LAS VEGAS - Oregon State coach Scott Rueck and his players used words like “chaotic” and “unexpected” to describe the wild nearly year-long journey that led them to a championship on Tuesday afternoon.
Senior Catarina Ferreira traveled her own long and winding road, from her home in Brazil to Arizona to Texas and finally to Corvallis, Ore. When she was named Most Outstanding Player after the Beavers’ 59-46 title-game victory over Portland in the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship, Ferreira was wearing a winner’s smile.
“I was really happy,” said Ferreira, who contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds to OSU’s win at Orleans Arena. “A year ago, I didn’t believe I could do this.”
Few believed the Beavers could pull this off, certainly not last spring after four starters from a 27-win, NCAA Elite 8 team departed for new schools after the breakup of the Pac-12. Rueck understand why they left, but had to assemble a new team.
Senior guard AJ Marotte, the team’s one returning starter, earned All-WCC honors this season and scored 11 points against Portland. Center Kelsey Rees, who chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds, also was a returnee. Both were named to the all-tournament team after the Beavers (19-15) knocked off the No. 2 seed and regular-season co-champion Pilots (29-4) to secure the WCC’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
This outcome was never promised to the Beavers. “There was lots of reasons to doubt lots of things,” Rueck said. “We were so inconsistent, so up and down that it was hard to know what to count on. We just stayed with it.”
That description also fit Ferreira’s journey. The youngest of seven children, she left home in Sao Paulo to attend junior college in Arizona. Then it was two years at Baylor, where she was part of two NCAA Tournament teams and earned her degree. But she hardly played.
The whole thing took a significant leap of faith for Ferreira. “First, I didn’t know English. I didn’t know about college basketball. I didn’t about know anything,” she said. “I was just here for the opportunity to get a degree and play at a high level. It’s been a crazy six years. Three different places but I’m just happy to be at Oregon State.”
Rueck said Ferreira exemplified the team’s uneven nature. “Cat was highly inconsistent to start the year. She was finding herself. She said she lacked confidence and I could see that,” he said.
But she also delivered occasional “wow” moments on the court, displays of her athleticism through her rebounding or a couple of spectacular spin moves to the basket.
Other times, she seemed to disappear. “Where’s Cat this weekend? She didn’t make the road trip,” Rueck would say to himself. “That was her story. Then she just rose to it. She went all in and she’s finding out she’s great.”
In three wins at Vegas, Ferreria totaled 54 points and 28 rebounds. “She was amazing this week,” Rueck said. “She took us to another level. It’s been like this for about a month.”
OSU’s defense was the other difference-maker in this one. The Beavers, equipped with the 6-foot-5 Rees and/or 6-7 Sela Heide on the floor, deterred Portland attacks in the paint and contributed to limiting the Pilots to a season-low 21.7-percent shooting.
"I thought our defense was unbelievable today, all day long,” said Rueck, who praised Heide after she contributed 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes off the bench.
The Beavers’ defense was suffocating in the second quarter, when it triggered a 20-2 run that gave them a 27-17 lead. Portland shot 1-for-10 and had four turnovers during that stretch.
“We could have done a better job,” said Portland senior guard Emme Shearer. “Having 6-7 and 6-5 (in the paint on the other side) doesn’t necessarily help making a layup.”
Portland’s defense pressured the Beavers into 21 turnovers that led to 19 points. But OSU dominated the backboards, outrebounding the Pilots 54-33, including 17 at the offensive end.
Senior All-WCC guard Maisie Burnham led the Pilots with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Alexis Mark added 11 points.
UP NEXT: The Beavers will find out on Selection Sunday where they will be sent and who they will play in the NCAA Tournament. This will be their ninth NCAA bid.
Marotte, who said she never considered leaving OSU even when her four fellow starters did so, now enjoys the reward of sticking it out and fighting for something special.
I’m just really proud of how we handled it and responded to everything,” she said. “I think we always had a sense there was some greatness on this team.”
PILOTS’ NCAA DREAMS THWARTED: The Pilots arrived in the title game accepting that only a victory over the Beavers and the WCC’s automatic bid would land them in the NCAA Tournament. After a 29-4 season without a bad loss, Portland will have to settle for the WBIT or the WNIT.
“It’s super disappointing,” coach Michael Meek said. “This team is deserving to get in the NCAA. We won’t get an opportunity because of the way the system is set up. It’s an unfortunate thing.”
Portland’s only losses were two to Oregon State (which played in the NCAA Elite 8 last year) and two to Gonzaga (which played in the Sweet 16 last year). “And we beat teams that will get in . . . (beat them) handily.”
The Pilots’ NET computer ranking is No. 80 nationally, well below the typical threshold for teams to secure an at-large bid.
The Pilots set a program record for victories this season, won their first-ever regular season title (which they shared with Gonzaga), assembled win streaks of 14 and 13 games, and reached the WCC title game for the third straight season, the fourth time in Meeks six seasons. Portland’s seniors sculpted a four-year record of 93-37.
“It’s been nothing but a blessing being here,” Burnham said. “Playing in championship games three of four years is pretty incredible. I’ve had the best time, I have the best friends. This moment obviously hurts, but our culture, our program is one in a million.”
Shearer, part of the program for five seasons, had to compose herself before answering a question. “Just grateful,” she said. “The era doesn’t end. This is the beginning of Portland basketball. I can only see success going forward for this group.”