LOS ANGELES (AP) - Clinging to a three-point lead in overtime, Michaela Onyenware hit a pair of free throws and then stole the ball. She fed freshman Charisma Osborne, who sank a 3-pointer and No. 8 UCLA never looked back.
Osborne finished with a career-high 22 points, including seven in overtime, and the Bruins rallied to beat 15th-ranked Oregon State 83-74 on Monday night.
Osborne missed all eight of her 3-point attempts in UCLA’s 80-66 loss to No. 3 Oregon on Friday. She was 3 of 14 from the floor in that game.
“I was definitely relieved because I know I shot really poorly in the last game, but my teammates kept encouraging me,” Osborne said.
Onyenware pulled Osborne aside between games to say that “I have the utmost confidence in her,” the junior forward said.
Japreece Dean texted her support, too, letting Osborne know the Bruins would need her against the Beavers.
Osborne sought out coach Cori Close after the Oregon loss and came in early to watch film over the weekend. “She is putting in the work,” Close said. “She earned every bit of this.”
Dean added 22 points and 12 assists, and Onyenwere had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins (22-3, 11-3 Pac-12). They overcame a 14-point deficit in the third quarter and survived a frantic fourth that featured five ties.
“I’m exhausted and I didn’t even play,” Close said.
The Beavers (19-7, 7-7) were without starters Mikayla Pivec and Taylor Jones in overtime after they both fouled out.
Pivec had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Jones added 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Beavers’ other star player, Destiny Slocum, also had 19 points but was held to three points in the five-minute extra session.
“It’s tough to lose this game knowing we were up,” Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. “UCLA made a lot of big plays and a lot of big shots.”
The Bruins never trailed in overtime, getting 3-pointers from Osborne and Dean. The Beavers were limited to two field goals and three free throws in losing their third in a row.
“It’s really frustrating when we’ve been so close so many times,” Pivec said. “The little things have beaten us. We haven’t made the plays down the stretch to beat a good team consistently.”
Dean’s jumper with 2 seconds remaining hit the glass and bounced away to force overtime.
The game was for the last time in the fourth at 67-all on a basket by Oregon State’s Maddie Washington. Dean had a 3-pointer rim out on the previous possession for UCLA.
The Beavers built a 14-point lead - their largest of the game - with a 14-5 spurt to open the third. The Bruins answered with a 22-11 run, highlighted by two 3-pointers from Osborne and another from Dean, to trail 56-53 going into the fourth.
Slocum rolled her right ankle early in the second quarter with the Beavers trailing by four. She was helped off the court while not putting weight on her foot.
“It’s something you got to bounce back from in a big game,” she said.
Slocum returned with four minutes to play in the period and promptly hit a 3-pointer. She made another one to help the Beavers outscore the Bruins 17-10 in the quarter and lead 31-26 at halftime.
The Bruins were coming off an 80-66 loss to No. 3 Oregon on Friday and have not dropped consecutive games this season. Onyenwere’s streak of three straight games with 20 or more points ended.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon State: The Beavers remain one short of notching their 15th 20-win season in program history and seventh straight with at least that many victories.
UCLA: The Bruins maintained their dominance at home by avoiding a weekend sweep. They improved to 12-1 at home and have won 73 of their previous 82 games at Pauley Pavilion.
GOING OVER A GRAND
Dean went over the 1,000-point mark in her three-year UCLA career and now has 1,016. The senior guard from Austin, Texas, started her career at Texas Tech.
UP NEXT
Oregon State: At No. 4 Stanford on Friday in the midst of a four-game road trip, its longest such trip in 10 years.
UCLA: Visits Washington State on Friday in the final road trip of the regular season.
___
More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Please read our comment policy before commenting.