CORVALLIS, Ore. — Breanna Brown scored 12 points and second-seeded Oregon State held off feisty No. 15 seed Long Beach State in the final minute to eke out a 56-55 victory Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Mikayla Pivec and Marie Gulich each added 10 points for Oregon State (30-4), which was also seeded second last season when they made a run to the Final Four.
Raven Benton had 17 points Long Beach State (23-11), which was trying to become the first 15-seed to ever win a game in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The 49ers took over the lead on Jessica Gertz’s 3-pointer with 2:48 left, but Sydney Wiese hit two free throws to put Oregon State back in front 56-55 with 1:07 to go.
Long Beach State tried to manage the clock, but Benton missed a long jumper with 5 second left and Anna Kim’s 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the backboard, ending the upset bid.
The 49ers, who edged UC Santa Barbara 56-55 for the Big West Tournament title and the automatic berth, were making their 12th overall tournament appearance and first since an at-large bid in 1992.
Ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll, the Beavers were coming off a loss to Stanford 48-43 in the Pac-12 Tournament final.
With four seniors in its starting lineup, Long Beach State was tenacious, pulling in front 27-23 lead on Montgomery’s 3-pointer. Afterward she signaled “10” to the crowd with her fingers, her point total.
Oregon State, with a distinct size advantage, reclaimed the lead to go up 29-27, but Benton’s 3-pointer at the buzzer sent Long Beach into the break with a 30-29 lead, stunning the large pro-Beaver crowd.
Wiese was scoreless in the first half, sitting after her second foul. The 49ers’ point guard, Kim, was also scoreless.
The Beavers pulled in front 33-32 on Brown’s layup, and Pivec added another layup to extend it. Wiese hit a 3-pointer, her first points of the game, with 2:37 left in the third quarter to cap an 11-2 run and give Oregon State a 40-34 lead. The Beavers were up 44-39 heading into the final quarter.
The 49ers were especially effective on Wiese, holding her to just seven points. Wiese broke the Pac-12 career record for 3-pointers earlier this season, surpassing Stanford’s Candice Wiggins. She currently has 371. She also set Oregon State’s career assist record this season and now has 620.
TIP INS
Long Beach State: The lone non-senior among the starters is sophomore Martina McCowan who hails from Portland, about a 90 minute drive north from Corvallis. McGowan played for St. Mary’s Academy. Gertz, played for Oregon City High School, while freshman forward Azena Henry played for Portland’s Jesuit.
Oregon State: Oregon State played Long Beach State to open the 2010-11 season. It was Scott Rueck’s first game as coach of the Beavers, and they won 71-39 despite a cobbled together roster of walk-ons and a few recruits.
UP NEXT
Oregon State faces the winner of the late game between seventh-seeded Creighton and No. 10 seed Toledo.
