Oregon State’s 6-foot-5 Lizzy Williamson had a huge size advantage in the post against Portland in Sunday’s quarterfinal-round game in the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship. She knew it, Portland knew it, everyone knew it.

The seventh-year senior from Australia scored the Beavers’ first four baskets on simple post moves and she wound up with 20 points and 16 rebounds to power the defending tournament champions to a 60-50 victory.

“We knew they couldn’t guard us inside because of our size advantage,” Williams said.

No. 4 seed OSU (22-10) advances to Monday’s semifinal against top-seeded and regular-season champion LMU (21-8), which beat the Beavers 71-69 in overtime just last week. Tipoff Monday is noon at Orleans Arena.

Portland (18-14), which has lost its top two inside players to season-ending injuries, battled hard but had no answer for OSU’s size. When head coach Scott Rueck added 6-3 backup Lara Alonso to the equation, the two centers helped the Beavers forge a 54-29 rebounding edge.

“Lizzy’s a really good player and they had a really good game plan to take advantage of the fact that we don’t have such size as we were hoping to have,” Portland head coach Michael Meek said.

Oregon State grabbed 24 offensive rebounds and turned them into 20 second-chance points.

Williamson, who missed most of last season at North Carolina State due to injury, is finding a rhythm when it matters most. Over the past four games, she had totaled 50 points and 46 rebounds.

Rueck acknowledged this was among Williamson’s best games of the season. “We’ve seen flashes of it. Coming off an injury when you miss a whole season is long,” he said. “Then coming in here and starting and having the role she has, it’s not easy. 

“She’s had to learn to believe in herself, trust her body and learn how long can I go? How much can I push myself? Who am I within this offense? It’s tricky to do what she’s trying to do. Now she’s an expert in our system. Her comfort level within it is so strong.”

Williamson played 34 minutes against the Pilots, but said it felt comfortable. “That’s a lot for me recently,’ she said. “I didn’t feel bad at all. I was excited to be out there.”

Rueck said the Beavers played two post players together some early in the season but hadn’t used that strategy much lately. Sensing the advantage his team had inside, he gave Alonso more than 17 minutes and she responded with eight points and six rebounds.

“Today it just worked out to be effective for us. It was a gamble early because we haven’t done that for a while, and it worked,” Rueck said. “That’s when we kind of went on that run in the second quarter to get the lead before halftime.”

Trailing 15-13 following the first quarter, OSU outscored Portland 18-10 in the second period for a 31-25 lead.

PILOTS PUSH THE CHAMPS: Portland’s pressure defense kept OSU’s perimeter players off balance much of the afternoon. Aside from their post players, the Beavers shot a combined 9-for-42 from the field— 21 percent. But Portland could not overcome the disparity inside.

“I feel like we’re a completely different team than where we were back in October and November,” said Meek, who had to replace all five starters gone from a 31-win team a year ago. “Really proud of how they competed and worked hard. The adversity this team has faced all year long is really like no other team I’ve coached.”

Starting center Julia Dalan, who was leading the nation in blocked shots, went down to injury in late January. A couple weeks later Portland lost her backup, freshman Jada Kennedy, to a season-ending ailment.

As a result, the Broncos were forced to primarily defend Williamson with 6-2 sophomore Florence Dallow, a natural wing. Meek knew it wasn’t a fair fight. “Really proud of the fight she put forth and how much she’s gotten better all season long,” he said.

It didn’t help that the Pilots suffered a tough shooting game, converting just 34.5 percent. Meek had nothing but praise for his squad.

“This team has been in the championship game four of seven years and I felt this team had a very good chance even short-handed,” he said. “We gave a really good Oregon State team a really good game. It was a game to the end.”

JOYFUL BRONCOS ADVANCE: There was a moment during Santa Clara’s 87-69 quarterfinal victory over rival San Francisco where graduate transfer Ashley Hawkins showed everyone at Orleans Arena both her skill and personality.

The Broncos were leading 52-41 late in the third quarter when Hawkins drove the lane, went behind her back with the dribble and, while getting knocked to the floor, flipped up a shot that curled over the rim and dropped in.

“Coach wanted me to shoot the 3, but I really wanted to celebrate and get the and-1 so I took it to the rim,” Hawkins explained. “My teammates were all there and they were hugging me up.”

Hawkins went on to post 11 points and six assists and the third-seeded Broncos (24-8) advanced to a semifinal matchup vs. No. 2 seed Gonzaga (22-9) on Monday at 2:30 p.m.

First-year head coach Loree Payne said flair is a natural part of Hawkins’ game. She came to Santa Clara from Gardner-Webb, where she was the Big South Conference Player of the Year last season and was a perfect fit, Payne said.

“Anything that she can do to be able to celebrate, she loves that. She passed a wide-open 3 and I said, `You didn’t have to work that hard to get a 3-point play,’ “ Payne said. “She’s an incredible player, really crafty at the rim, one of our higher-IQ players. 

“She likes to get a little bit showy. She has so much joy playing basketball and that was one of the big pieces why it’s such a great fit. She was looking for a place where she could have a lot of fun but also win a lot of games.”

The Broncos are almost an entirely new team and it’s all come together nicely in Year 1. Maia Jones, a junior transfer from Saint Mary’s who scored 28 points Sunday, said players began meshing last summer when activities included a team trip to Santa Cruz and a lip-syncing contest.

Payne admitted the team has probably exceeded her expectations, but definitely those of outsiders. “We knew what kind of culture we wanted to build.” she said. “So we made sure our roster construction fit the style and everything we were trying to build.”

LONG-AWAITED GONZAGA REMATCH: Santa Clara beat the Zags 77-73 in their only meeting, but it was way back on Jan. 4 and it was before the Broncos lost star forward Sophie Glancey to a season-ending injury. 

“It’s going to be a completely different game,” Payne said. “Obviously, we had a lot of success early on with having Sophie. She was absolutely one of the best players in this conference. It was tough trying to figure out life without Sophie. Fortunately, we have some really good players.

“We’re going up against one of, if not the best team in the league and the best player in the league,” she added, referring to West Coast Conference Player of the Year Lauren Whittaker, a 6-foot-3 freshman from New Zealand who led the league in scoring (19.3) and rebounding (10.2). “We have some things we’re going to work on to try to stop that. I don’t know if you can stop Whittaker. We’re going to try.”

Maia Jones said the Broncos will bring confidence to the assignment. “It’s a game we definitely can win if we play our game,” she said. “We met them two months ago and it was awesome when we beat them. We’re a different team but we can do it.”

DONS LOOK TO NEXT SEASON: The Dons (18-14), playing their third game in three days, felt good about their run at Orleans Arena but conceded that fatigue was a factor. 

“What I told the team is we’re kind of the crazy person on the street. They don’t know if you’re going to bite them or if you’re going to shake their hand,” head coach Molly Goodenbour said. “We come out and play really well or don’t play well. 

“We needed to use that to our advantage. We need to get a good start. I didn’t think we got a great start. You’re hopeful, but the reality is the third game in three games against a fresh team that’s a very good team.”

The Dons were an inexperienced team, led by star sophomore Candy Edokpaigbe, a first-team all-conference selection after arriving as a transfer. “We’re a young team,” she said. “If we stick together there’s a chance to win the championship.”

Goodenbour said Job 1 in the offseason is to solidify the roster, starting with Edokpaigbe, a native of Naples, Italy, who scored 20 points against Santa Clara.

“The sky’s the limit for her,” Goodenbour said. “She’s such a humble competitor. She’s the best player on our team but she’s the hardest worker. She’s got a great attitude. She’s working on adding things to her game all the time. 

“She takes it seriously, she treats it like a pro. Through it all, she’s just steady. Great person, great teammate, great competitor. Feel really, really fortunate to have her this year and we’re going to try as hard as we can to keep her.”