Beavers Win Opener of Home and Home Civil War

Wednesday, January 25

Corvallis, Ore.

7 p.m.

University of Oregon

Oregon State

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

01/25/06 | Women's Basketball

By: GoDucks.com

CORVALLIS, Ore. ? For the second time in as many games, Mandy Close made a driving lay-up in the waning seconds with her team down by one, this time lifting Oregon State to a 63-61 Civil War victory over the Oregon Ducks in front of 3,021 at Gill Coliseum.

After Oregon sophomore center Gabrielle Richards missed a chance to put the Ducks up by three and was bodied to the floor, Close, a senior guard, ran the length of the court and drew a foul as she scooped in the game-winner with 3.2 seconds to play.

“She's a fantastic player and plays with a lot of heart,” UO sophomore guard Kaela Chapdelaine said of Close, who also beat Washington State on a similar play in overtime last Saturday.

Asked if it's any consolation that the rematch is on Saturday at McArthur Court, Chapdelaine replied: “We have a chance to correct our mistakes and can't wait to get back out there. We're going to be ready to play no matter what.”

The end result was bittersweet for Richards, who had career highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds. She scored 14 points after the break, helping the Ducks battle back from an eight-point halftime deficit.

It took only two minutes and change for the Ducks to erase OSU's halftime edge as Oregon broke the locker room with a 13-1 run to take a 41-37 lead.

The Ducks came out executing at both ends of the court, going 6-of-9 from the field and limiting the Beavers to 1-of-9 shooting over the first 4:34 of the second half.

OSU responded with a 12-6 run of its own to reclaim a two-point advantage at 49-47 with 11:18 to play.

The two sides went back and forth from that point on, but UO went cold and did not score in the final 3:25 of the game to ultimately give the Beavers the final possession. Not helping matters was the fact that Oregon did not shoot a single free throw in the second half.

The Ducks admittedly took some ill-advised shots while holding a slim lead down the stretch.

“We just need to work on knowing the clock and knowing our strengths and use a little bit more time off the clock in late situations,” Richards said.

Oregon (12-7, 3-6 Pac-10) remained winless in five Pac-10 road contests this season, the last three all coming down to the wire.

“Playing on the road is tough, but we need to step up and realize that we can win on the road as well,” Chapdelaine said.

Oregon State (9-8, 3-6 Pac-10) hung with the Ducks despite being out-shot 47 percent to 40 percent for the game. The Beavers only committed six turnovers and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, resulting in 14 more looks at the rim

Oregon had just 13 miscues, but OSU took advantage to the tune of an 18-4 margin in points off turnovers.

Senior forward Kim Butler led all scorers with 26 points for the Beavers. Close had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Chapdelaine finished with nine points, three assists and zero turnovers for the Ducks.

As expected in a rivalry game, Oregon State came out ready to play from the opening tip then capped a strong first half with a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Close to lead 36-28.

Butler lead all scorers in the first half with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

The Ducks suffered a big blow with 10:38 to play in the first period, when senior guard Chelsea Wagner was whistled for her second foul and picked up a technical, giving her three personals.

The Civil War sequel tips off at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Mac Court and will be televised on the Oregon Sports Network.

QUACK TRACKS: SR F Yadili Okwumabua did not dress for the Ducks after having fluid drained from her knee earlier in the day ... SO C Gabrielle Richards recorded UO's second double-double (pts-reb) of the season and second of her career.