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. “This is something we look forward to all year long, and something that we work really hard on. It is a noise you don’t hear very often, if ever. What a joy to be in that environment, and what an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Southern Utah is a team that plays extremely hard and is extremely tough. We knew we would be tested. I liked our execution from the beginning, and we adapted well when they made changes. I think we saw the floor well and moved the ball well. We had a lot of great performances today.”
With the win, the Beavers move to 5-0 on the year, while the Thunderbirds move to 3-2.
Mikayla Pivec tallied her third double-double of the season, going for 10 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists. Taylor Jones continued her stellar freshman campaign with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor.
Kat Tudor hit four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points. Destiny Slocum recorded 14 points and six assists, while Aleah Goodman tallied 12 points and seven assists. Noelle Mannen rounded out six Beavers in double-figures with 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting.
Maddie Washington went 4-for-5 from the floor to record eight points.
Oregon State shot 52.9 percent from the floor, while holding Southern Utah to 27.7 percent. OSU held a 95-45 advantage in rebounds.
The Beavers exploded out of the gate, scoring the first 13 points of the game. Oregon State took a 26-15 advantage into the second quarter.
OSU extended its lead to 28 in the second period, before heading to the break up 47-22.
The second half featured more of the same, as the Beavers went ahead 67-31 heading into the closing frame, on their way to a 50-point win.
Oregon State will hit the road for this first time this season next week, when the team heads to Miami for a two-game tournament that will pit the Beavers against No. 16/17 Miami (Friday) and Liberty (Saturday).
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