After their Thanksgiving trip to the Bahamas, the Beavers were finally back in Corvallis Tuesday morning for their first home game in weeks. In their return to Gill Coliseum, the Beavers came away with a 63-56 win over the Grambling State Tigers, for their first back to back wins of the season. The win puts Oregon State at 3-5 for the season.

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Grambling State grabbed the first points of the game with a Lydia Freeman layup, but the Beavers and Kelsey Rees took the lead pretty quickly. Rees had 9 points in the first quarter, helping Oregon State build a 9 point, 16-7 lead by the end of the quarter.

Ally Schimel and Sela Heide combined for 6 points to get the Beaver lead to 6 at the start of the second, but at that point Oregon State’s shooting started to run cold, allowing Grambling to work their way back into the game. The Tigers got the margin down to 8 with a bit of a run, but couldn’t get it any lower after Rees, Tiara Bolden and AJ Marotte finally got the Beavers scoring again. The first half ended with Oregon State still up 9, 29-20.

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Tiara Bolden and Kennedie Shuler got the Beaver lead back to 15 a few minutes into the third, but with 4 minutes left in the quarter the Tigers started to go on a run, with big buckets from Nicole Sandifer helping get Grambling State to within 5 at the end of the period.

Things stayed close in the fourth quarter. Sela Heide and AJ Marotte kept the Beavers scoring consistently, and Heide did a great job at shutting down the Tigers in the post, but Grambling State wouldn’t go away. A Douthsine Prien layup cut the Beaver lead to 4 with 2:31 left in the game, but that’s as close as the Tigers would get. Grambling State had to foul to stay in the game, but Oregon State made their free throws. A Sela Heide layup capped off the 63-56 win.

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The win is Scott Rueck’s 300th as the coach of the Beavers. Rueck was already the winningest coach in OSU history, but it’s always nice to hit a big round number. Tuesday’s game was also a big one for the Beavers’ front court. Sela Heide had her best game as a Beaver, posting a double double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. She also had 8 blocks.

Heide’s partner in the post, Kelsey Rees, also finished with a double double, with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists. Aj Marotte and Tiara Bolden also hit double digits in scoring, with 13 points and 11 points respectively.

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On Thursday Oregon State will take on their first West Coast Conference opponent, traveling to Stockton to take on the Pacific Tigers. Pacific is 4-4 so far this season, so this should be a close match up.

The No. 1 Oregon Ducks will face off against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday night. 

Ducks senior tight end Terrance Ferguson spoke on Monday about the opportunity the Ducks have in front of them and how they look to shake off their last two conference championship game losses. 

Ferguson said this summer, his family booked Air BNB lodging for Indianapolis/Big Ten Championship game.

“In a confident way, not cocky, we expected this,” Ferguson said.

Terrance Ferguson Still Thinks About Pac-12 Championship Game Losses

The Oregon Ducks will get the opportunity to win the Big Ten Championship in their first year in the conference on Saturday night vs. Penn State.

For Ducks tight end Terrance Ferguson, this game is larger than just this season. Ferguson has been on two previous Oregon teams that made it to the Pac-12 Conference Championship games and lost (2021, 2023.)

Ferguson still thinks about those games and is eager to turn the tide on Saturday.

“When you get to a championship game and you come up short like we did last year, it stays with you 365 days,” Ferguson said. “I wake up thinking about that game.”

The game Ferguson is talking about? The Ducks heartbreaking 34-31 loss to the Washington Huskies in the 2023 Pac-12 championship game. 

“It definitely stays with you. You definitely sit a little longer on the sideline and watch the confetti fall with the opponents colors,” Ferguson said. “I’ve been a part of that twice and it’s not a good feeling.”

This group can put that behind them and get over the conference championship hump with a win on Saturday.

“Super excited for this weekend,” Ferguson said. “We’re just excited for the opportunity to go out there and play those guys.”

Terrance Ferguson Impressed By Penn State Tight End Tyler Warren

Terrance Ferguson spoke about what makes Penn State such a tough team. Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren has gotten his attention. What makes Warren so good?

“His ability to be anything they ask of him. I think he’s done a great job of that,” Ferguson said. “I like watching the tape because as a tight end, watching another tight end like that is pretty special.”

Tyler Warren has 81 receptions for 978 yards and six touchdowns on the season. He has the most career receiving touchdowns by a tight end in Penn State History with 17.

Additionally, Warren this season has 21 carries for 189 yards and four touchdown. He is also a terrific blocker. A true “do-it-all” player. 

Terrance Ferguson: “They Are A Really Good Defense”

“Across the board, they are a really good defense,” Ferguson said. “They play very strong. Up front they got a lot of big guys that move people.”

Penn State has one of the best defenses in the country loaded with good players. Who are some of the players that have stood out to Terrance Ferguson?

“No. 11 (Abdul Carter). Really good player. Very twitchy, very aggressive,” Ferguson said. “No. 1 (Jaylen Reed) in the back. Head of the defense. I look forward to playing against those guys because they are elite players.”

Defensive tackle Abdul Carter leads the Nittany Lions with 10 sacks and safety Jaylen Reed leads them with three interceptions this season.

The Ducks offense will have their hands full with this defense, but to be the best you have to beat the best.

“The best players play the best players,” Ferguson said. 

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