No. 22 Illinois seniors too much for Oregon State as Beavers lose their third straight in women’s basketball

Oregon State couldn’t maintain momentum from a spirited first half as No. 22 Illinois ran away after halftime and defeated the Beavers 85-66 in women’s basketball in Champaign, Ill.

Illinois, leading by 10 at halftime, outscored OSU 29-14 during the third quarter to put the game away.

Oregon State (1-4) dropped its third consecutive game, all to Power 4 conference opponents. AJ Marotte scored 16 points and Catarina Ferreira had 15 to lead the Beavers. Ferreira also grabbed 11 rebounds.

OSU shot 39% in the game, and 7 of 29 from three-point range.

Kendall Bostic and Makira Cook combined to score 51 of Illinois’ 85 points. Bostic, a senior forward, hit 15 of 18 shots and scored 31 points, while Cook, a senior guard, had 20 points and eight assists. Genesis Bryant, another senior guard, scored 12.

Illinois (5-0) made 55% of its shots, hitting 35 of 64.

Oregon State never led in the game, but kept contact throughout the first half. The Beavers got as close as 27-20 on a layup by Marotte with 5:13 left in the second quarter. A three-pointer by Kelsey Rees with 44 seconds left before halftime trimmed the deficit to 10.

Illinois cranked up its offense during the third quarter, and OSU couldn’t keep up. Illinois hit eight of its first nine shots, four by Bostic, as it rolled to a 46-28 lead with 2:18 left in the third. The lead swelled to 28 points during the second half before Oregon State scored some late points to reduce the final margin.

Oregon State heads to the Bahamas, where it will face No. 2 Connecticut in the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

–Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, ndaschel@oregonian.com or @nickdaschel.

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