UCLA women’s basketball bests No. 15 Oregon State in overtime

This post was updated Feb. 17 at 9:22 p.m.

Japreece Dean knocked down a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left in the third quarter to tie the score at 53.

The shot was the third the redshirt senior guard and freshman guard Charisma Osborne had hit from beyond the arc in the past two minutes, leading the Bruins back from a double-digit deficit and forcing overtime.

No. 8 UCLA women’s basketball (22-3, 11-3 Pac-12) scored 14 points in the following five-minute period to defeat No. 15 Oregon State (19-7, 7-7) by a final score of 83-74. The Bruins’ 27 third-quarter points that erased the deficit were more than they scored in the first two quarters combined.

“Transition 3s really ignite you,” Dean said. “The energy was great in the arena, and everyone was just super into it and bringing energy helps out a lot.”

After trailing by as much as 14 in the second half, UCLA made 10 of its next 13 shots to tie the game, including nine third-quarter points each from Dean and Osborne. Dean also logged five assists in that frame and finished with a career-high 12.

Despite not scoring for the rest of regulation, Osborne added a team-high seven points in overtime, with Dean assisting both of the freshman’s field-goal makes. The duo tied for UCLA’s leading scorer with 22 points each, which was a career-high for Osborne.

This came after Osborne shot just 3-of-14 from the field and 0-of-8 from 3 against No. 3 Oregon (24-2, 13-1).

“I shot really poorly last game, but my teammates and my coaches are always telling me to keep shooting,” Osborne said. “It just felt nice for it to finally go in.”

Dean – who finished the game 3-of-6 from beyond the arc – became just the 36th player in UCLA history to score over 1,000 career points.

But when both Dean and Osborne were held scoreless in the fourth quarter, it was contributions from junior forward Michaela Onyenwere and sophomore guard Kiara Jefferson – who combined for nine points in the frame – that kept the Bruins in the contest.

Onyenwere finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the year, and Jefferson chipped in five points on 2-of-4 shooting – the most she has scored since Nov. 14.

“(Jefferson) was a total momentum shift,” said coach Cori Close. “I told her in the locker room, ‘Thank you for your selflessness and thank you for always staying ready.’ She was absolutely pivotal.”

UCLA totaled nine 3-pointers on the night – its most in a game since Jan. 12 – just three days after posting its second-lowest 3-point percentage against Oregon.

The Bruins also forced 24 Beaver turnovers – tied for most against a Pac-12 team this year – and 15 of those were steals.

“They couldn’t find the mismatches inside, and we forced them to really simplify their offense,” Close said. “They’re a very complex offensive team, and we took that completely out of the mix by our defensive pressure.”

UCLA will return to its conference schedule in Pullman on Friday.