Jones leads Oregon State women past Utah in Pac-12 opener

Jan 4, 2020, 06:27 am

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Taylor Jones looked quite comfortable in her first Pac-12 game.

Jones scored 11 of her 15 points in the third quarter, and No. 3 Oregon State pounded Utah 77-48 on Friday night.

Oregon State (13-0, 1-0) looked inside to start the second half, and Jones scored nine points in a 13-0 run that extended the lead to 50-24. The 6-foot-4 freshman went 5 for 7 from the field and 5 for 7 at the line in 21 minutes.

"Mentally I think we all had a different mindset," said Jones, who came into the game averaging 14.1 points and 7.8 rebounds.

"I could definitely feel it in the game. The pace was a little bit faster, the crowd was a lot bigger. I'm excited to see how the rest of the Pac-12 goes."

The Beavers outscored the Utes 25-9 in the third. They increased the lead to as much as 31 points in the final period.

Destiny Slocum scored 16 points for Oregon State, and Mikayla Pivec had 15.

Andrea Torres led Utah (7-6, 0-2) with 13 points.

Oregon State scored the game's first nine points and led 24-10 after the first quarter.

Utah picked up its game defensively and pulled within nine.

But reserve Maddie Washington gave Oregon State a lift by hitting three straight inside jumpers late in the second quarter and the Beavers led 37-24 at the break.

"This team is evolving, learning, and they're learning through wins," Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. "I can point to areas that we're improving every second, really."

BIG PICTURE

Utah: It doesn't get any easier for the Utes, who will be at No. 2 Oregon on Sunday, followed by a Jan. 10 matchup at home against No. 10 UCLA. Utah has lost three of its past four games.

Oregon State: The Beavers, who have beaten three teams currently ranked in the Top 25, are off to their best start in school history. They outrebounded the Utes 44-28.

UP NEXT

Utah will be at No. 2 Oregon on Sunday.

Oregon State hosts Colorado on Sunday.

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