STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - At last, Oregon State coach Scott Rueck could address his team’s long drought at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.
“We never talk about it, ever. You don’t talk about something that’s never happened before, until it happens,” Rueck said after the No. 16 Beavers beat the No. 10 Cardinal 72-69 on Sunday in double-overtime for its first-ever road win vs. Stanford.
“I’m so proud of this group for the courage it takes to do something that’s never been done.”
OSU was 0-29 previously on the road against the Cardinal. The Beavers had dropped 30 of the previous 31 matchups overall in the series.
Senior Sydney Wiese scored 26 points and played 47 of 50 minutes to lead the Beavers (15-1, 4-0 Pac-12) in a battle of the conference’s two remaining unbeaten teams.
“I’m exhausted to say the least, but it’s an emotion you can’t really put into words,” said Wiese, who scored 13 of her points, including three 3-pointers, in the two overtimes. “We could have caved in. We could have given up. But there was no doubt in our minds we could win. It feels pretty good right now.”
The Beavers never trailed in the second overtime, and Wiese’s 3-pointer with 1:28 left gave them command at 70-64. Stanford’s Erica McCall answered with a 3-pointer but the Cardinal (13-3, 3-1) went inside to Nadia Fingall for a layup with 6.0 seconds left when they needed three points to tie.
Wiese then converted two free throws to cap the scoring.
“I think people got their money’s worth who came out in the rain to watch the game,” said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, denied her 994th career victory. “They’re really a very good team. Sydney Wiese is a heck of a player - we had people all over her as much as we could.”
Wiese appeared to score the game-winning basket on a drive with 11.1 seconds left in the first overtime. Gabriella Hanson pushed the Beavers’ lead to 63-61 by making the second of two free throws with 5.2 seconds left.
But McCall, who scored Stanford’s first eight points of the first overtime, converted a reverse layup with 1 seconds remaining, tying the score at 63-all and forcing a second OT.
McCall was scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting at halftime, but finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. “I was frustrated,” admitted McCall, Stanford’s leading scorer. “Once my shot started falling, I felt more comfortable and confident.”
Stanford’s Brittany McPhee made a driving layup and was fouled with 9.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but missed the ensuing free throw that might have won the game. Oregon State then turned the ball before getting a shot off, forcing overtime.
Mikayla Pivec added 13 points for OSU and teammate Breanna Brown had 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots before fouling out.
The duel of the Pac-12’s two stingiest defensive teams led to OSU shooting 38.2 percent with 22 turnovers. Stanford converted a season-low 32.9 percent.
BIG PICTURE
The Beavers are 75 percent through an unprecedented stretch of four straight games against Top-25 opponents. They beat then-No. 9 Washington 73-70 and No. 20 Cal 66-56 before beating No. 10 Stanford. They play Friday at No. 9 UCLA, marking the first time the Beavers have tackled three straight ranked foes on the road.
Stanford’s long-time home dominance took a hit. The Cardinal lost just their fifth conference home game in 83 tries since 2007-08, and ninth home game overall in 152 outings over the past 10 years.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Cardinal will drop out of the top-10 and Oregon State, having completed a road sweep of Cal and Stanford, figures to become the Pac-12’s highest-ranked team when the next poll is released.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY: VanDerveer said her team played with confidence in the overtimes, but conceded the Cardinal had a great chance to win in regulation before McPhee missed the go-ahead free throw. “We’re at the line and we can win it,” she said. “Our free throws (17-for-26), that to me, is the big difference.”
UP NEXT
Oregon State remains on the road for another week, beginning Friday against Pac-12 pre-season favorite No. 7 UCLA. The Bruins (11-4, 2-2) stumbled on the road this week, losing at Washington State and Washington. The Beavers won two of three from UCLA last season, splitting two regular-season matches before winning 69-57 to win their first Pac-12 tournament championship.
Stanford plays Friday at Utah (12-3, 1-3). The Cardinal is 20-0 all-time vs the Utes, winning by margins of 20 and 18 points last season.
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