The crowd urged “defense!” as the Pilot’s offense tried to pull away, screaming against the Pilot cheerleaders and sparse home fans.
The noise could not stop Pilot guard Florence Dallow, as she sank another 3-point jumper, her third of the game.
The final minutes of the Pacific-Northwest battle turned the bipartisan crowd against each other as each team’s fans waited for the sound of the final whistle.
The Portland Pilots may have been playing at home, but orange was well represented amongst the purple seats on Saturday in Chiles Center.
The Oregon State Beavers recorded their second loss of the week, this time against Portland, losing 53-50 off a late Pilot 3-pointer.
“It was a great atmosphere to get to play in front of,” Oregon State Head Coach Scott Rueck said after the game. “I was really proud of our fans and blessed for them to come out and support us.”
Kennedie Shuler kept the Beavers in the game offensively, scoring 23 points on the game, almost half of the team’s total points. The next highest point scorer was Katelyn Field with eight.
“She poured her heart out on the floor,” Rueck said. “We’re so fortunate to have her…she was fantastic.”
But Rueck wants to see more players getting points on the board in the coming weeks.
Oregon State’s offense would end the game at a decent 41.7% from the field goal, but only 48 shots were taken, as opposed to the Pilots’ 62.
“We need more scorers for sure,” Rueck said after the game. “Kennedie had to carry such a heavy load for us in this game, you know. I’d like to see that spread out a bit.”
The game started well for the Beavers, with Tiara Bolden sinking an early field goal to start the scoring.
A strong Oregon State defense quickly solidified its presence, forcing an airball and a missed pass in the first minutes. They kept the Pilots at zero for four minutes, but struggled to add to Bolden’s field goal.
The game proved to be a battle of the defenses.
The Beavers limited the Pilots to 33.9% from the field, improving their first-place position in the league in defense from the two-point range. The Pilots also proved their top-three defense, with 33 defensive rebounds and five steals.
In the first quarter, the Beavers’ offense continued to struggle, with the Pilots utilizing a full-court press that forced a backcourt violation and several errors by the Beaver offense. Oregon State recorded four turnovers in a row, allowing the Pilots to pull away.
A 3-pointer and a subsequent defensive rebound from freshman Field switched the momentum, allowing the Beavers to catch up and end the first quarter 11-11.
The freshman would continue to switch the momentum in the Beavers’ favor, shooting 66% from three with eight points on the game.
The battle of the defenses continued throughout the game as the Beavers and Pilots traded defensive rebounds and steals.
A block from Shuler with one minute left in the half had the crowd on their feet, but again the Beavers could not follow through on the offensive break.
The Pilots built off their defensive performance in the second half, evening it up at 26 in the third quarter, led by two 3-point jumpers by Dallow and Dyani Ananiev.
The crowd’s eyes bounced from one side of the court to the other as the Beavers fought to keep the lead with the Pilots on their neck.
A layup from Dallow finally brought the Pilots even at 40 and again at 45, before finally taking the lead 49-47 with three minutes left on the clock.
The Beavers tied it back up at 50 after a layup and free throw by Shuler.
Dallow responded to the deafening crowd with her fateful 3-pointer to give the Pilots a 53-50 lead with one minute left in the game.
The Pilots gave the ball away on the Beaver baseline with 11.5 seconds left, but the Beavers were unable to respond.
Despite the loss, Rueck remains optimistic.
“We held them to 53 points, you know. And so usually when you see that number, you’re gonna have a chance to win. The problem was, you only scored 50.”
The Beavers will return to Gill Coliseum on Feb. 12 to face off against the Santa Clara Broncos