Behind a season-high 31 points from Charisma Osborne, UCLA defeated Oregon State, 74-66, in the quarterfinals of the WNIT. The Bruins will play the winner of Alabama-South Dakota State in next week’s semifinal.
After trailing by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, Oregon State chipped away at the lead and got within four points in the fourth, but UCLA stood strong down the stretch and hit clutch free throws, including 11 from Osborne in the quarter. She made 12 of 14 shots from the charity stripe on the afternoon.
Osborne also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for her eighth-career double-double. The junior guard from Moreno Valley, Calif. registered team highs of four assists and two blocked shots, as well. Jaelynn Penn added 17 points for the Bruins (18-12). Angela Dugalic logged 12 points and seven rebounds in a reserve role.
Talia von Oelhoffen led the Beavers (18-13) with 19 points. Jelena Mitrovic scored 16 points. Ellie Mack finished with 13 points and a game-high six assists, while Taya Corosdale contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.
UCLA used a 10-0 run to take a 12-4 lead on the Beavers with four minutes to play in the quarter. Osborne had eight of those 10 points, including back-to-back three-pointers to start the run. The Bruins went on another run, outscoring the Beavers 9-1 in the final 3:41 of the quarter, with Penn scoring seven of the Bruins’ nine to send UCLA into the second quarter with a 21-7 lead.
After Dugalic drained a three-pointer to start the second quarter, Oregon State began to come alive, scoring six straight points. But UCLA answered with seven straight on a jumper by Penn, and a deep three and layup by Osborne to move back ahead by 18, 31-13. The Beavers then went on a 12-2 run to get within single digits, 33-25, and trailed by 10 at the half, 35-25.
Oregon State outscored the Bruins in the third quarter, 20-14, to close to within four, 49-45. The Beavers used back-to- back baskets by von Oehoffen to get within five, 41-36, before the Bruins went on a 7-1 run to surge ahead by 11. However, Oregon State ended the quarter with an 8-1 run a momentum shift within the home crowd of 2,976.
Penn scored six of her 17 points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to push the Bruins ahead by eight, 57-49. After the Beavers came back to within five, an IImar’I Thomas and-one with 2:30 to play gave UCLA an eight-point lead, 64-56. Three free throws by von Oehoffen with 24 seconds to play made it a two-possession game, 70-64, but Osborne made 4-of-4 free throws in the final 19 seconds to secure the victory.
