Oregon State
Gonzaga (2nd Round)
OSU's Sweet 16 Bid Falls Short
March 23, 2015 | Women's Basketball
The Oregon State women's basketball team's quest for its first Sweet 16 berth since 1983 fell short on Sunday as Gonzaga knocked off the Beavers 76-64 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament before a crowd of 5,071 at Gill Coliseum.
The Bulldogs (26-7) broke a 64-64 tie and scored the final 12 points of the game in defeating the Beavers (27-5) for the first time in their history.
Junior guard Jamie Weisner had 24 points, junior forward Deven Hunter 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and senior guard Ali Gibson 10 points for OSU, which eliminated South Dakota State on Friday to advance to the round of 32 for the second year in a row for the first-time ever.
Gonzaga shot 50 percent (29-58) from the field, made 16 of 21 free throws, outrebounded OSU 37-30 and had a 27-2 edge in points off the bench. The Bulldogs led 37-34 at halftime and by as many as 12 points (55-43) midway through the second half before the Beavers rallied to tie.
A Weisner 3-pointer knotted the game 64-64with 3:32 to play. However, Gonzaga's Sunny Greinacher and Keani Albanez scored on successive possessions for a 68-64 advantage and OSU could not recover.
Gonzaga iced the win by making eight free throws in the final 1:02.
OSU's only previous Sweet 16 appearance was in 1983, long before the tournament was expanded to its present 64-team format. The Beavers defeated UCLA in the first round before being eliminated by Long Beach State.
Gonzaga, making its seventh consecutive NCAA appearance, will now play the winner of tomorrow's game between Pittsburgh and Tennessee on Saturday at the Spokane Regional. The Bulldogs defeated George Washington in their first regional game.
