The Beavers had a hangover. They were upset by Texas A&M on Maui last weekend. The 11th-ranked Beavers started their game against Duke and looked tenative...looking like they were having a crisis of confidence and trailed 11-2 to the Blue Devils....then they woke up and remembered how good they were. 14-three pointers later Oregon State walked away with an impressive 71-57 win. The Beavers had contributions from so many different players. They had 32 bench points. Here is the official stuff from Trevor Cramer the Sports Info Director for Oregon State Athletics. Also my interviews with Destiny Slocum who led the Beavers with five-three pointers and 21 points. And sharpshooter Kat Tudor who had four of her own:
The No. 11 Oregon State women's basketball team took down Duke 71-57 Thursday evening before a crowd of 7,060 at Gill Coliseum. "There was an awesome energy in Gill tonight," said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. "We started slower than I hoped, but I was really pleased with the way we grinded to get back in control of the game. We got great performances throughout our roster, and I was really pleased with our execution. Duke is a difficult team to play against, and this will be a great preparation game for us moving forward." Destiny Slocum led the Beavers with 21 points, hitting five 3-pointer in the contest.
Kat Tudor knocked down four 3-pointers, including a four-point play to finish with 15 points and six rebounds. Junior Mikayla Pivec filled the stat-sheet, going for nine points, eight rebounds and six assists. Aleah Goodman put up nine points, while Joanna Grymek went 4-for-5 to finish with eight.
Taya Corosdale pulled down 10 rebounds, helping the Beavers win the boards 36-34. Oregon State shot 42.2 percent from the floor, and 48.3 percent from 3-point range. Fourteen of the team's 27 field goals came from beyond the arc. The Oregon State offense was slow to get started, as Duke jumped out to a 9-0 lead. The Beavers battled back, using a 15-4 run to end the first quarter level at 15. The teams traded baskets for most of the second quarter, with Oregon State holding the advantage for the majority of the period. The Beavers were able to create some separation late in the half, using a Goodman 3-pointer to take a seven-point lead in to the intermission.
OSU extended the advantage to double-figures out of the break, as Slocum buried a triple for the first points of the second half. The Beavers would extend the lead to 12, but the Blue Devils answered to get back within five. Oregon State bounced back to get the advantage back to double-figures, heading to the fourth up 53-39. The Beavers kept control throughout the closing period, never leading by less than eight on their way to a 14-point win. The Beavers will have a nine-day break before they play their final nonconference game of the season, Dec. 29 vs. CSU Bakersfield.