No. 10 Oregon State defeats No. 8 Stanford 50-47 (Feb 25, 2017)
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) Sydney Wiese called the sellout crowd for No. 10 Oregon State's showdown with No. 8 Stanford one of the highlights of her four years with the Beavers.
The win made it all the more special.
Marie Gulich made a go-ahead putback with 14.4 seconds left and Oregon State clinched a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title with a 50-47 victory over Stanford on Friday night.
The 9,604 fans in attendance marked a record for a women's game at Gill Coliseum.
''It seemed like the whole state was at Gill tonight,'' Wiese said. ''That definitely fueled us.''
Wiese led the Beavers (26-3, 15-2) with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, while Kolbie Orum added 12 points and six rebounds.
Erica McCall and Alanna Smith each had nine points for Stanford (24-5, 14-3), which had a four-game winning streak snapped. The Cardinal had not dropped a conference game on the road this season.
''They have an excellent team. They had a great crowd. It was very exciting. Great environment,'' Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. ''And we just needed to make some more plays down the stretch.''
Oregon State won the regular-season title outright in 2014, snapping Stanford's run of 14 straight seasons with at least a share of it. Then last season the Beavers claimed a share of the regular-season title before winning the Pac-12 tournament and advancing all the way to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four.
''This conference is so good, and for this team to do what they've done this year - with all the new people, with several teams that had more experience on the court than they did - the heart and the grit and the togetherness that they've displayed to make this possible, that's something to celebrate,'' Beavers coach Scott Rueck said. ''To go back-to-back-to-back in this conference? It's unbelievable.''
Back-to-back layups from Brittany McPhee and Marta Sniezek pulled Stanford into a 33-all tie with 8:02 left. The Cardinal weren't able to move in front until Nadia Fingall's layup made it 41-40 with just over 5 minutes left.
Stanford extended the lead on McCall's layup but Wiese hit her fifth 3-pointer to tie it at 43. Wiese missed the first of two free throws but Oregon State reclaimed the edge.
After McCall's layup put Stanford in front 47-46, Gulich's layup gave the lead back to Oregon State. Karlie Samuelson missed a 3-pointer on the other end and Gulich made free throws for the final margin.
''We're up one with how much time to go? 14 seconds,'' VanDerveer said. ''We didn't find a way to win. It was disappointing.''
The Beavers also beat the Cardinal 72-69 in double overtime on Jan. 8, Oregon State's first victory at Maples Pavilion.
The teams were knotted at 10 at the end of the first quarter and the Beavers went to the break with a 20-18 lead. Wiese led all scorers with 10 points.
It was a defensive struggle, with Stanford shooting 8 for 28 (29 percent) from the floor and Oregon State 6 of 30 (20 percent). The Beavers, ranked seventh nationally for field goal defense, were outrebounding the Cardinal 26-20 at the break.
Wiese hit another 3 that put the Beavers up 25-22. She later made another that extended the lead to 33-27 and it looked as if Oregon State was going to pull away.
BIG PICTURE
Stanford: If the teams finish as co-champions, Oregon State would have the top seed in the tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker. ... The Cardinal had won four straight games against top-10 opponents before Friday.
Oregon State: The Beavers honored VanDerveer before the game for her 1,000th career win on Feb. 3. The crowd at Gill gave her a standing ovation. ... Gulich finished with six points.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
If the Beavers can take care of the finale against Cal on Sunday, Oregon State should pop up a few spots in the rankings heading into the Pac-12 tournament. VanDerveer said the real impact of these final games comes in seeding, because the conference is so strong and the top four teams are so close.
''We'll bounce back. This is a tough game, but we'll bounce back,'' she said. ''We're going to the tournament. We'll see them there.''
NO 3s:
It was the first time that Stanford had not made a 3-pointer during a game since February 2014, a 61-35 victory over Arizona State.
UP NEXT
Stanford: The Cardinal will visit the Oregon Ducks on Sunday. Oregon fell to Cal 55-49 earlier Friday night. It was Stanford's first
Oregon State: The Beavers will host California on Sunday. While it's senior day and the team will honor Wiese, Hanson and Orum, it will probably not be their last appearance at Gill. Oregon State is expected to host early round NCAA Tournament games.
