ASU women's basketball saw a potential upset of No. 9 Oregon State slip away on Friday night in the final seconds, losing 64-62 on a buzzer-beating shot by Oregon State senior guard Mikayla Pivec.
With 0.4 seconds left in a tie game, inbounding under their own basket, the Beavers didn’t have any option to score other than a quick tip or shot.
Pivec caught the inbound pass from the free throw line and tossed it toward the basket in one motion. The ball hit the back rim and bounced up and in to give Oregon State the win after scoring six points in the final nine seconds.
With 6:12 left in the game, senior guard Robbi Ryan hit a three to give ASU (16-7, 6-5 Pac-12) a 54-46 lead. That lead didn’t last long due to turnovers and cold shooting, allowing Oregon State (19-4, 7-4) to rally to tie the game at 60 with nine seconds left in the contest.
Senior forward Ja’Tavia Tapley then hit a midrange jumper to give the Sun Devils what should have been the game-deciding bucket. But, the Beavers scored a quick layup with less than a second left to presumably push the game into overtime.
With the game tied at 62 with 0.4 seconds on the clock, ASU threw the ball away without anyone touching it, allowing Oregon State a chance to inbound under its own basket for the eventual game-winner.
Ryan led the Sun Devils with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists. Tapley and senior guard Reili Richardson combined to score 21 points, but the two shot just 30% together to record those points.
ASU will look to rebound as they face the No. 3 Oregon Ducks in Eugene on Feb. 9, at 3 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at ltochter@asu.edu and follow @Leo_Toch on Twitter.
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