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CORVALLIS, Ore – A Gill Coliseum crowd of 8,525 with a record 2,369 students were enraptured by college basketball’s game of the year on Friday night, one that featured four lead changes in the final seven seconds and fittingly ended on a buzzer-beater in a 79-77 Oregon State victory.
Talia von Oelhoffen delivered the win to the No. 11 Beavers, popping free on an inbounds play and burying a three-pointer as time expired to defeat the no. 9 UCLA Bruins.
The junior made Oregon State 15-0 at home in 2023-24 and continued a six-game winning streak that includes five ranked wins and back-to-back top 10 victories for the first time in school history.
She was in position to make the game-winner in part due to the efforts of Timea Gardiner, who scored a career-high 21 points and sank crucial go-ahead free throws with 15 seconds left. UCLA followed with a three-pointer and - after von Oelhoffen hit a go-ahead layup with 2.3 seconds left – a seemingly game-winning jumper with 1.1 seconds remaining.
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That’s when Von Oelhoffen poured in the final of her 22 points, pairing the scoring effort with five rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists. Gardiner’s career-high came on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and a perfect 8-for-8 day at the stripe, all while contending with UCLA center Lauren Betts on the other end of the floor in the defensive place of Raegan Beers.
Gardiner helped Oregon State on two 8-0 runs in the game, including the final moments of the third quarter where she took in a pass from Dominika Paurova and hit a buzzer-beater of her own to tie the game at 58 entering the final 10 minutes.
Paurova, for her part, led the team in rebounds with five and added 12 points. The freshman was a second-half spark off the bench with seven points in the final 20 minutes.
Donovyn Hunter finished the game with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal, a constant player-maker for Oregon State. Leading the Pac-12 in three-point shooting, Lily Hansford had another perfect day from the floor, knocking down two big triples to keep Oregon State in touch early, along with a cutting layup.
Of OSU’s 79 points, 41 came from the bench. It was the second-unit’s third-highest scoring output of the season. The Beavs made 58 percent of their three-pointers and 52 percent of shots from the floor.
Oregon State has yet another top 10 team coming to Gill Coliseum on Sunday in the no. 10 USC Trojans. Fans are encouraged to wear pink for the annual Dam Cancer game and tickets are available at beavertickets.com.
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