PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) Twice No. 7 Oregon State has fallen behind by double digits against Washington State this season, and each time the Beavers have come back to win the game.
Sydney Wiese scored 16 points and Oregon State overcame a 16-point first half deficit to beat Washington State 61-56 on Sunday.
In January, OSU also fell behind by 16 points and rallied to beat the Cougars 73-70.
''Washington State is very talented,'' Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. ''They are difficult to guard.''
The Cougars built a big lead behind the shooting of guards Lia Galdeira and Tia Presley. Then Oregon State switched to a zone defense and shut the Cougars down.
''It took away their aggressiveness,'' Rueck said.
Washington State shot only 32 percent for the game, and only 22.5 percent in the second half, to lose its fourth consecutive contest.
''They were able to double team in the post and still pressure our shooters,'' Washington State coach June Daugherty said. ''We went cold in the end.''
Oregon State didn't enjoy a lot of offensive success either. The Beavers shot 44 percent in the game and made just 6 of 23 from 3-point range (26 percent).
Wiese made four of the 3-pointers to tie the team career record of 178 held by Felicia Ragland. Wiese is only a sophomore.
''That's Sydney. She's one of the best shooters in the nation,'' Rueck said. ''She brings so much composure at point guard.''
Jamie Weisner added 14 points and Deven Hunter 12 for Oregon State (21-2, 11-1 Pac-12), which was coming off a loss at Washington.
The Beavers trailed 21-5 early on before rallying to within one at the half. Washington State kept the slight advantage until Wiese hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game that gave Oregon State its first lead at 40-39 with 11:50 left.
Taylor Edmondson's jumper gave WSU a 44-43 lead, but Weisner's 3-pointer put the Beavers ahead 46-44. Oregon State scored six straight points for a 52-46 lead with 5:40 left.
Washington State got a 3-pointer from Mariah Cooks and a layup from Galdeira to cut OSU's lead to 57-53 with 42 seconds left.
Oregon State used free throws to build a 59-53 lead. Galdeira hit a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds left to cut the Oregon State lead to three points. Samantha Siegner hit a pair of free throws for the final margin.
Galdeira scored 23 points for Washington State (13-10, 4-8), whose last three loses are by a combined nine points.
Oregon State is enjoying the best start in program history, and came in outscoring opponents by an average of 19 points per game.
In the first half, a 15-0 run lifted Washington State to a 21-5 lead as the Cougars made 10 of their first 13 shots. The Beavers were held scoreless for more than five minutes and made just 2 of 13 shots to open the game.
Oregon State rallied with 3-pointers to cut its deficit to one at the break.
''It's a game of adjustment, a game of runs,'' Daugherty said. ''We are looking forward to a third shot at them in the Pac-12 tournament.''
TIP-INS
Oregon State: The Beavers are approaching the team record of 24 wins in a season, set last year ... OSU leads the series with WSU 51-28.
Washington State: Coach June Daugherty has 399 career victories ... Galdeira averages 20 points and Tia Presley 17.5 per game
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
Oregon State outrebounded Washington State 42-37 behind 11 from Deven Hunter.
NEXT UP
Oregon State: hosts Arizona State on Friday.
Washington State: plays at Colorado on Friday.
