CORVALLIS, Ore. – The sophomore duo of Morgan Callahan and Nia Ford had big performances for the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team in an 89-52 road loss to Oregon State University on Tuesday night.
 
Callahan completed her first collegiate double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds while Ford scored a season-high 10 points.
 
NCCU only trailed by five points early in the second half, but with only six Eagles seeing court time at Gill Coliseum the Beavers were able to run away to the 37-point triumph. Oregon State improved to 8-4 on the season with a commanding 54-25 scoring advantage in the second half.  
 
All six maroon and gray players logged at least 27 minutes of game action and four Eagles scored in double digits. Freshman Jerni Kiaku led NCCU with 14 points and five assists over 39 minutes. Junior Blessing Okoh added 10 points and six rebounds.
 
NCCU kept the game really close in the first half. A basket by Callahan provided the Eagles with their only lead at 4-3. Oregon State led by as many as seven points on two occasions in the opening quarter, but consecutive basketballs by sophomore Sydney Avoletta to close out the period pulled NCCU within two points at 17-15.
 
Kiaku scored the first basket of the second quarter to tie the contest for a third and final time before the Beavers went on an 18-8 run from that point to establish their first double-digit advantage on the night. Okoh hit a 15-footer from the left key in the final 20 seconds to pull NCCU within eight points, 35-27, at halftime.
 
Kiaku scored nine points in the first half while OSU junior Shalexxus Aaron led all players at the midway point with 10 points of her 17 points.
 
Both teams made 13 of 35 (37.1%) field goals in the first half, but the Beavers made five 3-pointers to just one by the Eagles and they went 4 of 5 from the free throw line while NCCU missed both of their free throw attempts to account for the eight-point halftime edge.
 
The Eagles inched to within five points a couple times early in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Ford and two free throws by Kiaku. However, Oregon State closed the frame on a decisive 23-12 run that pushed the hosts cushion to double digits for the rest of the game. Freshman Raegan Beers scored 18 points in the third quarter to spark the Beavers to a comfortable 62-46 lead entering the fourth quarter. OSU then shot 57.1 percent from the field in the final frame while holding the Eagles to just 15.4 shooting from the floor to dominate the period 27-6 and win by 37 points.
 
Beers finished with a game-high 27 points and she completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Sophomore Talia von Oelhoffen also recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Five total Beavers scored in double figures.
 
NC Central (5-9) will conclude non-conference play to begin the new year when the Eagles host Virginia University of Lynchburg on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m.  
 
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.