Early on in their Thursday night matchup against the Arizona State Sun Devils, Oregon State looked sharp.  

Leading by as many as 17 in the second half, it appeared that the Beavers were on their way to securing a much-needed victory heading into their regular season finale on Saturday.  

This did not turn out to be, as the Beavers suffered a crushing 75-73 home defeat, taking their ninth straight loss.  

Despite facing an uphill battle, Arizona State did not roll over on the road.  Determined to snap a sixteen-game losing streak and get their first conference win, the Sun Devils torched Oregon State’s defense in the second half, putting up a remarkable 49 points in the last 20 minutes.  

“To give up 49 points in a half on our own floor, to what’s been the worst shooting team in the conference…I mean I want somebody to do a study on opponents shooting at Gil Coliseum in the last two years,” said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck.  “I mean, it’s unbelievable.”  

Trailing 45-28 with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter, the Sun Devils put up an incredible 15-2 run to get themselves back into the game, before hitting a flurry of big shots in the fourth quarter to deliver a knockout blow.  

“Our turnovers, because we love to turn the ball over, that has caused us a ton of trouble,” said Rueck.  “That is why teams have beaten us.”

The Sun Devils shot a phenomenal 70% from downtown in the second half, hitting seven of ten threes. Junior guard Tyi Skinner went nuclear for ASU, scoring 27 points and hitting five of six from beyond the arc.  

For the Beavers, freshman guard Adlee Blacklock had what was possibly her best game of the season, putting up 14 points and connecting on four of five shots from downtown.  Senior guard Bendu Yeaney scored in double figures with 12, and dished out a remarkable 13 assists.  

With the loss, the Beavers sink to 3-14 in PAC 12 play, and sit at 11th in the conference.  With just one game left in the 2022-23 season, Oregon State will look to bounce back against 14th-ranked Arizona on senior night.  

“Obviously it’s going to be an emotional day,” said senior guard Bendu Yeaney.  “But we just have to focus in and complete the task at hand.”