Oregon State found its road magic again in overtime, as Kennedie Shuler converted a three-point play with one second left Thursday night to give the Beavers a 74-72 victory over Santa Clara.
It was the third time in the West Coast Conference that the Beavers (9-9, 5-2) won a road game in overtime.
Trailing 72-71 with three seconds left, Shuler drove to the basket and fouled. It was the second time in two weeks that Shuler, a Barlow High sophomore guard, scored a last-second basket to earn a victory.
Overtime didn’t seem to be in the equation when OSU led 60-48 with 3:40 left in regulation. But Santa Clara finished the fourth quarter with a 13-1 run to force overtime. The Broncos made the Beavers sweat when Malia Latu’s jumper with three seconds left gave Santa Clara a 72-71 lead.
Sela Heide and AJ Marotte scored 18 points each, while Shuler had 16 and Kelsey Rees 13 to lead Oregon State. The Beavers shot 48 percent from the floor and made seven three-pointers, including three from Marotte.
Madison Naro and Alana Goodchild scored 17 points each for Santa Clara (9-10, 3-6).
It was the second time in a week that an Oregon State team went down to the wire in overtime in Santa Clara. Last Thursday, the Castors men lost 82-81 on a last-second touch.
Oregon State scored the final six points of the second quarter to take a 30-28 halftime lead. The Beavers trailed for most of the first half, the result of a 10-0 run by the Broncos in the first four minutes of the game. But OSU cut the deficit to one late in the first quarter, then stayed in touch for the rest of the half.
The Beavers held Santa Clara scoreless for the final three minutes of the second quarter. Bolden nailed a three to tie the game at 28-28, then Marotte hit a short jumper two seconds before halftime to put Oregon State ahead.
OSU also finished the third quarter strong. Trailing 42-40 with five minutes remaining, the Beavers went on a 9-2 run to take a 49-42 lead. Santa Clara had a 10-minute stretch extending into the fourth quarter where it made just 2 of 14 shots.
Heide scored back-to-back layups midway through the fourth quarter, followed by a three from Marotte for a 58-46 lead.
But Santa Clara did not look back. Trailing 60-48, the Broncos went on an 8-0 run, closing within four points on a Goodchild layup with 2:18 to play. Santa Clara then closed to 60-58 on a Naro layup with 27 seconds left.
Heide’s free throw with three seconds left increased the lead to three, but the Broncos tied it at Goodchild’s buzzer.
Oregon State returns home for its next game, a 6 p.m. Saturday matchup against Portland at Gill Coliseum. Earlier this season, the Beavers beat the Pilots 76-72 in overtime in UP.
–Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, ndaschel@oregonian.com or @nickdaschel.
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