LAS VEGAS — The USC women’s basketball team couldn’t close out a victory and the Trojans now find themselves heading home early from the Pac-12 Tournament.
Raegan Beers scored 18 points and went 8 for 9 from the free-throw line and Adlee Blacklock added 15 points as 11th-seeded Oregon State upset sixth-seeded USC, 56-48, on Wednesday night in a first-round game at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay.
Jelena Mitrovic added 12 points for Oregon State (13-17), which advances to face No. 3 seed Colorado on Thursday night. USC is still projected to make the NCAA Tournament, which would be its first appearance since 2014.
Oregon State outscored USC 21-5 in the final 6:53 and made all eight of its final foul shots at the end to secure the win.
Kadi Sissoko scored 16 points and Destiny Littlejohn scored 12 for USC (21-9).
The Trojans entered having swept the regular-season series over Oregon State with wins by scores of 69-58 and 60-56.
Beers’ layup with 4:41 left in the third quarter gave Oregon State a 30-26 lead, but the Trojans responded with an 11-4 run to close the quarter for a 37-34 advantage.
USC created some cushion when Okako Adika’s 3-pointer put the Trojans ahead 43-35 with 7:11 left, but Oregon State went on an 11-0 run with six points coming from the free-throw line. AJ Marotte made a pair of foul shots and followed with a layup for a 46-43 lead and the Beavers led the rest of the way.
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