The Arizona women’s basketball team beat Oregon State 55-53 on a buzzer-beater from Shaina Pellington in Corvallis, Oregon Jan. 13. 

Cate Reese continued to be an offensive presence for Arizona in the first quarter and scored six of the team’s 13 points. Oregon State started the game strong and was led by Taya Corosdale, who scored five points and added four rebounds, which gave Oregon State a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

Bendu Yeaney was an important player for Arizona in this game. She started to heat up in the second quarter, scoring six points with four of them earned from the free-throw line. Oregon State continued to fight and play strong basketball against the Wildcats with 12 points in the half for Corosdale. Oregon led 27-25 at the end of the second quarter. 

“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” Yeaney said. “You know, the first half, I was aggressive in the second quarter, so I just wanted to keep that momentum going from the second quarter.”

In her first game back after roughly three weeks, Pellington played a huge role in the team’s win. After a scoreless first half, she scored eight points in the quarter to give Arizona a lead and worked to extend it. Ellie Mack for Oregon State hit a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to make the score 42-45 going into the fourth quarter. 

Oregon State stayed in the game due to Corosdale and Talia von Oelhoffen, keeping the game close with 11 combined points in the fourth quarter. After a huge basket from Yeaney, the game was tied 53-53. 

Pellington drove into the mid-range and iced the game on a jumper with 0.01 seconds left in the game. 

“It’s getting to the point for me confidence-wise, where if I’m confident I’m going to shoot it,” Pellington said. 

Sam Thomas continued to show off her game, finishing with nine rebounds and ending the game with an emphatic block on Oregon States’ final inbound attempt. The game ended with a score of 55-53, with Arizona taking the win. 

“It wasn’t a perfect game, but it was a gritty game that showed our character, especially after a bad loss in L.A. You know, I always say that your true character shows when things are tough and not when it’s 70 and sunny outside and things are peachy,” Adia Barnes said. “So, I thought that we responded, we played some great defense and just played Arizona basketball, but it’s not our best basketball.”  

Arizona moves to 12-1 on the season and will play University of Oregon in Eugene on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 3:30 p.m.

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