Oregon State women top Notre Dame in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 to advance to Elite Eight
Guided by a dominant post presence, the No. 3 Oregon State women’s basketball team pulled away and held off No. 2 Notre Dame late to win an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup Friday at MVP Arena in Albany, New York, 70-65.
It marks the Beavers’ third trip to the Elite Eight in program history and the first since 2018 a year removed from a 13-18 season. The Beavers will face No. 1 South Carolina at 10 a.m. Sunday.
"I thought it was a great representation of who we are," Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. "It showed every bit of us, I thought. It wasn't always perfect, but we found a way. That's what this team has done all year as we've grown together so quickly. Who would have thought before the year that we'd be sitting here? Not many people off this podium and in the locker room, of course."
Leading by two with under a minute to play, Raegan Beers scored her 18th point with 26 seconds left on a layup to give OSU a four-point lead, and a clutch block on a Notre Dame 3-point attempt by Talia von Oelhoffen and subsequent free throws sealed a Beaver victory.
Oregon State overcame 26 turnovers to just five Irish turnovers to get the win, shooting 60.4% from the field to Notre Dame’s 35.6%. The Beavers' minus-21 turnover discrepancy tied an NCAA Tournament record for worst in a tournament victory.
Beers finished with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, and Timea Gardiner scored a team-high 21 points with 11 rebounds to lead the Beavers. That pair helped Oregon State dominate Notre Dame on the glass, winning the rebound battle 42-24.
"When you've got a force like (Beers), somebody with not only the strength and size that she has, but the agility and the hands that she has, you're playing through that person," Rueck said. "There was a point where I thought we missed her too often early where we're like, just give her the ball, play through (her), but you give them credit for making that difficult. Fortunately we have lots of other things we can go to. Lily (Hansford) hit huge threes, Timea was unbelievable. Just did what she does. (Donovyn Hunter) hit a couple huge shots and Talia play-made for us."
Notre Dame star freshman Hannah Hidalgo, who averaged nearly 23 points per game heading into the Sweet 16 matchup, scored just 10 points on 4 for 17 shooting from the floor. Sonia Citron led the Irish with 22 points and Maddy Westbeld added 19.
In a back and forth first half, Oregon State dominated Notre Dame on the glass with a 23-9 rebound advantage but had just two second-chance points and allowed 14 points off 12 turnovers. The Beavers led 32-31, despite shooting 57.7% from the field opposed to the Irish’s 36.4%.
Beers had 12 points on 6 for 7 shooting at the halftime break with seven rebounds, almost outrebounding Notre Dame by herself. Gardiner added nine first half points with four rebounds, while Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron got hot and scored a team-high 11 points in the first half.
The Beavers then opened the second half with a flurry of buckets from Beers and Gardiner, taking a double-digit lead less than three minutes into the third quarter.
The Irish came back to eventually take a lead, 59-57, with 4:19 to play in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Donovyn Hunter and Lily Hansford helped the Beavers retake a lead they would never relinquish en route to an Elite Eight Sunday matchup back at MVP Arena against undefeated South Carolina, which beat Indiana.
"We always believed in ourselves and what we could do, and a lot of people didn't know what we could do," Gardiner said. "We came in, we had nothing to lose, so we come in, we play our game, we play Oregon State basketball and we demonstrated that tonight, and we're not done yet."
Read our updates from the game below.
FINAL: No. 3 Oregon State 70, No. 2 Notre Dame 65
Talia von Oelhoffen blocked a 3-point attempt with 18 seconds left and hit two clutch free throws to give the Beavers a six-point advantage late, and OSU held on to upset Notre Dame in the Sweet 16, 70-65, to move on to their third Elite Eight in program history.
Timea Gardiner scored a team-high 21 points with 11 rebounds and Raegan Beers had 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Beavers. Notre Dame was led by Sonia Citron's 22 points and seven rebounds, with Maddy Westbeld adding 19 points. Star freshman Hannah Hidalgo scored 10 points on just 4 for 17 shooting from the floor.
Raegan Beers layup gives OSU a 4-point lead with 26 seconds left
After back-to-back 3-pointers from Donovyn Hunter and Lily Hansford, and a layup from Raegan Beers, the Oregon State women's basketball team leads Notre Dame 67-63 with 26 seconds remaining. Beers has 18 points and 13 rebounds and Timea Gardiner has 20 points and 10 rebounds. Notre Dame has possession out a timeout.
Beavers hanging on to slim lead down the stretch
With 4:58 left in the game, Oregon State is leading Notre Dame 57-56. The Beavers have turned the ball over 23 times to the Irish's three, and Notre Dame has 24 points off those turnovers. Timea Gardiner has a team-high 20 points while Notre Dame is led by Sonia Citron's 21 points.
END 3Q: Oregon State 53, Notre Dame 50
Notre Dame battled all the way back to tie it before a Timea Gardiner 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer to give Oregon State a slim lead heading into the fourth. Raegan Beers and Gardiner have combined to score 32 points with 19 rebounds.
Notre Dame is led by Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld's 17 points a piece, and Anna DeWolfe has 10 points. The Irish have 18 points off 17 OSU turnovers.
Beavers maintain lead at first media timeout of second half
With 4:11 to play in the third quarter Oregon State leads Notre Dame 48-42. Notre Dame has cut into the double-digit lead behind Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld's combined 28 points and has 16 points off 14 OSU turnovers.
Beavers open second half on huge run
Oregon State has come out of the gates strong, leading Notre Dame 43-33 with 7:19 to play in the third quarter. The Beavers have opened the second half on an 11-2 run behind quick points from Raegan Beers and Timea Gardiner. Those two have combined to score 27 points. OSU is shooting over 60% from the field, nearly double Notre Dame's 36.1%.
HALF: Oregon State 32, Notre Dame 31
Despite 12 turnovers, Oregon State leads Notre Dame by one at the half. The Beavers are shooting 57.7% from the field and are holding the Irish to 36.4%, but have allowed 14 points from the Irish off turnovers. OSU is outrebounding Notre Dame 23-9, but only have two second-chance points.
Raegan Beers has a game-high 12 points and seven rebounds while Timea Gardiner has added nine points and four boards of her own. Notre Dame is led by Sonia Citron's 11 points and Maddy Westbeld has nine points but three fouls. Star freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo has just six points of 2 for 8 shooting and sat a good chunk of the second quarter getting a nose ring removed due to NCAA rules.
Irish on a 7-0 run toward the end of the first half
Behind a three minute scoring drought from OSU, Notre Dame has opened up a 29-25 lead with 2:45 left to play in the first half behind a 7-0 run. Sonia Citron has gotten loose and leads the Irish with nine points, along with Maddy Westbeld. Oregon State has 11 turnovers already and the Irish have 12 points off turnovers.
Beavers maintain small lead midway through second quarter
With 5:51 left in the first half, Oregon State leads 25-22. While star Notre Dame point guard Hannah Hidalgo has dealt with getting a nose ring removed on the sideline for half of the second quarter, the Beavers haven't been able to separate. Notre Dame has eight points off seven OSU turnovers, while Oregon State is shooting 57% from the floor, led by Raegan Beers' 10 points.
END 1Q: Oregon State 17, Notre Dame 15
Raegan Beers scored six straight points and Lily Hansford added a 3-pointer to give Oregon State a lead heading into the first quarter break, 17-15. Oregon State is shooting 50% from the field while Notre Dame is shooting 42.9%. Beers has a game-high eight points and five rebounds already while Notre Dame is led by Maddy Westbeld's seven points. Notre Dame has four rebounds as a team.
Beavers and Irish go back-and-forth early
With 3:06 left in the first quarter at the first media timeout, the Beavers trail the Irish, 10-8. Oregon State has six offensive rebounds already but only two second-chance points against a short-handed Notre Dame lineup, but the Irish are shooting 55.6% from the field.
Timea Gardiner has an early six points for the Beavers while the Irish are led by Hannah Hidalgo and Maddy Westbeld's four points a piece.
Starters announced for Sweet 16 matchup
For Oregon State: G - Donovyn Hunter (6.6 PPG); G - AJ Marotte (5.3 PPG); G - Talia von Oelhoffen (10.9 PPG); F - Raegan Beers (17.5 PPG); F - Timea Gardiner (11.4 PPG)
For Notre Dame: G - Hannah Hidalgo (22.9 PPG); G - Sonia Citron (17.1 PPG); G - Anna DeWolfe (8.6 PPG); F - Natalija Marshall (5.1 PPG); F - Maddy Westbeld (14.2 PPG)
Game time set for Oregon State women's basketball vs. Notre Dame
The NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game between Oregon State and Notre Dame is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. Friday inside MVP Arena in Albany, New York. It will air on ESPN.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon State women top Notre Dame in Sweet 16, advance to Elite Eight
