CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Thunderbird women's basketball team suffered a tough loss on Saturday night to the No. 24 Oregon State Beavers 77-38. 

With the loss the Thunderbirds sit a 3-5 on the season, while the Beavers improved to 6-1 on the season.

This was SUU's third matchup of the season against a team from the Pac-12 Conference, and the first ranked opponent they've faced this season.

“For our team it's a big step in the process of our growth and where we want to go,” SUU head coach Chris Boettcher said about taking on a big time opponent like the Beavers. “Everyone was excited to come and see the crowd that they draw and the players that they've played against or heard about in club ball.”

Oregon State jumped out to a sizable lead in the first quarter, but the Thunderbirds responded with a 10-0 run to get right back in it. SUU outscored OSU 14-12 in the second quarter. 

The Beavers led it 30-17 at half time.

OSU found more momentum in the second half, and were able to pull away from the T-Birds 

T-Bird freshman Rebecca Cardenas led the way for the Thunderbirds, scoring 10 points in 30 minutes of action. 

“The thing that impressed me most about her was her toughness and her desire to compete,” he said. “It didn't matter who she was guarding, she just wants to win the game and compete at the highest level. I knew she would play well, but to lead us in scoring and guard their best player was impressive.” 

Whitney Johnson and Darri Frandsen both had six points and pulled in a combined 12 rebounds from the forward position. Frandsen only played for 16 minutes after being saddled by foul trouble. 

Oregon State was led by Kat Tudor, who poured in 17 points for the Beavers. 

The Thunderbirds will be at home next Friday to take on the Grand Canyon Antelopes. That game is scheduled to tip at 6:30 p.m.

To stay up to date with Thunderbird women's hoops like the SUU Women's Basketball page on Facebook and follow @SUUWbasketball on Twitter and Instagram.