The champagne was replaced by sparkling cider, but everything else felt like a genuine championship celebration.
And it might as well have been the ultimate win for Oregon State, which won its first game Saturday at McArthur Court since 1993.
“Look at me,” said Oregon State senior Ericka Cook, weeping as she sat down for the post-game press conference. “We waited for this for years. This was a very emotional game. It feels so good.”
With the 61-53 win, Oregon State (10-9 overall, 6-3 Pacific-10 Conference) snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Ducks and gave head coach Judy Spoelstra her first win at the Pit.
“All week we’ve been talking about not beating the Ducks since we’ve been here — and we finally did it,” said Oregon State senior guard Felicia Ragland, who scored a game-high 16 points. “We’re going to party all night.”
In front of a season-high 6,193 fans at Mac Court, the Ducks (10-8, 5-4) managed to hit just 21 percent of its shots in the second half, when they were outscored 31-23.
Senior guard Jamie Craighead nailed a three-pointer to open the second half, but Oregon did not score again until the 11:50 mark. In that stretch, the teams combined to commit 12 fouls while scoring just 10 total points.Overall, the teams committed 40 turnovers and had 40 fouls.
“It was not a very pretty game,” Spoelstra said. “(But) it was a big win for our players.”
Trailing by five, Oregon sophomore Cathrine Kraayeveld hit a three-pointer with 6:19 to play to cut Oregon State’s lead to 44-42. Ragland then hit a jumper on the Beavers’ next possession, and after an Oregon turnover, freshman Jessica Jones nailed a wide-open trey — just her second bucket of the season — to spark a 10-3 Beaver run.
“I don’t think she thought twice about it,” Spoelstra said of Jones’ three. “As a coach, those are the kind of shot you want your team to take.”
From there, it was in the hands of Beaver guard Leilani Estavan.
Two free throws by Shaquala Williams brought Oregon within four at 55-51, but Estavan sank six-straight freebies in the final 36 seconds to seal the Oregon State victory.
“I know I made them all — I had to,” Estavan said.
In the end, Oregon hit just 26 percent of its shots and scored just 53 points, both season lows.
“Our emphasis was on defense,” Ragland said. “Our defense is what kept them from not shooting well on the outside.”
Ho-hum, said the Ducks.
“We had some great open looks, we just weren’t knocking them down,” Oregon guard Edniesha Curry said.
And what about that Oregon State celebration?
“I was not surprised,” Curry said. “This makes or breaks their season. I don’t think it does anything for us — it doesn’t hurt or help us.”
“This isn’t an easy place to play, so good for them,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “Maybe there’ll be that opportunity for us at Gill Coliseum (in Corvallis on Feb. 16).”
“If I hadn’t beat someone in (nine years), I’d do it too,” Williams said. “I’m just going to wake up tomorrow and worry about USC.”
Now tied for fifth in the Pac-10, the Ducks host Southern California and UCLA this weekend.