CORVALLIS, Ore. – Villanova women's basketball closed out a visit to the Pacific Northwest with its first loss of the year, falling to Oregon State 63-56 at Gill Coliseum.
Junior guard Lucy Olsen led the Wildcats (1-1) with a game-high 24 points along with three steals and a pair of blocks.
Senior Maddie Burke totaled nine points and a made three for the 'Cats while senior Bella Runyan added a team-best nine rebounds and four assists.
The Beavers began the matchup with the first five points, but a three from sophomore forward Megan Olbrys started a 9-2 Wildcat run which included a pair of layups for freshman Maddie Webber. OSU closed the gap, but the Wildcats led 13-12 after the opening period.
Points came fast and furious to start the second quarter, with Olsen scoring six in less than 110 seconds. Villanova followed that up with a drought, unable to score for more than four minutes but only allowing Oregon State to tie up the contest at 23.
Finally, Olsen got a jumper to go and put in a fastbreak layup to give her team-high 14 first half points and despite the team's prolonged scoreless string, the 'Cats still led by one at the half, 29-28.
It was another defensive battle to open the third as the sides combined for just 11 points before the media timeout, with OSU stealing away the lead. Villanova got a transition layup from Burke to fall and Olsen followed it up with a short jumper, but Oregon State's Talia von Oelhoffen hit a buzzer-beating triple to put her team up 46-42 after three.
The Wildcat defense strapped in to begin quarter four, allowing just four points up through the media timeout at 4:49 and re-taking the edge after an 8-0 run.
But the Beavers leveled it at 52, then used a three-ball and two layups to pick up a seven-point advantage. Olsen got a second-chance bucket to go with 29 seconds left and Runyan added a pair of points with time expiring, but four made OSU free throws were enough to give the home side a victory.
Villanova now heads back east to prepare for its home opener, hosting Temple on Nov. 19 at the Finneran Pavilion.
NOTES: This was the second all-time meeting between the Beavers and Wildcats, now even at 1-1 … Runyan set her career-high in rebounds, six of which came in the first half … Villanova scored 22 of their 29 first-half points from the paint and 36 of their total in the game … Olsen's scoring performance marked the seventh 20-point game of her career at VU but her first ever back-to-back.
