Oregon State outpaces UCLA women’s basketball in Bruins’ 2nd consecutive loss

This post was updated Jan. 30 at 5:25 p.m.

Though they cut the lead to as low as one point in the third quarter, the Bruins couldn’t keep the Beavers at bay.  

UCLA women’s basketball (9-7, 4-4 Pac-12) fell to Oregon State (11-5, 4-2) by a score of 72-58 on Sunday afternoon in Corvallis and trailed for the entirety of the game. The team now stands at .500 in its conference schedule after effectively picking up three losses this week, including two on its weekend Oregon road trip because of a forfeit to Oregon on Friday.

The Bruins struggled to create offense early, running late into the clock on multiple possessions and receiving a shot clock violation within the first five minutes. With both junior guard Charisma Osborne and graduate student guard Jaelynn Penn out because of injuries, coach Cori Close relied on redshirt freshman guard Dominique Onu as the primary ball-handler.  

Close said while she’s not making excuses for her team’s losses, managing a short bench and brand new lineups in recent games has not come without its challenges.  

“This is my 29th season, (and) I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Close said. “It’s been really hard, but we’re going to choose the health and wellness of our student-athletes first, and that will never waver.” 

The Beavers, who were coming off an overtime win against USC on Friday, were able to find their stride coming out of the gate, knocking down three 3-pointers to stretch the lead by nine points through just under five minutes of play. They made an early impact on the other end of the court as well, denying the Bruins looks and forcing them to turn the ball over three times amid an almost three-minute scoring drought for the blue and gold.  

Onu ended her team’s drought with a 3-pointer of her own off an assist from redshirt senior guard Kayla Owens. She quickly put the Bruins back on the scoreboard with another long-range shot, and graduate student guard Natalie Chou also knocked down a 3-pointer to bring UCLA back to within four points at the conclusion of the first quarter. 

The Bruins opened up the second period with a basket from redshirt senior guard Chantel Horvat on the inside but failed to make a basket for the following 4 1/2 minutes. Redshirt freshman forward Izzy Anstey made her next two shot attempts to keep the offense alive, with her second look coming inside after a drop-down pass from Onu.    

Chou drained a mid-range jumper off a Beaver turnover to cut the deficit to 10 points heading into halftime. Onu led the team in scoring with eight points in the first half, just two points shy of her career high in a game.

After being held to two points through 20 minutes of play, graduate student forward IImar’I Thomas matched her first-half scoring contributions immediately in the third quarter with a layup 12 seconds in. She then forced an Oregon State turnover on the other end of the court before cutting the deficit to single digits with a turnaround jumper.

Chou said Thomas, who transferred to UCLA this past offseason, is a key player for the Bruins in the paint as they continue to work to integrate her as an offensive focal point.

“We know that we have great bigs, especially IImar’I,” Chou said. “Just being able to look for her (is important) because she’s one of our biggest assets through the paint.” 

Riding a 6-0 run to start the third quarter, UCLA forced four turnovers through five minutes. Junior guard Camryn Brown, who got her first playing time of the season Sunday, picked up her fourth foul less than halfway through the quarter, putting the Beavers in the bonus and giving them their first points of the quarter.

Bookended by a 3-pointer from Horvat, the Bruins cut the lead down to one – the closest they had gotten all afternoon – on a 7-2 run beginning at the 5:08 mark of the third period.

The Bruins’ defensive discipline limited the Beavers’ offensive production at times, according to Thomas. She also said the team’s scouting team helps prepare them for any opponent. 

“With the scout, we always feel really prepared,” Thomas said. “They equip us (so) we know the personnel, we know the game plan and what we’re supposed to do on the defensive side.”

To open the fourth quarter, Horvat completed a three-point play and Oregon State immediately answered with a three-point play of its own. The two teams then traded baskets as UCLA found its rhythm early in the fourth quarter. 

The momentum shifted again, as the Beavers then went 4-of-4 during an 8-0 run in under a minute while the Bruins went 0-of-6 from the field and came back from multiple possessions empty-handed. The clock continued to wind down as Oregon State gained a double-digit lead and outplayed UCLA in transition, while guard Talia von Oelhoffen scored 10 of her game-high 21 points in the final frame to put the Bruins away.  

Oregon State ultimately outscored UCLA 18-7 in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the game to secure the 72-58 victory and drop UCLA further down the Pac-12 standings.

After the game, Close likened the play-from-behind nature of the contest to the Bruins’ matchup against No. 8 Arizona on Wednesday, when they led in the second half but couldn’t keep pace down the stretch. She said she views these games of runs as learning opportunities for the team.  

“We had a similar situation against Arizona where we went up one with four minutes to go and had continued some mental errors there,” Close said. “We’ll get back to the drawing board and see what those themes are to make some adjustments and help us be equipped for the next time.”