CORVALLIS, Ore. — After taking down LMU in its only home game of a five-game stretch Saturday, San Diego women's basketball was back on the floor Thursday when it made the trip to Oregon State for the first of two matchups in the Beaver State. 

USD faced a tough task taking on a Beavers team that sits atop the West Coast Conference. 

However, the Toreros held their own in the first two quarters before going on a shooting drought in the second half and losing 61-43 before a crowd of 3,720 at Gill Coliseum. 

San Diego (8-15, 2-8 WCC) trailed by two points entering the third quarter and took a one-point lead within the first minute after halftime. But USD shot 16% on 4-of-25 shooting in the third and fourth quarters combined, including not making a 3-pointer on seven attempts. 

A big part was that the Toreros were down their leading scorer after Kylie Ray left the game with 6:42 left in the opening quarter due to injury.

As a result, USD had to dig deep against the top team in the conference without Ray, who had recorded a combined 43 points in the last two games. 
 
On top of losing Ray, San Diego faced a 10-point deficit with 4:15 left in the first quarter. 

Ultimately, the Toreros were able to answer back. Olivia Owens, who scored a team-high 12 points, scored on consecutive stepback jumpers, including one from beyond the arc. Then Hallie Rhodes found her twin sister Jayden on the fastbreak for another 3-pointer.   

Rhodes then made a trey of her own to open the second quarter and tie the game at 18 before Jayden Rhodes made a turnaround jumper to give USD its first lead, 26-24, with 5:17 left.
 
One of the reasons USD remained in the game, especially in the opening half, was that they committed just one turnover, compared to Oregon State (16-6, 8-1 WCC) allowing seven, leading to 11 San Diego points. 

In addition to her 12 points, Owens also logged a team-high nine rebounds. Jayden Rhodes registered 10 points while Hallie Rhodes recorded nine. 

Oregon State, which closed the game on a 13-2 run over the final five minutes, was led by Kennedi Shuler, who scored 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while recording seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.  

San Diego wraps up its trip in Oregon when it plays Portland on Saturday. Tipoff between the Toreros and the Pilots in the West Coast Conference matchup is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside the Chiles Center.  The game will also be made available to live stream on ESPN+. 

NOTABLE

• Olivia Owens recorded a team-high 12 points and nine rebounds. The 12 points are her most since scoring 14 at Pacific (December 30)
• Thursday also marks the fourth time this season that Owens has reached nine rebounds  
• Jayden Rhodes logged double digits points for the second time this season. Her 10 points on Thursday were her most most since scoring 22 on Opening Day against Bethesda (CA) (November 3)