What Gonzaga women's basketball said after WCC Tournament loss vs. Oregon State Beavers

For the second straight postseason, the Gonzaga women's basketball team will leave the Orleans Arena on the wrong end of another thrilling finish in the West Coast Conference Tournament.

Oregon State sophomore guard Kennedie Shuler drove through the defense and banked a tough shot off the glass with 0.8 seconds left to propel the No. 4-seed Beavers past the top-seeded Bulldogs, 63-61, in the WCC Tournament semifinal round on Monday.

The Zags (22-10, 17-3 WCC) led by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter after Allie Turner's jumper in the paint made it 57-50 with 4:14 left to play in regulation. The Beavers (19-15, 12-8 WCC), led by Catarina Ferreira's 19 points, responded with an 11-2 scoring run that made it 61-59 following a transition score from Shuler, who finished with four points on 2-of-5 from the field.

Gonzaga had one last chance to tie the game but Yvonne Ejim missed a shot around the rim as the final buzzer sounded. Ejim, the WCC Player of the Year, passed Drew Timme as Gonzaga basketball's all-time leading scorer, men and women, by bringing her career total to 2,319 points with 18 points against the Beavers on Monday. Timme had 2,307 points over his four-year career on the men's side.

Here's what Gonzaga had to say after the game.

Head coach Lisa Fortier on the final outcome and Gonzaga's ability to battle adversity all season:

"It was a great game for fans and coaches. Both teams played hard, they played really well. Anyone who knows about basketball or sports knows there's runs and both teams certainly went on theirs. Really proud of our team for positioning themselves to be in this spot where we're the No. 1 seed in a tournament where no one thought they would make it if they didn't take every team in our league. Back in the fall there was a lot of people who wrote us off and the people in the locker room did not. We stayed the course, we got better. Both these guys [Yvonne Ejim and Allie Turner] put us on our shoulders at different times throughout the season. I think it's been the most proud I've been at the improvement a team has made in a single season; it's pretty remarkable.

"So even though the final outcome wasn't what we wanted it to be, I can't say enough about this group of people and what they've learned and the life lessons they'll have because they're tough and they're gritty and they know how to go to work.

Ejim on her career potentially coming to an end after loss in WCC Tournament:

"I'm just really grateful to wear the Zags jersey — whatever opportunity that is and comes, I think that's the real joy in it. I mean we play basketball a lot so, I mean as long as I get to do it in a Zag jersey, there's success in that.

Turner on the experience of playing with Gonzaga's seniors:

"It means a lot. I was saying earlier that they came into this season with a totally different team than they had last season. And I think they made the most of it and I think their leadership didn't go unnoticed so, without them next year it'll be rough but I think if we carry on their leadership this year, how they had it, then we'll be pretty good. But obviously you can't replace them."

Ejim on becoming Gonzaga's all-time leading scorer:

"I feel like when I got to the women's scoring all-time record, there was so much hype around it like 'she's almost there, she's almost there.' And none of that really matters, like I come here and play basketball and I'm with these people so, it's great — I just want to play basketball. I came here to play basketball, I didn't come here to break records. So I don't value that more than the time I get on the court with my team."

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