Beavers survive at Galen


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In an unpredictable game that featured 25 lead changes, Oregon State (12-7, 3-5) came out on top over the USC Women of Troy (10-7, 5-2) in a 65-61 overtime contest at the Galen Center, despite a game-high 20 points from senior guard Ashley Corral.

With 5.8 seconds left to go in overtime, Oregon State guard Alyssa Martin sank two free throws to seal the game and effectively end USC’s five-game winning streak. After the loss, USC fell to third in Pac-12 standings behind California (14-5, 5-2) and Stanford (17-1, 8-0).

USC had a chance to win following a timeout with 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation and the game tied at 56 apiece, but the clock expired before the Women of Troy could pull off a shot.

In overtime, the Beavers countered a 3-pointer by Corral and a layup by USC senior guard Briana Gilbreath by attacking the paint and finishing three layups of their own.

With the Beavers leading by two points with 19 seconds left in overtime, Corral misfired a three-pointer that would have given USC the lead. Instead, the Beavers regained possession, leading to Martin’s free throws that ended USC’s chances of winning.

Throughout the game, the Beavers utilized a balanced offensive attack behind guard Sage Indendi’s 17 points. They started the game shooting 64 percent in the first half, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc.

In the second half, the Women of Troy stepped up their defense and held the Beavers to 28 percent shooting. However, they were unable to take advantage of the misses, shooting 21.9 percent in the latter half themselves.

Despite their poor shooting, the Women of Troy stayed in the game with their rebounding. Oregon State held a 41-38 rebound advantage, but USC had 13 offensive boards compared to Oregon State’s 6, which led to 12 second-chance points for the home team.

Corral led the team’s offensive attack by dropping a total of six 3-pointers on the Beavers, including three consecutive after halftime. Sophomore forward Cassie Harberts also contributed 10 points for the Women of Troy.

Gilbreath could not match her performance in a 92-73 victory over Oregon two days prior when she came up a rebound shy of a triple-double. Against the Beavers, Gilbreath scored nine points to go with eight rebounds and two assists.

Senior forward Christina Marinacci, who notched a double-double against Oregon, shot 1-for-9 from the field for only two points, but led USC with four assists.

Before its first loss of the year, USC had defeated California, Arizona State, Arizona, UCLA and Oregon by an average of 12 points. The Women of Troy look to get back on track with a visit to Colorado (13-4, 2-4) on Thursday.