CORVALLIS – The largest women's basketball crowd at Gill Coliseum this season should pay a little more for their tickets on their way out of the building after what they saw Friday night.
Talia von Oelhoffen hit the game-winning three-pointer near the end to give No. 11 Oregon State a 79-77 victory over No. 9 UCLA. It capped an incredible finish that saw the two teams combine for 10 points in the final 6.6 seconds.
Oregon State (21-3, 10-3 Pac-12) took sole possession of second place in the Pac-12, one game behind first-place Stanford. A crowd of 8,525 spectators, including 2,369 students, watched in disbelief and amazement, a school record for a women's basketball game.
The No. 11 Beavers, playing most of the game without their leading scorer and rebounder Raegan Beers, staged a sensational rally in the final 2:30 minutes to win their sixth straight game.
Trailing 72-65, OSU scored nine straight points and took a two-point lead on two free throws from Timea Gardiner with 15 seconds left. It turned out that both teams were just warming up.
First it was UCLA as Angela Dugalic sank a three-pointer with 6.6 seconds left. Then, after the teams called three timeouts, von Oelhoffen took an inbounds pass, drove from a high screen for a layup, giving OSU a 77-76 lead.
The Bruins (19-5, 8-5) weren't done yet. Lauren Betts, who led UCLA with 24 points, hit a 15-foot jumper in 1.1 seconds to put the Bruins back in the lead. That left Oregon State with just one pass and one shot to win the game. Lily Hansford passed the ball to von Oelhoffen, who spun just inside the three-point line near the top of the key and floated for the game-winning goal.
Von Oelhoffen made four three-pointers and led Oregon State with 22 points. Gardiner was right behind von Oelhoffen with 21 points.
Oregon State lost Beers a minute into the second quarter. While defending under the UCLA basket, Beers was elbowed in the nose by UCLA's Kiki Rice and fell to the ground. There was no word on Beers' injury or status immediately after the game.
UCLA led 34-32 after a wild first half in which Beers left the game, two intentional fouls and a technical foul were called and OSU tried to cope without its leading scorer.
The Beavers scored the final eight points of the first quarter to lead 12-11. Beers left the game 56 seconds into the second quarter, shocking the Beavers. But OSU stayed in the game and exchanged the lead with UCLA several times. The Bruins' Londynn Jones scored a goal in the final minute to give UCLA the halftime lead.
UCLA led by as many as seven points in the third quarter, only to be pummeled by the Beavers. Gardiner hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the score at 58 in the fourth period.
OSU traded baskets early in the fourth period, but UCLA took control after Rice hit a three-pointer with 7:58 left and the Bruins took a 65-62 lead. A few minutes later, UCLA was able to extend its lead to seven points, but it wasn't enough to stop the surging Beavers.
Oregon State completes this weekend's home opener on Sunday when the Beavers face No. 10 USC at Gill Coliseum at noon.
–Nick Daschel covers Oregon State football, basketball and other Beaver-related athletics topics. Reach him at 360-607-4824, [email protected] or @nickdaschel.
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