CORVALLIS, Ore. — Sydney Wiese scored 13 points in her final career game at Gill Coliseum and second-seeded Oregon State moved on in the NCAA Tournament with a 64-52 second-round victory over No. 7 seed Creighton on Sunday.
Oregon State (31-4) will go on to face third-seeded Florida State in Stockton, Calif. The Seminoles defeated six-seeded Missouri 77-55 earlier Sunday in Tallahassee, Florida, for their third straight trip to the Sweet 16.
Gabriella Hanson added 13 points for the Beavers, who are making a fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament. Last season the Beavers advanced to the Final Four before falling to eventual champion UConn.
At center court after the game, Wiese blew kisses to the Gill crowd and danced to Abba’s “Dancing Queen.”
Sydney Lamberty had 19 for Creighton (24-8), which trailed by as many as 15 points.
Lamberty’s layup pulled Bluejays within 54-48 with 6:42 left, putting Creighton’s bench on its feet. Hanson and Mikayla Pivec each hit jumpers to answer for the Beavers.
Marissa Janning’s jumper got Creighton back within single digits, but Kolbie Orum’s baseline jumper gave the Beavers a 60-50 lead with 3:04 to go.
After a pair of Creighton free throws, Marie Gulich made consecutive layups for a 64-52 Oregon State lead — and the Bluejays couldn’t catch up.
Oregon State eked out a 56-55 victory over surprisingly tenacious Long Beach State in the opening round. The 49ers’ chance at becoming the first-ever No. 15 seed to defeat a No. 2 seed were dashed when Raven Benton’s shot from out front with five seconds left bounced off the back rim.
The Bluejays routed 10th-seeded Toledo 76-49 in the opening round. Janning scored 15 points in less than six minutes to start the game and finished 19.
Creighton is making its sixth overall NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2013, when they played into the second round. The Bluejays’ seeding matches its best in school history.
The Beavers, who had a distinct size advantage, jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first quarter on Gulich’s jumper. Hanson’s 3-pointer gave Oregon State a 22-14 lead.
The Bluejays got within 23-17 but Hanson and Breanna Brown each hit layups to extend it again and the Beavers went into halftime with a 39-27 lead. Hanson led all scorers with 11 points.
Wiese, a senior and one of the players who helped bring Oregon State to national prominence, hit a step-back 3-pointer to put the Beavers up 48-35.
Gulich finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Beavers claimed the Pac-12 regular season title but fell in the conference tournament final to Stanford.
BIG PICTURE
Creighton: The Bluejays beat the Beavers 70-62 in Las Vegas the last time they met in 2013. It was Creighton’s fourth straight win in five total meetings. The Bluejays cracked the AP rankings for a week at the end of the season at No. 23 after claiming a share of the Big East regular-season title. They had not been ranked in the AP Top 25 since 1992.
Oregon State: Oregon’s seniors are Oregon State’s first class to have gone to the NCAA Tournament in each of their four years. The game marked the seniors’ final appearance at Gill, where they finished 60-6. … A booster donated free tickets for the first 600 students through the door.
WIESE’S FINALE
Wiese put her name in Oregon State’s record book several times over the course of her career. She broke the Pac-12 career record for 3-pointers earlier this season, surpassing Stanford’s Candice Wiggins, and currently has 373. She also set Oregon State’s career assist record this season and now has 624.
UP NEXT
The Beavers move on to play Florida State in the Sweet 16.
