OSU Women Sweep Weekend Series, Keep PAC-12 Title Hopes Alive

Mikayla Pivec had 18 points and eight rebounds and Oregon State used a late run to beat Southern California 68-61 on Friday night. The Beavers were down 7 points mid way through the 4th quarter, and they looked like they were about to be upset by an unranked team at home. But a 16-2 run to finish the game helped the Beavers to their second consecutive win, to stay in second place in the PAC-12, just one game behind the Oregon Ducks.  Beaver guard Destiney Slocum finished with 16 points, while senior center Joanna Grymek added 13 points and 9 rebounds.

The Beavers won their 3rd game in a row Sunday afternoon, holding off upset minded UCLA 75-72. After a pair of missed free throws by Beaver guard Mikayla Pivec, Bruin guard Japreece Dean had a chance to tie things up in the final seconds but her 3-point attempt was just short. Aleah Goodman led the way for the Beavers with 21 points off the bench, while Pivec finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Beavers fell behind early, but a big 2nd quarter(26-15) got them back in the game and it was a back-and-forth affair from there. Bruin guard Kennedy Burke, who hurt the Ducks on Friday night with a career high 29 points, finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds in the loss today.

With the back-to-back wins this weekend, Oregon State keeps pace with both Oregon and Stanford. Both the Beavers and Cardinal are tied for 2nd place, one game behind the Ducks for 1st place in the PAC-12. The Beavers did clinch a first round bye in the PAC-12 tournament with the win this afternoon.