Upset-minded Oregon State takes aim at No. 1 seed Louisville
In early March, Oregon State found itself in an unfamiliar place.
Ending the regular season ranked 10th in the country, the Beavers were bounced in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament by Arizona State 57-51. Oregon State did not even score a field goal the last five-plus minutes of the game.
A few weeks later, and coming off a big upset of No. 2 seed Baylor, the sixth-seeded Beavers (26-7) find themselves in a place that is becoming increasingly familiar: the Elite Eight.
Back for the second time in three years, Oregon State has the tough task of taking on No. 1 seed Louisville (35-2) in nearby Lexington, Ky., on Sunday in a noon ET matchup at Rupp Arena.
"It was interesting coming off our loss to Arizona State in the Pac-12 Tournament, there was questions going into it," Beavers coach Scott Rueck said. "That clearly was not our best performance that night, and we were beaten up. We didn't bring great energy to that game, and so I was curious how we would approach the tournament. I knew the character of this team. I know they're going to give it everything, but could we get it going and could they play confident.
"I think all year long, I said we have further to go from where we are today in November -- October and November -- to the end than maybe anybody in the country. I felt like we had all the character pieces, we had the leadership piece, but we have so much experience to gain that we don't have. So we stayed with that. Our best basketball is still ahead. And I still believe that. Our best basketball is ahead."
If Oregon State is growing increasingly familiar with the latter rounds of the NCAA Women's Tournament, the Cardinals are saying hello to an old friend.
Louisville last advanced to an Elite Eight in 2014, its second straight and third in six years, with a pair of national runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2013.
Behind Asia Durr, who had 24 points on 7-for-14 shooting in the 27-point throttling of fourth-seeded Stanford in the Sweet 16, and Myisha Hines-Allen, who had 17 in Friday's win, the Cardinals have given Jeff Walz his best shot at returning to the title game in a long time.
"We've sat here and talked about it all year, about what our goals are," Walz said. "One of our goals was to compete for a national championship, and we know you can't do that unless you get the opportunity to get to a Final Four and keep going. We understand the importance of this game.
"Oregon State understands the importance of the game. But at the same time, you're not trying to throw any extra pressure. It's basketball. You know, it's what we do. They work their tails off to be good at it and to perform on the floor."
Oregon State, which also defeated third-seeded Tennessee 66-59 and No. 11 seed Western Kentucky 82-58 on its way to meeting the Cardinals, turned to Marie Gulich against the Bears in the Sweet 16, and she delivered in a big way, scoring 26 points.
With the win, the Beavers snapped Baylor's 30-game winning streak and ended the team's season for the second time in three years.
The winner advances to the Final Four to face UCLA or Mississippi.
