Oregon State Beavers freshman forward Timea Gardiner works on offense in a women's college basketball game vs. the Washington Huskies at Gill Coliseum.

Was the Oregon State Beavers’ 67-48 loss to Colorado an aberration? Or a sign of trouble for the women’s basketball team?

Or could it be both?

The Beavers (11-12, 3-9 Pac-12) dipped below .500 for the first time this season, but they haven’t often endured a pounding like the physical Buffaloes delivered Sunday at Gill Coliseum.

Colorado (18-5, 9-3) took out OSU from the start, physically dismantling the Beavers offense in the first half. It forced Oregon State to play a game of catch up that wasn’t meant to be.

One-sided losses have been rare this season. There have been games against No. 3 Louisiana State, Washington and Colorado in which OSU never had a chance. But more common are the results of the past two weeks, when the Beavers had an opportunity in the final possession to beat Pac-12 co-leaders No. 2 Stanford and No. 7 Utah.

Yet it’s troubling because only six games remain in the regular season. A rout like Sunday’s can shake a young team looking to build momentum for the Pac-12 tournament.

The Colorado loss felt like a 40-minute lab experiment for Oregon State, as the Beavers were desperately searching for a lineup capable of doing any kind of damage. That’s what happens when a team trails 28-6 14 minutes into a game.

“Today was about Colorado and just basically imposing their will on us,” OSU coach Scott Rueck said.

There’s no more startling statistic than rebounding — Colorado whipped the Beavers 46-26 on the glass. The Buffaloes turned 16 offensive boards into 12 second-chance points. It was troubling because Colorado is hardly an elite rebounding unit; the Buffaloes rank eighth in the conference in rebounds, while OSU is fourth.

“We didn’t box out,” Rueck said. “I don’t know if it’s more complicated than that. We just didn’t rise to the challenge in that category. I’m not really sure exactly why, other than they beat us to the ball and they won every one of those little battles.”

Oregon State has 24 days to figure out what best makes this roster tick. The Pac-12 tournament opens March 1 and the Beavers must be flawless if they are to have any hope of an NCAA tournament berth. Or, for that matter, an invite to the WNIT.

If you’re still trying to figure out the 2022-23 Beavers, you’re not alone. Rueck admits he’s perplexed, too.

“We’re different from one minute to the next,” Rueck said. “That’s the weakness of this team, is we’re not exactly sure what we’re going to get.”

The OSU coach said the Beavers have been able to find answers during most games, but it sometimes requires putting different lineups on the floor. That’s a challenge for a program that typically knows by this point of the season what it is.

The next four games are on the road — at UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State — followed by a home series against Arizona State and Arizona. Rueck points to growth of freshmen such as Timea Gardiner and Adlee Gardiner, and the return of A.J. Marotte from injury.

Still, is there enough time for this freshman-dominated team to grow up and make a statement come March in Las Vegas?

“I’m confident based upon our experiences,” Rueck said. “We have been very competitive. There’s no reason for me to think our best isn’t ahead.”