Oregon State Women’s Basketball Takes Down San Francisco On The Road

Rollins led the Dons with 14 points in the first half, scoring each in succession, from the 7:52 mark until the 1:39 point of the half.

Salem-News.com Sports

SAN FRANCISCO - The Oregon State women’s basketball team utilized a balanced approach, shooting well from the field and controlling the boards in a 83-66 win over San Francisco Wednesday night at War Memorial Gymnasium.

The Beavers shot better than 54 percent from the field, just below their season high of 54.4 percent achieved in the season opener against Sacramento State. Oregon State, meanwhile, finished with 45 rebounds to San Francisco’s 28, improving to 4-0 this season when out-rebounding its opponent.

All told, four Beavers finished in double figures in scoring, led by Alex Mitchell who had 17 points to go along with eight rebounds. Brittney Davis posted 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Kassandra McCalister had a season-high 12 points. Mercedes Fox-Griffin posted 11 points to go along with a team-leading 11 points.

Rebounding-wise, Oregon State held a 31-15 advantage defensively. Kirsten Tilleman led the Beavers with a season-high nine rebounds, followed by Mitchell’s eight. Nine of the 10 Beavers who played Wednesday night had at least one, with seven finishing with three or more.

The Beavers held San Francisco to 32.8 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent from beyond the three-point line. Shay Rollins led the Dons with 20 points, and was followed closely by Necolia Simmons’ 19 and Rheina Ale’s 12. Simmons led San Francisco with nine rebounds.

Oregon State, already up by 12 at halftime, had a strong start to the second half, posting 10 points by the 17:50 mark. Of those 10, six came from Tiffany Ducker, who was held scoreless in the first half. The 10 points constituted a 10-4 run.

The Beavers (4-1 overall) continued that trend, taking a 60-43 lead into the media timeout at the 11:33 mark. San Francisco (2-5) managed to get within 10, 69-59, with 3:38 remaining, but the Beavers were able to hold on for the victory after going on a 14-7 run to end the game.

Oregon State continued its early-season trend in the first half, shooting well from the field. The Beavers shot 61.5 percent from the field en route to a 40-28 lead at halftime. USF, meanwhile, was held to a 28.6 percent clip, but stayed close with Oregon State through most of the half by hitting on 10 of its 12 free-throw attempts.

The Beavers used a balanced attack to take the lead over the Dons, with seven different players posting at least one point during the frame. Mitchell led Oregon State with eight points, while Davis and Fox-Griffin both finished with one three-pointer and seven points apiece. Talisa Rhea did not connect on a three-pointer but had seven points of her own as well.

Rollins led the Dons with 14 points in the first half, scoring each in succession, from the 7:52 mark until the 1:39 point of the half.

Oregon State next plays Sunday when the Beavers return home to host Portland State. The game starts at 4 p.m. PT at legendary Gill Coliseum. The game can be heard live on KLOO 1340-AM in the Corvallis area as well as Beaver Nation Online (osubeavers.com). Todd Mansfield will be behind the mic calling play-by-play.

Tickets are still available for the game against Portland State. Reserved tickets for individual women’s basketball games are $10, while general admission for adults is $7 and senior/youth is $5.

Single-game and season tickets are available by visiting osubeavers.com, calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS or by visiting the ticket office at legendary Gill Coliseum. Also available is the Pac-10 package. The Pac-10 package includes one ticket to each of the team’s nine conference games at Gill Coliseum. Reserved tickets for the Pac-10 package are $56 while general admission tickets cost $45.

Oregon State Notes: The meeting was the 10th all-time between the clubs … Oregon State took a 6-3 lead in the series into the game … It also happened to be the Beavers’ first visit to San Francisco since 1991 when they lost to the Dons, 72-64 … It was the sixth game in the series in San Francisco … Thus far this season, the Beavers have shot better than 50 percent in the first half in four of the team’s five games.

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