Oregon State Women’s Basketball kept Washington at bay and won by a score of 75-61 on Feb. 28 at Gill Coliseum. The Beavers improve to 11 wins out of the last 13 matchups against the Huskies and also improves their season record to 21-8 and 9-8 in conference play. 

The Beavers were able to move the ball throughout the game, finishing the first quarter with five assists and ending the game with 19. OSU senior guard Destiny Slocum hit two three-pointers to give the Beavers a 10-2 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the first quarter. Washington got into the paint early and often, scoring eight out of their 16 first quarter points in the paint. 

The Huskies opened the second quarter in a zone defense to slow down OSU’s three-point shooting. The Beavers were able to break down the defense and get shots close to the basket. OSU freshman forward Taylor Jones was able to score at will inside, finishing the game with 21 points and eight rebounds.

OSU junior guard Aleah Goodman praised Jones after the game.

“She’s played big, big minutes for us this entire year but she’s hard to guard,” Goodman said. “You can’t guard her on one on. She’s going to score.”

At the half, Oregon State shot 8-16 from downtown while the Huskies were 2-10. Twenty of Washington’s 38 points were from Washington senior guard Amber Melgoza, who scored 16 points in the second quarter alone. Melgoza finished the contest with a game high 34 points.

“What a great player [Melgoza]. Great player, great competitor,” OSU head coach Scott Rueck said.. “It’s fun to compete against people who are that focused and that dedicated and on a mission like that… She was hitting as tough as shots as anyone’s hit on us all year.”

Melgoza began the second half hitting a contested turnaround jumpshot. Oregon State switched into a zone defense in response to the change in Washington’s offensive approach. The Beavers held the Huskies to 13 points in the third quarter, focusing on defending the paint.

“These last few weeks we’ve definitely been working a lot on post defense and just moving our feet more,” Jones said. “We’ve been working on in post because that’s been a weakness the majority of the season and that’s something we need to hone in on at this postseason.”

Within the first minute of the fourth quarter, OSU senior guard Mikayla Pivec was fouled and converted both free throw attempts. On the next possession she hit a mid-range jumpshot to push the lead to eight. Pivec ended the game with ten points, 11 rebounds and seven assists along with three steals. 

Goodman connected on a three-pointer as the shot clock expired, forcing Washington to call a timeout. Goodman finished with six three-pointers and a team high of 22 points. Oregon State closed the game on a 14-5 scoring run. The Beavers’ defense stood strong after a shaky first half, holding the Huskies to 10 fourth quarter points. 

“I think we’re playing right now, as well defensively as we have all year, with as much awareness as we have all year,” Rueck said. 

Oregon State hosted senior night and their final regular season game against Washington State on Mar. 1st in Gill Coliseum.