CORVALLIS — Suddenly, the bank opened.
With the game knotted at 74, Oregon State guard Felicia Ragland’s desperation heave bounced off the backboard and off the rim as time ran out in regulation, sending the Ducks and Beavers into overtime.
After five minutes of bonus action, Oregon guard Edniesha Curry, with her team trailing by one and the clock dwindling, also tried the bank shot on the other end of the court. A pump fake got the defending Ragland off her feet, and Curry drove the lane, leaned for a 10-footer, changed her shot in mid-air, released, kissed the glass, rattled the rim once, twice …
Money.
“It’s probably the shot of my career,” Curry later said of her game-winning basket with 1.8 seconds left on the clock, giving the Ducks an 84-83 victory over Oregon State at Gill Coliseum.
“It was a good shot for me to take and I had courage to take it,” the senior guard said. “I’ve never hit a game-winner before.”
Curry’s bucket saved the Ducks (14-11 overall, 9-7 Pacific-10 Conference) from getting swept by Oregon State (13-13, 9-7) for the first time in nine years. The Beavers won at McArthur Court on Jan. 19, their first victory in Eugene in nine years.
Fans numbering 3,629 — the most to see a women’s game at Gill Coliseum this season — were treated to a nationally televised game that was “great for women’s basketball,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said.
“If you are a true competitor, that is the kind of game that you wish for — a game that comes down to the last shot, the last possession,” said Oregon guard Shaquala Williams, who had 20 points. “Whether you were on the bench or on the floor, it was just so much fun because it was competitive.”
In overtime, Oregon senior center Alyssa Fredrick began by blocking a Ragland three-point attempt and was awarded at the other end with a nice feed from Cathrine Kraayeveld. Fredrick scored six points in overtime.
“It was just a lot of fun,” said Fredrick, who finished the game with 13 points. “They beat us at home and we knew we had to get revenge.”
Oregon State guard Juleen Smith sank a short jumper in the lane with 1:10 left to give the Beavers an 83-82 lead.
Curry’s game-winner came after an Oregon timeout with 18 seconds left. The Ducks did not have a set shot for the play — they stuck with their zone offense — but planned to hit whoever was open. Curry was open and Williams found her on a cross-court pass, setting up the game’s final shot.
“Curry saw her opening and did the right thing,” Smith said. “It couldn’t have been a finer shot.”
Curry batted down the Beavers’ inbounds pass to seal the Oregon win.
“It was really sweet because they beat us on our home court, so we wanted to pay them back and beat them here, especially on senior night,” Williams said.
The Ducks took a 74-65 lead on a Kraayeveld layin with 4:50 to play in regulation. But it turned out the be Oregon’s last bucket before overtime.
Oregon State’s Hollye Chapman scored seven straight points, including a three-pointer, in a two-minute stretch to bring the Beavers within two. Ragland, who had 23 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists in the game, sank two free throws with 43 seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 74.
“It seemed like the team to make the fewest mistakes would win the game,” Oregon State head coach Judy Spoelstra said. “We just didn’t quite make our last possession count, and they converted.”
The Ducks shot 50 percent in the game, including a 56 percent clip in the second half and overtime. Oregon shot a season-worst 23 percent from the field against Oregon State on Jan. 19.
“We needed (to win) because we’re in a sticky spot in the Pac-10 and we want to improve our seeding for the Pac-10 Tournament,” Williams said.