CORVALLIS, Ore. – The fifth-seeded Gonzaga women's basketball team fell 76-70 to fourth-seeded Oregon State Monday evening in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore.
Gonzaga (29-5) finished with four players in double figures, led by 20 points from
Zykera Rice. Fellow senior
Chandler Smith added 13 points, while
Jessie Loera and
LeeAnne Wirth finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"I'm really proud of our team," head women's basketball coach
Lisa Fortier said. "They gave everything they had. It's been a really screwed up week for us at a really bad time, and they didn't care. All they cared about was each other, how to best execute the game plan and how to best find a way to help our team be successful. I'm really proud of them. I thought that they did a great job."
Oregon State (26-7) controlled the paint with a 34-28 advantage inside and a 42-34 edge on the glass, but Gonzaga forced 12 turnovers on the Beavers for a 10-4 advantage in points off turnovers. GU took care of the ball, tying its season-low in turnovers with six.
The Bulldogs limited the Beavers to 25.0 percent shooting in the opening period and hit six field goals to take the early 15-14 lead.
An old-fashioned three-point play from Smith to open the second period put the Bulldogs up by four (18-14), but a quick 4-0 run in favor of OSU tied the game at 18-all, one of 10 in the game. A jumper from
LeeAnne Wirth put the Zags back in front, and with 2:57 to go in the half twin sister
Jenn Wirth hit a jumper to give the Bulldogs a five-point lead (30-25). Oregon State closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to tie things up once more, but a clutch bucket from Loera with 27 seconds to go gave GU the edge, 34-32. Oregon State missed its final attempt, and the Bulldogs headed into the break with a two-point lead.
Though Gonzaga was more efficient from the floor in the third period, shooting 41.7 percent compared to OSU's 38.9, the Beavers forced four turnovers on the Zags for four points. The Beavers outscored Gonzaga 18-15 in the third period to take a 50-49 lead.
The fourth quarter alone featured four ties and two lead changes, and with 5:57 Smith hit a jumper to put GU up by two, 57-55. A jumper from Oregon State's Mikayla Pivec 25 seconds later tied things up once more, and a layup from Pivec a minute later gave the Beavers a two-point lead (61-59). OSU extended its lead to eight with 19 seconds to go, but two Bulldog treys, one from Rice and another from Loera, cut the deficit to four (74-70) with four seconds to go. GU had to foul on the next possession to put Pivec at the line where she converted 2-of-2, and the Zags final attempt fell short to give Oregon State the 76-70 win and a trip to the Sweet 16.
Oregon State had five players in double figures, led by Pivec with 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Taya Corosdale, Maddie Washington, Destiny Slocum and Aleah Goodman each added 12 points.
