LAS VEGAS – Kelsey Rees threw in an off-balance seven-foot shot at the buzzer, giving No. 4 Oregon State a 61-59 win over San Francisco in the West Coast Conference women’s basketball quarterfinals Sunday at Orleans Arena.
With the clock nearing zero, the senior forward from Australia leaned in from seven feet, firing up a one-handed shot that bounced off the rim, then the backboard before finally falling.
In a game where Oregon State led by as many as 17 points then trailed several times during the final four minutes, the Beavers outlasted the Dons and a heavy-handed officiating crew that blew whistles at seemingly every opportunity.
Oregon State (17-15) advances to the WCC semifinals, where it will face No. 1 seed Gonzaga at noon Monday. The Beavers and Bulldogs split their regular season series, with both games going to overtime.
Oregon State, which led by 17 points early in the third quarter, erased three deficits during the final three minutes, tying the game at 59-59 on two free throws by Kennedie Shuler with 1:21 remaining. OSU’s defense, so effective in the first half, then made two stops to set up Rees’ game-winning bucket.
Catarina Ferreira scored 17 of her team-high 19 points to lead Oregon State. Rees, the team’s leading scorer this season, was held to four points, but got the two points that counted.
Freja Werth scored 18 points before fouling out to lead No. 5 San Francisco (15-16).
Oregon State put on a first half defensive clinic in rolling to a 33-19 halftime lead. After spotting the Dons a 7-3 lead, the Beavers handcuffed USF’s shooters the rest of the half. San Francisco made only three baskets during the final 17 minutes of the half, two of them deep threes.
It took a while for Oregon State’s offense to get untracked, but once it did, the Beavers made their defense pay off. Trailing 10-8 late in the first quarter, the Beavers peeled off 11 consecutive points for a nine-point lead. Ferreira was hot during the second quarter, scoring 12 points on 4 of 4 shooting. OSU’s halftime advantage was its largest lead of the first half.
The game began to get interesting late in the third quarter, when the Beavers went more than five minutes with hitting a shot. San Francisco started to cook from three, pulling to within 46-38 heading to the fourth quarter.
–Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel | @nickdaschel.bsky.social | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.
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