Oregon State Women Beat Portland 60-50 to Advance in WCC Tournament

Oregon State finally took the court in the West Coast Conference tournament Sunday morning, and the Beavers took care of business. OSU defeated the Portland Pilots 60-50 to advance to the semifinals.

It was a big game for Lizzy Williamson, who scored the Beavers' first eight points, giving Oregon State an early six-point lead. Williamson was the only Beaver consistently scoring though, shifting momentum to the Pilots, who took the lead with a Florence Dallow three. Portland got their lead up to five before a Jenna Villa three cut it down to two, 15-13, at the end of the first quarter.

Another Jenna Villa three at the start of the second put the Beavers back in front, but the Pilots stayed hot, with a pair of layups form Dyani Ananiev and a three from Nicole Anderson getting their lead back up to six. That was as high as it would get, as the Beavers went on a 12 point run over the back half of the quarter to take a six point lead of their own, 31-25, into the half.

Layups from Kennedie Shuler and Lizzy Williamson got the Beaver lead up to 10 at the start of the second half before the Pilots finally broke their cold streak with a Dyani Ananiev jump shot. A three from Ananiev and shots from Ella Zimmerman and Rhyan Mogel got Portland within three, but they couldn't maintain the momentum. Four points from Tiara Bolden, a layup and two free throws, put Oregon State up eight, 42-34, at the close of the quarter.

The fourth quarter had a bit more action, but the result was the same. Portland hung around, and gotten within striking distance of tying the game a few times, but they were never able to take the lead back. Kennedie Shuler and Lizzy Williamson kept the points rolling in for the Beavers, with a free throw from Williamson the last point of the game.

This was the Lizzy Williamson game, the best performance she's had as a Beaver. 20 points and 16 rebounds for another double double, along with three blocks and a steal. The Beaver defense suffocated Portland down the stretch, and a big part of that was Williamson just frustrating them in the post.

Tiara Bolden and Jenna Villa each finished with 10 points. Bolden added four rebounds and three assists, while Villa added eight rebounds and six assists. Oregon State's ability to win rebounds was one of the big keys Sunday afternoon, they outrebounded the Pilots 54-29, with 24 offensive rebounds helping adding 24 second chance points to Oregon State's total.

The next test for the Beavers is going to be their toughest. The Loyola Marymount Lions beat the Beavers both times they played in the regular season, and they're sitting in between the Beavers and a berth in the tournament finals. They'll play Monday at Noo PT on ESPN+.