2/25/2023 basketball Edit

WBB: Oregon State Upsets No. 14 Arizona 78-70

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – The celebration started 20 minutes before tip and never stopped in Oregon State’s 78-70 senior day victory over No. 14 Arizona.

The ceremony kicked off the day to honor Bendu Yeaney, Noelle Mannen and Jelena Mitrovic and then the freshmen they spent the year mentoring took over, never letting Oregon State fall behind.

Raegan Beers led the team with 24 points and 12 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season. She also made 10-of-11 at the free-throw line. Adlee Blacklock posted a new career-high for the third time in four games with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Mitrovic, for her part, scored 10 points with 15 rebounds for the seventh double-double of her career. She also blocked three Arizona shots. Yeaney dished nine assists and picked up three steals. Mannen was her usual steadying presence on offense with four assists and four points while being a nuisance to Arizona on defense.

“What a great day for every reason. I’m just happy for everyone: the team, our fans, the families,” head coach Scott Rueck said. “I’m really happy for Jelena, Bendu and Noelle on their senior day. Bendu was phenomenal all weekend. Jelena played a great game. And whatever this team needed today was what Noelle gave us.”

The party started early for the Beavs with an 8-2 run in their two-post lineup. Beers and Mitrovic traded layups and then jumpers for the hot start. Blacklock got going from outside later in the period, finishing with seven points on a triple, jumper and layup as OSU held a 19-17 lead through ten minutes.

The next ten were perhaps Oregon State’s best of the season. The Beavers outscored Arizona 25-11 in the second quarter, all of it coming with a 14-0 run. After a UA free throw closed the gap to 28-25, Blacklock hit back-to-back threes that pushed the lead out to nine.

Then, the Beavers broke the Wildcat press to the tune of four layups to go up 42-25. Yeaney’s presence proved important in the period with three rebounds and five assists to just one turnover, playing all ten minutes.

It was the Blacklock and Beers show once again in the third quarter with the duo combining for 11 of OSU’s 16 points despite defenders keying in on them. Beers also grabbed eight rebounds in the period as the teams traded baskets.

The freshman post was big once again in the fourth quarter, this time at the free-throw line. Arizona roared back into the game with 7-0 and 12-2 runs, reminding some of the trip to Tucson in which the Wildcats came all the way back to win the game.

This time was different. Yeaney and Mannen stemmed what could have been a tide of turnovers with Arizona’s tough press while Beers calmly knocked down all seven free throws she took in the final ten minutes. Blacklock and Yeaney contributed five more at the stripe while a steal-and-score from Mannen proved crucial in the final minutes.

Up next, the Beavers travel to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament. OSU is the 11-seed and will take on 6-seed USC at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. All Pac-12 Tournament games until the championship are on Pac-12 Network.

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