With Charisma Osborne injured, No. 10 UCLA loses to Oregon State
No. 10 UCLA wasn’t the same team without leading scorer Charisma Osborne and Oregon State took advantage of her absence.
Raegan Beers had 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Beavers (9-5, 1-2 Pac-12) in a 77-72 win Sunday. It was Oregon State’s first victory of the season against a ranked opponent.
UCLA (13-2, 2-1 Pac-12) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.
Osborne, a senior guard who averages a team-high 18.0 points and 6.1 rebounds, suffered a left shoulder injury early in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win at No. 17 Oregon. Projected as an early first-round pick in this year’s WNBA draft, Osborne was on UCLA’s bench Sunday with her arm in a sling.
Kiki Rice finishes with 21 points and Charisma Osborne scores 17 before leaving the game with an injury in UCLA’s 82-74 win over Oregon.
UCLA coach Cori Close said Osborne has a shoulder sprain and isn’t sure how long she’ll be out of the lineup, “but she’s a pretty fast healer and I’m hopeful it won’t be too long.”
“She’s our leading scorer, but I thought we missed her defense more,” Close said. “I believe she is one of the most elite defenders in the entire country. She guards multiple positions.”
After Londynn Jones’ three-pointer gave the Bruins their first lead at 64-63 with 3:37 remaining, Beers took over.
Beers, who scored 16 points in the second half, converted a left-handed layup with 1:55 left to give Oregon State a 67-64 lead.
She then hit two free throws and blocked a UCLA shot to give Oregon State possession in the final minute.
UCLA got within three points on Gina Conti’s three-pointer with 5.5 seconds left, but Talia von Oelhoffen sealed the win with two foul shots.
“It means a lot. UCLA is a really good team,” said Beers, a freshman forward. “It was a good team win all around. People making plays at the end of the game, which we needed.”
Von Oelhoffen and Bendu Yeaney added 15 points apiece for Oregon State.
Kiki Rice led the Bruins with 20 points, Conti had 19, and Jones finished with 17.
Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said Osborne’s absence did not change the Beavers’ approach to the game.
UCLA trails most of the game until they mount a comeback in the final seconds, defeating Washington State to extend their winning streak to nine games.
“She went out early in the fourth quarter the other night [at Oregon] and UCLA went on a run,” Rueck said. “They’ve got so many good players, especially at the guard position that while you can’t completely replace Charisma Osborne, we knew that they would be formidable.”
The Bruins missed their first five shots and fell behind 10-0.
UCLA cut the lead to five points early in the second quarter, but Oregon State led 38-27 at the break behind Shalexxus Aaron’s 14 first-half points, including four three-pointers.
“Credit to Oregon State,” Close said. “They did a great job. They played to their strengths and they executed their game plan with more consistency than we did ours.”
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