Oregon State women beat Portland 59-46 to win WCC Tournament and berth in NCAA Tournament
Oregon State women beat Portland 59-46 to win WCC Tournament and berth in NCAA Tournament
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Catarina Ferreira finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and Oregon State wrapped up its first season in the West Coast Conference with a tournament championship, ending two-time defending champion Portland’s 13-game win streak with a 59-46 victory on Tuesday.
The fourth-seeded Beavers (19-15) earned the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament a day after eliminating top-seed Gonzaga 63-61 in the semifinals. Oregon State has gone 19-13 in 13 previous trips to the NCAA Tournament with a Final Four appearance in 2016.
Ferreira made 5 of 12 shots with a 3-pointer and 5 of 9 free throws for Oregon State. AJ Marotte scored 11 on 3-for-12 shooting.
Maisie Burham totaled 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals to pace the second-seeded Pilots (29-4). She was 3 for 12 from the floor and 9 for 10 at the foul line. Alexis Mark had 11 points and five rebounds.
Burnham had six points to guide Portland to a 13-9 lead after one quarter. Oregon State outscored the Pilots by 14 in the second quarter for a 27-17 lead at the intermission.
Sela Heide grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to give the Beavers their largest lead at 39-25 with five minutes left in the third quarter. Burnham scored Portland’s final five points at the foul line and the Pilots trailed 42-32.
Portland whittled away at the deficit and Emme Shearer’s 3-pointer pulled the Pilots within 47-41 midway through the final quarter. Ferreira answered with a second-chance layup to spark a 6-0 run and Oregon State cruised from there.
The Pilots have six overall appearances in the NCAA Tournament — losing in the first round each time.
The Beavers won three straight Pac-12 Tournaments from 2015-17.
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