ALBANY, N.Y. – Timea Gardiner scored 21 points, Raegan Beers added 18 points and 13 rebounds and Oregon State frustrated Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo to beat the Irish 70-65 on Friday and advance to their first regional final in eight years.
Donovyn Hunter added 11 points for the third-seeded Beavers (27-7), who will face either overall top-seed South Carolina or Indiana on Sunday.
Sonia Citron scored 22 points and Maddy Westbeld added 19 for second-seeded Notre Dame, which finishes the season at 28-7. Hidalgo, who came in averaging 22.9 points, was held to just 10 points on 4 of 17 shooting, matching a season low in scoring.
She also missed about four minutes at the start of the second quarter after officials ordered her to remove a stud from her nose.
Oregon State led by a point at halftime, but opened the second half on and 11-2 run, capped by a layup from Gardiner that forced an Irish timeout.
The Irish came back, taking a 59-57 lead on a pull-up jumper from Anna DeWolfe with just over 4 minutes left in the game.
But a 3-pointer from Donovan put Oregon State back in front for good.
Hidalgo’s off-balance shot with a minute made it 65-63, before Gardiner found Beers underneath with 26 seconds left to stretch it to four.
Talia von Oelhoffen blocked a 3-point attempt from Westbeld and sank two foul shots on the other end.
Notre Dame has been using a six-player rotation since losing 6-foot-4 forward Kylee Watson, who tore an ACL in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
Oregon State capitalized on their height advantage early, throwing the ball into the paint. The 6-2 Beers and 6-3 Gardiner combined for 14 of the Beaver’s 17 first-quarter points and Oregon State led by three after 10 minutes.
The short-handed Irish also dealt with early foul trouble. DeWolfe picked up two in the first quarter and Westbeld had three by halftime.
Citron took over for the Irish, scoring nine second-quarter points, but Oregon led 32-31 at the break.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon State: The Beavers have now held 14 opponents this season to at least 10 points below their season average. Notre Dame came into Friday’s game averaging 79 points a game. Oregon State has advanced past the Sweet 16 just once before, reaching the 2016 Final Four.
Notre Dame: The 10 points ties a season-low for Hidalgo, who hit just two of her first 13 shots.
UP NEXT
Oregon State will meet the winner of Friday’s second game between top-seeded South Carolina and No. 4 seed Indiana.
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