Beavers stun Lady Bears
Marie Gulich had 26 points, Kat Tudor added 16 and sixth-seeded Oregon State shot 58% in the second half to upset No. 2 seed Baylor, 72-67, on Friday night in the women’s NCAA Tournament Lexington Regional semifinal.
Two years after upsetting Baylor in the Elite Eight, Oregon State (26-7) followed up with a steady performance that ended the Lady Bears’ 30-game winning streak. The Beavers had to withstand nine consecutive points by Alexis Morris that got the Lady Bears (33-2) to 69-67 with 42 seconds remaining before Katie McWilliams’ leftcorner three-pointer provided a fivepoint edge.
Morris missed 2 three-point attempts and Natalie Chou another in the final 10 seconds for Baylor, which shot just 39% and was edged, 38-37, on the glass.
Gulich made 10 of 17 from the field and had nine rebounds for OSU, which won for the 10 time in 11 contests. Tudor was 5 of 10 shooting and 4 of 8 from long range as the Beavers made 9 of 20 from behind the arc.
Kalani Brown had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor, which was outscored in all but the second quarter in losing for the first time since falling, 68-62, at UCLA in November.
Mississippi State 71, North Carolina State 57: Teaira McCowan had 24 points and 15 rebounds, Victoria Vivians added 14 points and the Bulldogs routed the Wolfpack in Kansas City, Mo.
“This time of year, you lose, you go home,” said McCowan. “You basically start over. So my team, my seniors – the four I got – I’m just trying to make it the best it can be, go as far as possible.”
Morgan William added 13 points and Roshunda Johnson, who lost her grandfather earlier in the week, added 12 as the Bulldogs (35-1) also broke their school record for wins in a season.
Kiara Leslie had 27 points to pace the No. 4 seed Wolfpack (26-9), who led early in the second quarter before coming undone. Foul trouble set in, Mississippi State clamped down defensively and North Carolina State coach Wes Moore was hit with a technical foul as the Bulldogs pulled away.
The Wolfpack also had no answer for McCowan, whose size presented all kinds of problems. The only junior in a senior-laden starting lineup, she finished 11 of 11 from the field and made both of her foul shots on a night that would have been perfect except for a trio of turnovers.
“You don’t see 6-foot-7 every day,” Moore said. “When they’re just lobbing it up to her, there’s not a whole lot you can do at times. You feel pretty helpless.”
Mississippi State still led, 49-37, midway through the third quarter when the Wolfpack’s Akela Maize, who had tangled with McCowan all game, picked up her fourth foul.
Moore came unglued and was slapped a technical foul, then continued his diatribe as the officials mostly ignored him. William made two foul shots and Johnson a layup for the four-point trip down floor, and the Bulldogs eventually pushed their lead to 20 points.
They rolled the rest of the way to the Elite Eight.