Weisner leads Oregon State past St. Bonaventure, 69-40

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Canada’s Jamie Weisner broke out of a slump and scored 23 points as Oregon State took control after halftime to beat St. Bonaventure 69-40 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.

Sydney Wiese added eight points, six rebounds and six assists, Ruth Hamblin, from Houston, B.C., had 16 rebounds and Deven Hunter scored 11 points for the Beavers (29-4), the No. 2 seed in the Dallas Regional. Oregon State advances to play DePaul on Saturday in the Sweet 16.

Miranda Drummond scored 12 points and Katie Healy had eight points and six rebounds for the 10th-seeded Bonnies (23-8).

Oregon State outscored the Bonnies 21-4 in the third quarter to go ahead 52-25. During that span, the Beavers made 50 per cent of their field goals and held St. Bonaventure to 1-for-14 shooting from the floor.

For the game, the Beavers shot 42 per cent, compared to 25.5 per cent for St. Bonaventure, and also outrebounded the Bonnies 48-33.

Oregon State had a huge height advantage for the second straight game, as the 6-foot-6 Hamblin was sometimes matched up with the 6-1 Healy, though the Bonnies provided plenty of defensive help.

The first quarter featured scrappy defence — and poor shooting — from both squads. But just before the first quarter buzzer, Marie Gulich’s offensive rebound and put-back put Oregon State ahead 13-8.

The Beavers went on a 9-0 run to jump ahead 23-12 about midway through the second quarter. Hunter fueled the surge with seven points.

Oregon State led 31-21 at the break.

Weisner, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, scored only two points on 1-for-7 shooting in the Beavers opening tournament game, a 73-31 rout of 15th-seeded Troy on Friday.

TIP INS

St. Bonaventure: The at-large bid out of the Atlantic 10 defeated No. 7 seed Oklahoma State 65-54, with Healy scoring 23 points, to move on to the second round. … The tallest player on St. Bonaventure’s roster is 6-foot-2. The Beavers suited up seven taller players. … The last time the Bonnies lost by 20 or more points was a 77-54 defeat to DePaul on Nov. 15.

Oregon State: The Pac-12 champs are making their third straight NCAA appearance, but were eliminated in the second round the previous two seasons. … Oregon State’s previous Sweet 16 appearance was in 1983, when the tournament only had 32 teams.

UP NEXT

St. Bonaventure: Season’s over.

Oregon State: travels to Dallas to play DePaul in Dallas on Saturday.