CHAMPIONS! Beavers Take WCC Title With 59-46 Win Over Portland
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The Beavers opened their season with a 65-59 loss to Colorado State. They lost to Pacific 66-63 in their first game as a member of the West Coast Conference.
It's been a tough season, but the team never quit, and came together. After facing San Francisco and Gonzaga in their first two games of the WCC Tournament, the Beavers defeated the Portland Pilots 59-46 in the tournament final to be crowned West Coast Conference Champions.
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The first quarter started slow, and physical, with the only points in the first five minutes 3 free throws for the Pilots. Oregon State finally got on the scoreboard at 4:23 with a Sela Heide turnaround jumper, and after some more Portland free throws Kelsey Rees tied the game with a jumper and a free throw. Portland put themselves back in front with a pair of threes, but AJ Marotte finished the quarter with a layup to get the Beavers within four, 13-9.
After a few scoreless minutes opened the second quarter, a layup from Sela Heide and a Tiara Bolden three put the Beavers in front for the first time. Oregon State began to hit their stride at this point in the game, with threes from Rees and Ally Schimel helping to put the Beavers up 12. Portland could not find their way past the Beaver defense, only scoring 4 points in the quarter, 2 of them coming from Maisie Burnham in the final minute to cut the Beaver lead to 10, 27-17.
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A Catarina Ferreira three-pointer stretched the lead to 13 to open the second half, but Portland began to find their scoring and cut the OSU lead to 9 with buckets from Trista Hull and Emme Shearer. Oregon State responded with Ferreira, Tiara Bolden and Sela Heide combining to push the Beaver lead to 14 halfway through the third quarter. A big final push from Maisie Burnham allowed the Pilots to get the deficit back down to 10 before the end of the third.
Oregon State stayed in control for most of the fourth quarter. Catarina Ferreira continued to put together one of her best ever games, with 8 points in the final period. Maisie Burnham and Emme Shearer made the Beavers work for it, hitting clutch threes that made sure Oregon State couldn't take their foot off the gas pedal, but 6 points was as close as the Pilots got in the final quarter. A pair of AJ Marotte free throws sealed the 59-46 win.
Ferreira has been the Beavers' most valuable player throughout the tournament, and she showed that again this afternoon. Ferreira finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds for a double double. Sela Heide also had an amazing game, with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. Shutting down Portland as hard as the Beavers did in the second quarter was key to today's victory, and Heide was a huge part of that. Marotte also broke double digits, with 11 points, 2 rebounds and an assist.
We don't yet know what's next for the Beavers, just that there is a next game. This team isn't done. This coming Sunday, March 16th, we'll find out where Oregon State is in the NCAA Tournament field, and who they'll be facing.
Having grown up in Pocatello, home of the Idaho State Bengals, John Severs is a lifelong fan of small schools that don't always deliver a lot of wins. Prior to writing for On SI, John covered the Beavers for SB Nation's Oregon State blog Building the Dam, with a focus on baseball and women's basketball. When he's not watching college sports he spends most of his time reading, playing video games and annoying cats.