Pivec's big game lifts No. 3 Oregon St over Colorado 72-60

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- After playing all 40 minutes in a competitive, physical Pac-12 game, Oregon State’s Mikayla Pivec acknowledged there are times she gets tired.

But that wasn’t apparent in the third-ranked Beavers’ 72-60 victory Sunday over Colorado.

Pivec had an outstanding all-around game with 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. She was at her best in the decisive fourth quarter.

“I do get tired, but you just don’t think about that,” said Pivec, a 5-foot-10 senior guard who leads the team in scoring, rebounding and assists. “You think about how you can help your team on each possession.”

The Buffaloes, who were coming off Friday’s 104-46 loss at No. 2 Oregon, stayed within striking distance of Oregon State (14-0, 2-0 Pac-12) until midway through the fourth quarter.

Colorado (12-2, 1-2), which trailed by 10 points at halftime, closed to 50-46 after three quarters.

Pivec took over in the fourth quarter, scoring six points in an 11-4 run to open the quarter. A rebound basket by Taylor Jones gave Oregon State its biggest lead at 67-52 with 3:52 remaining.

“I don’t like close games in the fourth quarter, so I just try to create as much separation as possible,” Pivec said.

The Beavers outscored Colorado 22-14 in the final quarter to win going away and extend the program’s longest winning streak to 14 games.

Oregon State junior point guard Destiny Slocum scored a game-high 18 points. Jones had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, and fellow freshman post Kennedy Brown also was in double figures with 12 points.

“Conference is here. Every day’s gonna be an absolute war,” Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. “All you have to do is watch Colorado for a minute and you see how hard they play, how physical they are.”

Sophomore forward Peanut Tuitele led the Buffaloes with 15 points. Junior forward Mya Hollingshed scored 14 points, and freshman guard Jaylyn Sherrod had 13 points and six assists.

Despite a second straight loss after opening the season with a 12-game winning streak, Colorado coach JR Payne was pleased by her team’s performance.

“I’m extremely encouraged,” Payne said. “I was really disappointed Friday night. Not that I had expectations of going into Oregon and blowing them out, but I expected us to play the way we played (today) mindset wise.”

The Buffaloes led 21-17 after the first quarter behind Sherrod’s nine points.

But Oregon State outscored Colorado 23-9 in the second quarter and led 40-30 at the break.

Payne called Oregon State and Oregon “elite” teams with “WNBA talent on both rosters.”

BIG PICTURE

Oregon State: The Beavers, who have beaten three teams currently ranked in the Top 25, are off to the best start in school history. They’ll be tested on the road next week at No. 18 Arizona and Arizona State.

Colorado: After winning their first 12 games, Colorado took a major step up in competition this week playing two teams ranked in the five. The Buffaloes should be encouraged by staying with Oregon State most of the game.

UP NEXT

Oregon State will be at No. 18 Arizona on Friday

Colorado hosts USC on Friday.

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