What a way to end the regular season. Marie Gulich the reigning Pac-12 player of the week and National Player of the Week puts the Beavers on her shoulders and directs a comeback victory over Arizona State. The Beavers ran into a motivated ASU team that forced ten first half turnovers and led the Beavers 32-22 at halftime. Gulich had six points at the break and then it was basically get the ball to Marie. She took on the challenge with 30 second half points and shot an impressive 16 for 18 in the contest won by Oregon State 64-60. The Beavers now head to Seattle for the Pac-12 tournament. The win sealed the three seed in the tourney which means a first-round bye and then a potential rematch with Arizona State. That game is set for Key Arena Friday at 8:30pm. The Sun Devils play cross state rival Arizona Thursday at 8:30 ....the winner to face the Beavers. Above is my interview with Marie right after Sunday's game and below the official news release from Oregon State Athletics.
Senior Marie Gulich carried the No. 12 ranked Oregon State women's basketball team to a road win in its regular-season finale Sunday afternoon, as the Beavers topped Arizona State 64-60 in Tempe, Ariz. "This was an absolute battle," said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. "It was extremely physical, which is good preparation for the postseason. We had to earn everything today, and I'm proud of the way we came out and fought. The way we executed on both ends of the floor in the second half was phenomenal, and I couldn't be more proud." Gulich shot a blistering 16-for-18 from the floor to set a new career-high with 36 points. The senior also pulled down six rebounds and hit all four of her free throw attempts. Thirty of Gulich's points came in the second half, as the Beavers overcame a double-digit halftime deficit. With the win, the Beavers will take the third seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, and will have a bye in the first round of the tournament. Oregon State ends the regular season with an overall record of 23-6 and a Pac-12 mark of 14-4. Junior Katie McWilliams scored 12 points and dished out four assists in the contest, while sophomore Mikayla Pivec scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds. Oregon State shot 61.4 percent from the floor in the contest, compared to 37.1 percent for Arizona State. The Beavers also held a 31-28 advantage in rebounds. Arizona State used an early 6-0 run to jump in front 8-2 at the first media timeout. Oregon State answered with seven unanswered points to cut the lead to three, before the Sun Devils headed to the second quarter up 16-11. The Sun Devils surged out to a double-digit lead early in the second quarter. The Beavers were able to get back within six in the period, before heading to the locker room down 32-22. Gulich exploded out of the intermission, scoring Oregon State's first eight points of the second half to get the Beavers back within four three minutes into the third quarter. OSU parlayed the center's strong offense into a 9-0 run to cut the lead to a point. The two sides went back and forth from there, before the Beavers took their first lead of the game with under a minute left in the period. Oregon State headed to the closing frame up 45-43. The Beavers went up by five at the final media break. Arizona State battled back within two in the closing minutes, but Oregon State never conceded the advantage, taking the win by four. Oregon State will play its quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Tournament on Friday in Seattle, Wash.