Oregon State
USC
Beavers Outlast Trojans in Overtime Thriller
January 21, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2012
Los Angeles, Calif. – Freshman Ali Gibson (Woodbridge, Calif.) scored four of the team's final nine points as the Oregon State women's basketball team handed USC its second loss in Pac-12 play in overtime fashion in a 65-61 decision at the Galen Center in front of a crowd of 1,803 on Saturday afternoon.
Gibson started overtime giving Oregon State the early lead before scoring the go-ahead layup as the shot clock expired to put Oregon State up 63-61. Sophomore Alyssa Martin (Portland, Ore.) put the nail in the coffin with a pair of last second free throws to seal the win.
Junior Sage Indendi (Livingston, Mont.) led the Beavers with 17 points, while junior Patricia Bright (Phoenix, Ariz.) rounded out the Oregon State players in double-figures with 12 of her own. Gibson also led Oregon State on the boards with seven.
The first half went back and forth between the two teams 15 times with only one tie score. USC's Stefanie Gilbreath opened things off with a three-pointer, but Bright scored back-to-back buckets to give Oregon State its first lead.
After a Cassie Harberts basket that gave the Women of Troy the lead again, Indendi hit a short jumper that recaptured the lead for Oregon State – one that it would hold for the next five minutes of play as the Beavers went on an 11-3 run.
Oregon State (12-7, 3-5 Pac-12) closed out the first half on a 5-0 run behind a layup by senior Earlysia Marchbanks (Salem, Ore.) and Indendi's 100th career three-pointer to hold a 38-34 lead going into the locker room.
The Beavers shot 64.0 percent, second-best this season, in the first half, marking only the second time this season that the Women of Troy have gone into halftime trailing in the Galen Center.
USC's Ashley Corral came out red hot from beyond the arc, scoring nine quick points for the Women of Troy to create the 16th lead change, but Oregon State answered back with a Gibson three-pointer and a layup by Bright to tie things up at 43.
A fast break layup off a steal by Marchbanks put the Beavers ahead again at the 45-43 mark, but a 5-0 run by USC gave it its second-largest lead of the game at 48-45.
Both teams' scoring slowed for the next seven minutes of play with USC still holding a slim two-point lead with just over six minutes to play at the under-8 minute media timeout.
Indendi hit a big three to give Oregon State the 53-52 edge with 3:20 remaining. The lead was erased in the next possession with Briana Gilbreath hitting a layup but unable to complete the three-point play with just under three minutes remaining.
Once again, the ball was given to Indendi with the Beavers down by three, and she connected for the third time in the game to tie it up for the third time at 56 to force overtime.
The Trojans (10-7, 5-2 Pac-12) were led by Corral with 20 points with Cassie Harberts adding 10.
Oregon State outshot the Trojans 46.4 percent (26-56) to 31.9 percent (22-69), while also outrebounding USC 41-38. The Beavers scored 32 points in the paint to the Women of Troy's 20.
Oregon State heads home to Gill Coliseum to host Oregon for the first installment of the Civil War Series, presented by PacificSource Health Plans and Northwest Ford Dealers, on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on FSN.
Oregon State Notes:
- Junior Sage Indendi reached 100 for career three-pointers with three in the game, now with 102 career.
- The last time USC trailed at halftime was at Arizona State on Jan. 5 (24-23), and the only other time the Trojans trailed at half at home was against No. 4 Stanford on Dec. 29 (33-30).
- Oregon State's 64 percent first half field goal percentage (16-25) is the second-highest this season, only second to its game at No. 4 Stanford where the Beavers shot 65.2 percent (15-23) in the first half.
- The Beavers' 38 first half points are the most they've scored in conference play.
- Oregon State is now 19-37 all-time against USC, snapping a four-game USC series winning streak.
- The Beavers are 1-1 in overtime games this season, and their three conference wins are the most since 2008-09.
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