Oregon State Defeats Arizona; Top-Seed Stanford Awaits

With the win, Oregon State will face top-seeded Stanford on Saturday.

Tiffany Ducker posted her third double-double of the season as the Oregon State women’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament with a 46-31 victory over Arizona Friday night at the HP Pavilion at San Jose. Photo courtesy: OSU Athletics

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Tiffany Ducker posted her third double-double of the season as the Oregon State women’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament with a 46-31 victory over Arizona Friday night at the HP Pavilion at San Jose.

With the win, Oregon State is now scheduled to face top-seeded Stanford at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday in San Jose.

Ducker got her third double-double of the season on the strength of 12 points and 12 rebounds. She was 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. She posted four points and seven rebounds in the first half as the clubs tied, 14-14, entering their respective locker rooms.

Ashley Allen tied Ducker for the team lead with 12 points, connecting on four shots from the field, including one from the three-point line, and three free throws.

Talisa Rhea finished with three three-pointers – each coming in the second half – to give her 67 on the season, just two away from tying Felicia Ragland (2001-02) for the most in an Oregon State single-season.

Lastly, Mercedes Fox-Griffin led Oregon State (12-18 overall) with five assists, as she also recorded five rebounds.

The game stayed tight until Oregon State began to pull away with the help of four points from Brittney Davis in just her second game since January 26. The Beavers’ defense was especially strong in the second half, as they held the Wildcats scoreless from 12:25 left in the game until an Ify Ibekwe free throw with 6:05 left to play.

As a team, the Beavers played solid defense , recording 14 steals to Arizona’s eight and forcing the Wildcats into 28 turnovers. Oregon State also ran the floor well, outscoring Arizona eight to four in fast break points.

The Wildcats (10-20) were led by Amina Njonkou and her 15 points and nine rebounds. Ibekwe led Arizona on the glass with 11 rebounds in addition to five points.

Allen and Fox-Griffin started off strong for the Beavers, accounting for 10 of the teams first 12 points. Oregon State grabbed its first lead of the game with 3:05 to go on a three point shot by Allen that gave the Beavers a 12-10 lead.

Oregon State now faces the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal Saturday in a 5 p.m. start at HP Pavilion at San Jose. Catch the game live on KTHH 990-AM.

Source: OSU Athletics

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