Winning in Gill Coliseum is hard.
Corvallis has had its fair share of partying in the last few days. On the day after the Men’s Basketball team upset No. 9 Arizona, the No. 25 Women’s Basketball team got their first ranked win of the year against a tough Buffaloes team.
The Beavers kept their undefeated record at home in a 68-62 upset of No. 3 Colorado on Friday.
Beaver’s defense shined, as they held Colorado to the second least amount of points they have scored this season. They didn’t allow the Buffaloes to make a field goal for over 10 minutes, spanning from 6:19 in the second to 6:16 in the third.
The game started out with the teams trading baskets on each end of the court. The Buffaloes then took off, going on a 9-0 run to force a Beaver timeout late in the first. The Beavers fought back to not let the game get out of hand early, cutting the deficit to six on an AJ Marotte fadeaway to end the quarter.
The second quarter started by the Buffaloes trying to run away with the game, forcing a 10 point lead and controlling the ball. Yet the Beavers showed just how hard it is to win in Gill, streaking out on a 14-2 run. The Buffaloes only points were from technical free throws on a hard foul by Raegan Beers. The Beavers ended the half smothering the Buffaloes on defense forcing stop after stop, and taking the lead 32-30 when the teams headed to the locker room.
The third quarter consisted of the Beavers limiting the Buffaloes to only 10 points, and the Beavers keeping their lead from halftime for the rest of the game. The quarter ended chippy though, as Aaronette Vonleh shoved Talia von Oelhoffen in the back on a desperation three from half-court with 0.1 second left on the clock, resulting in three free throws and Vonleh’s fourth foul.
“She just fouled me, that was just not a smart play by them, I didn’t even try to draw a foul,” von Oelhoffen said.
The fourth quarter was filled with cheers and boos, as the fans thought some calls were not in favor of the Beavers towards the end of the game. Colorado cut the deficit to 4, but couldn’t close the gap anymore than that. The final 56 seconds took over 15 minutes as teams traded fouls until the final buzzer sounded.
Donovyn Hunter was the star of the show for the Beavers, with multiple possessions being plays directly for her, and others being her seeing an opening and taking advantage.
“Donovyn identifies as a defender,” Head Coach Scott Rueck said. “We were picking our spots, so it was a combination of both”
Von Oelhoffen tied Hunter with 16 points, with 9 of them coming from the charity stripe as she struggled from the field, shooting 3-11, visibly frustrated early on.
“I turned it over early, wasn’t making shots, made a couple mistakes defensively, wasn’t playing the way that I should be playing in that first quarter. I think Donovyn really just turned the whole game around and shifted the momentum, and I kind of just built off that and fed off her,” von Oelhoffen said.
Jaylyn Sherrod led the way for the No. 3 Buffaloes with 19 points, as she fouled out of the game late in the fourth quarter.
“We joke that (Sherrod) is the fastest player in America,” Rueck said. “And she actually might be.”
Vonleh, brother of former NBA player Noah Vonleh, was a force to be reckoned with, but getting into foul trouble early limited her ability to score, as she finished with 12.
The No. 25 Beavers continue to be flawless at home, 13-0, and are 16-3 overall. Their tough weekend doesn’t stop tonight though, as they will face No. 16 Utah on Sunday at noon in Gill Coliseum for their third ranked matchup in a row.
The No. 3 Buffaloes (16-3, 6-2) travel south to Eugene and will face a Ducks team that is struggling compared to years past at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
