Oregon State sends Tennessee to historic loss

Sophomore guard Mikayla Pivec scored 15 points and sixth-seeded Oregon State halted Tennessee’s record 57-game NCAA Tournament home-court winning streak with a 66-59 victory on Sunday in the second round of Lexington Regional play at Knoxville, Tenn.

Senior center Marie Gulich contributed 14 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots as the Beavers (25-7) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season. Sophomore guard Kat Tudor scored 13 points and junior guard Katie McWilliams added 15 points and six assists for Oregon State, which took control with a 20-3 second-half run.

Senior center Mercedes Russell had 21 points, 14 rebounds and four steals for the third-seeded Volunteers (25-8), who lost in the second round for the first time in school history. Freshman guard Anastasia Hayes added 10 points for Tennessee, which shot just 33.8 percent from the field.

Oregon State, which shot 45.7 percent from the field, will face either Baylor or Michigan in the Sweet 16. Those teams square off Sunday night.

Tennessee had never lost an NCAA Tournament game it hosted and it looked primed to keep the streak going when it scored 19 points in the first quarter and had Oregon State star Gulich saddled with two fouls. But the Volunteers scored just 20 points over the next two-plus quarters and Gulich scored 12 second-half points as the tide turned.

Meanwhile, The Beavers finished the third quarter with nine straight points to take a 44-39 lead into the final stanza.

Pivec buried a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 47-39 with 7:52 remaining, and a basket by Gulich made it 49-40 with 6:51 left. Russell ended Tennessee’s field-goal drought at six minutes, 43 seconds with an inside hoop with 5:20 remaining.

But Oregon State responded with a 3-pointer by freshman forward Taya Corosdale and a 15-foot jumper by Gulich to boost its lead to 54-42 with 3:36 remaining. The lead reached 13 before Tennessee staged a mini-run to move within 55-47 on a 3-pointer by senior forward Jaime Nared with 2:34 remaining.

Back-to-back baskets by Tudor pushed the lead back up to 12 as the Beavers closed it out.

Freshman guard Rennia Davis drained a 3-pointer just prior to time expiring to give Tennessee a 26-24 halftime lead.

Tennessee led 19-9 after the first quarter but was just 3 of 12 shooting in the second as Oregon State got back into the contest. The Beavers opened the quarter with a 11-2 spurt and later took their first lead of the game at 24-23 on two free throws by Tudor with 2:44 left.

–Field Level Media