The Oregon State University women’s basketball team is headed to the big dance.

Beating Portland University in the West Coast Conference tournament finals 59-46 this Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas, the Beavers have clinched a spot to play in the coveted NCAA tournament.

“I’m just so happy and so proud of this team,” OSU head coach Scott Rueck said. “Today it culminated in a conference championship and cutting nets, and that’s the dream anybody has in this sport.”

Unlike OSU’s prior matchups this tournament, the game did not come down to the wire, and after a three-pointer from guard Tiara Bolden in the second quarter, the Beavers never lost the lead.

The start of the game was slow, with the first field goal coming in over five minutes into the match. Thanks in part to sinking a few three-pointers, the Pilots ended the first quarter ahead by four.

Through blocks, a pick, and Portland missing shots, OSU was able to muster up a 17-2 run, ending the first half ten points ahead of the Pilots.

The Beavers never looked back and held Portland to shooting just 21.7% of their field goals, running man-on-man coverage for most of the game.

Portland came back from a huge deficit at halftime in their semifinals match against Washington State University, and while there was some consideration from OSU that Portland would make it happen again, they remained calm.

“Inconsistency has been a nemesis, it was previously,” Rueck said. “Just keep going, don’t let up… we knew that they would come with a great effort and I feel like we managed it extremely well.”

Allowing only 46 points from Portland, this is the second-lowest an opponent has scored against the Beavers this season, only one point more than Saint Mary’s College’s 45 points in February.

“I think we always had a sense that there was some greatness on this team, we had a lot of new pieces but everyone brought something special,” guard AJ Marotte said.

Catarina Ferreira continued her high-achieving tournament run and logged a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Ferreira was named the tournament MVP for her performances. 

Off of the bench, the six-foot-seven-inch Sela Heide was instrumental for the Beavs on both sides of the board, with two blocks, nine rebounds, and 12 points. Heide fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter.

Ferreira, who came to the U.S. from Brazil, said she couldn’t imagine being where she is today when she first came to the country.

“I was just here for the opportunity to get a degree and play at a high level,” Ferreira said. “It’s just been a crazy six years now- three different places, but I’m just happy to be at Oregon State.”

For Portland, it was all about their starting five. 

Guard Maisie Burnham led the team, scoring 16 points and stealing the ball four times. Alexis Mark was able to succeed under the basket and make a few open three-pointers to score 11 points of her own. Emme Shearer scored all nine of her points from deep, stretching the Beavers’ defense further.

One of the best rebounding teams in the country, OSU delivered on the boards, managing 21 more rebounds than the Pilots. However, for being one of the least-fouling teams in the nation, the Beavers saw some trouble with 24 fouls for the match, their most of the season, which allowed Portland to score 13 points from the stripe.

“Me and Cat (Ferreira) especially, that’s one of our favorite parts of basketball- crashing the o-boards and getting extra possessions, so it’s not a hard ask for us,” forward Kelsey Rees said. “Getting o-boards is a lot of fun, it’s kind of a momentum-killer for the other team, so definitely something we’re focused on.”

A major difference between the two teams’ play for the night was how they managed without their playmakers: OSU’s Kennedie Shuler was out for the entire second quarter, and Portland’s Burnham was out for just under seven minutes for the whole game. 

The second quarter saw OSU’s long run and comeback, even without Shuler. However, Portland was down in points 5 to 13 whenever Burnham wasn’t on the court. The Beavers were able to utilize their squad to find ways to cover Shuler’s role, especially with guards Marotte and Ferreira. 

On the other side, most of Portland’s plays involved Burnham either scoring herself or getting the ball to Shearer or Mark. In this match, the team wasn’t able to compensate for her absence compared to the Beavers.

“I thought our defense was unbelievable today all day long,” Rueck said. “They’re going to do their best to turn you over and create chaos, and I thought we weathered that so well as a team and stayed so composed throughout the game.”

Portland, the No. 2 seed in the WCC, was coming off of a 29-3 season before the match, having only lost to Oregon State and Gonzaga University. The team’s record was the highest in the program’s history, and their last regular-season matchup with OSU saw the Pilots beat the Beavs by 25 points. The Pilots had won the WCC tournament the last two seasons.

“Really happy for Oregon State,” Burnham said. “Being in their position twice is a blessing and a lot of people would kill for that position.”

Oregon State’s first matchup, along with the rest of the NCAA tournament bracket, will be announced on Selection Sunday, March 16. The first matches in the tournament will begin on March 19, and the championship game will be fought on April 6.