SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Six West Coast Conference women’s basketball programs earned selections to postseason tournaments this season, matching a conference record. Led by Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship title winner Oregon State in the NCAA Tournament, the six conference programs will each compete in postseason play this Thursday through Monday.
NCAA
Oregon State secured the West Coast Conference’s automatic bid and received a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament where it will face No. 3 seed North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT on ESPNU.
WBIT
The Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT) bracket features Gonzaga and Portland. The Bulldogs are a No. 4 seed and will host UTSA on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+. Portland will travel to No. 2 seed Stanford on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
WNIT
Pacific, Saint Mary’s and Washington State were selected to compete in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Tigers host New Mexico State Thursday at 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+, while the Gaels travel to Texas Southern in opening-round matchup on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. PT on YouTube. Washington State earned a bye to the second round where it will host either Air Force or Utah Valley this coming Monday, March 24, at 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
FAST FACTS
5 – Yvonne Ejim, a two-time Associated Press All-American, two-time WCC Player of the Year and two-time WCC Defensive Player of the Year, is 1 of 5 active Division I players with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
6 – A conference record six programs earned selection into postseason tournaments, including Oregon State (NCAA), Gonzaga (WBIT), Portland (WBIT), Pacific (WNIT), Saint Mary's (WNIT), and Washington State (WNIT). The WCC also had six teams earn postseason berths in 2022, 2019, 2016 and 2015.
50 – Oregon State became the 50th West Coast Conference team to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. When OSU takes the floor against North Carolina on Saturday, it will be the 71st NCAA Tournament game played by a WCC team.
RECORD-TYING SIX POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS
Six West Coast Conference women’s basketball programs earned selections to postseason tournaments this season, matching a conference record. The Conference also had six teams selected to postseason tournaments in 2022, 2019, 2016 and 2015.
WCC MATCHES RECORD WITH 12 COMBINED MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TEAMS IN THE POSTSEASON
Six WCC men’s basketball teams – Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Oregon State and Washington State – earned postseason selections, giving the West Coast Conference a combined 12 men’s and women’s basketball teams in postseason play. The 12 teams matches a conference record previously set in 2022.
OREGON STATE ENTERS NCAA TOURNAMENT WINNERS OF 10 OF ITS LAST 12 GAMES
Oregon State earned the West Coast Conference’s automatic bid with a 59-46 victory over Portland in the title game of the 2025 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on March 11. The Beavers enter the NCAA Tournament winners of 10 of their last 12 games. OSU finished the West Coast Conference season 12-8 and earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. The Beavers defeated No. 5 seed San Francisco, 61-59, on a last-second bucket, and then took down top-seeded Gonzaga, 63-61, in the semifinals, before securing the title with the double-digit win over the Pilots in the championship game. Senior Kelsey Rees leads Oregon State in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg). Fellow seniors AJ Marotte (11.4 ppg) and Credit Union 1 WCC Women’s Basketball Championship Most Outstanding Player, Catarina Ferreira (10.0 ppg), are also averaging double figures in the scoring column for the Beavers.
OSU advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight last year. The Beavers have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament in each of their last eight appearances.
WINNERS OF 16 OF ITS LAST 18, GONZAGA OPENS THE WBIT AT HOME AGAINST UTSA
No. 4 seed Gonzaga has won 16 of its last 18 games and is 22-10 overall. Gonzaga shared West Coast Conference regular season title with Portland. The Zags were the top seed in the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship, dropping a 63-61 decision to Oregon State in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Led by All-American and WCC Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga has earned a postseason tournament berth for the 18th consecutive season. Head coach Lisa Fortier enters the postseason with a 287-73 career record. She ranks seventh among active Division I coaches in winning percentage at 78.9%. Fortier is also now tied for second place on the WCC career coaching wins list with 171.
PORTLAND CONTINUES RECORD-SETTING CAMPAIGN WITH BERTH IN THE WBIT
Portland enters the WBIT with a program record number of wins as a Division I program with a 29-4 overall record. Of the 29 wins, 21 were by double digits. Portland has won at least 20 games in each of the last four seasons. The Pilots are one of just 13 teams in the nation to have won at least 29 games this season. The Pilots have won 13 of their last 14 games. Portland captured its first WCC regular season title since the 1996-97 season. The Pilots, the No. 2 seed in the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship, advanced to the conference tournament finals, dropping a 59-46 decision to Oregon State.
COUGARS EARN FIRST-ROUND BYE IN WNIT
Washington State has won eight of its last 11 games and advanced to the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 WCC Women’s Basketball Championship. WSU ranks third in the nation in blocks per game (6.1). The Cougars have posted at least seven blocks in 13 games this season. WSU's 232 three-point field goals this season leads the WCC and is a program single-season record. WSU's three returning starters from last year - Tara Wallack, Eleonora Villa and Astera Tuhina – have combined for 238 career starts. Wallack, who ranks second in program history with 160 career blocks, was a First Team All-WCC selection, while Villa was a Second Team All-WCC pick. Tuhina ranks sixth in the conference in assists (3.76 apg).
PACIFIC’S VETERAN LINEUP PRIMED FOR POSTSEASON
Pacific boasts a veteran roster that includes three 1,000-point scorers in graduate student Liz Smith (1,501) and seniors Anaya James (1,485) and Elizabeth Elliott (1,454). James and Elliott are four-year starters, while Smith is a three-year starter. James and Smith were All-WCC Second Team honorees, while Elliott was an honorable mention selection. Smith ranks fourth in career scoring at Pacific, while James is tied for fifth and Elliott is sixth. The Tigers have averaged the second-most steals per game (9.9), the second-most turnovers forced per game (19.73), and the third-most blocks per game (4.2) in the WCC. Pacific ranks 33rd nationally in turnovers forced per game and 48th nationally in both steals and blocks per game. Liz Smith and Anaya James are first and second, respectively, in the WCC in steals this season. Smith owns 84 steals to rank 18th nationally in total steals. Her 84 steals this season ranks sixth in program history. Head coach Bradley Davis is tied with Melissa Taketa as the program's all-time leader in wins with 140.
Pacific competed in the WNIT last season, defeating Cal Poly, 63-43, in the first round, before dropping a 77-62 decision at Minnesota in the second round. This will be the Tigers’ fifth appearance in the WNIT.
SAINT MARY’S BEGINS WNIT PLAY IN THE LONE STAR STATE
Saint Mary's finished sixth in the WCC, totaling 10 victories in conference play. As a team, Saint Mary's ranks in the top three in the WCC in free throw percentage (2nd, 75.1%), assists per game (3rd, 15.0), steals per game (3rd, 8.9), field goal percentage (3rd, 43.5%), three-point field goal percentage (3rd, 32.6%), turnovers forced per game (3rd, 16.87), and bench points per game (1st, 21.3). Kennedy Johnson (1.83) and Maia Jones (1.70) rank sixth and eighth, respectively, in the WCC in steals per game. Johnson was voted the WCC Newcomer of the Year and Emily Foy was voted the Conference's Sixth Woman of the Year. Johnson has averaged 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, to go along with a team-best 55 steals. Foy, who is averaging 8.1 points per game, has made a team-best 45 three-point field goals. Zeryhia Aokuso, Maia Jones and Johnson, were each All-WCC Honorable Mention selections. Aokuso is averaging 9.2 points per game and 3.5 assists per game. Jones leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.2 points.
PORTLAND’S EXPERIENCED ROSTER
The Portland veteran lineup includes three individuals who have scored more than 1,500 points in their career, including Maisie Burnham (1,922), Emme Shearer (1,628) and Alexis Mark (1,566). Burnham, Mark and Shearer were each First Team All-WCC selections this season. Burnham and Shearer were selected to the WCC All-Tournament Team.
Portland ranks in the top-40 in the nation in free throws made per game (6th, 16.7), winning percentage (13th, 87.9%), free throw attempts per game (16th, 21.45), assists per game (18th, 17.6), free throw percentage (18th, 77.8), steals per game (28th, 10.7), points per game (30th, 76.8), assist/turnover ratio (30th, 1.19 ), turnovers forced per game (32nd, 19.85), turnover margin (31st, 5.03) and scoring margin (39th, 13.6). McKelle Meek ranks fifth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (3.23).
ALL-AMERICAN EJIM
Gonzaga forward Yvonne Ejim was named an Associated Press All-American for the second consecutive year. She was recognized on the Associated Press’ honorable mention team. It marks the fifth consecutive season a West Coast Conference player was honored as an Associated Press All-American. While Ejim garnered honorable mention selection this year and last year, her teammate, Kaylynne Truong, was an honorable mention pick during the 2022-23 season. BYU’s Shaylee Gonzales was an AP Honorable Mention selection for the 2021-22 season. The WCC had three players – Gonzaga’s Jill Townsend and Jenn Wirth, and BYU’s Lauren Gustin – on the AP Honorable Mention Team for the 2020-21 season.
Ejim, who was voted the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, is a finalist for the Becky Hammon Player of the Year Award and the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year award. She won the Becky Hammon Player of the Year award last year. The forward was also on the midseason watch lists for the John R. Wooden, Naismith, and USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale player of the year awards.
Ejim ranks 10th nationally in field goals made (252), 12th in points (660) and 15th in points per game (20.6). During the regular season, she led the West Coast Conference in points (642), points per game (20.7), rebounds (270), rebounds per game (8.7), field goals (244), and double-doubles (11). She was also second in the conference in field goal percentage (.527) and free throws made (143). The forward was named the WCC Player of the Week five times this season.
Ejim, who is a three-time First Team All-West Coast Conference selection, is one of five active players in Division I with at least 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She ranks second in West Coast Conference history in career scoring in all games (2,319) and conference games (1,223). She also ranks fifth in WCC history (all games) with 1,099 career rebounds.