Gonzaga women beat Oregon St. 76-66 in WCC title game

Lauren Whittaker scored 26 points to help the Gonzaga Bulldogs clinch their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance.

Mar 10, 2026, 4:06 PM Updated: 4:07 pm

Gonzaga Bulldogs mascot Spike celebrates a win. (Myk Crawford/Getty Images)

(Myk Crawford/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Lauren Whittaker scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Gonzaga Bulldogs to a 76-66 win over Oregon State in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game on Tuesday.

Gonzaga Bulldogs 76, Oregon State Beavers 66: Box Score

The second-seeded Bulldogs (24-9) will make their 16th trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since 2024 after winning their 11th WCC Tournament before joining the renewed Pac-12 next season.

Whittaker, a freshman and conference player of the year, was 9-of-20 shooting with three 3-pointers. Allie Turner scored all 14 of her points in the second half and Ines Bettencourt added 12.

Jenna Villa scored 20 points for the fourth-seeded Beavers (23-11), making 9 of 10 free throws but going just 4 of 15 from the floor. Tiara Bolden added 19 points and eight rebounds and Lizzy Williamson had 12 points and nine rebounds.

There were 15 lead changes and 10 ties, the final deadlock coming with six minutes remaining before Whittaker completed a three-point play. Her basket with two minutes to go made it a four-point edge. From there, the Bulldogs wrapped up the win, making 9 of 10 free throws while the Beavers were just 1 of 4 at the line and 1 of 7 from the floor.

Turner hit two 3-pointers and scored 10 points in the third quarter. Whittaker added nine and the Bulldogs took a 53-49 lead into the final period.

Whittaker’s 3-pointer gave Gonzaga a 18-17 first-quarter lead. The Beavers outscored the Bulldogs 11-3 over the final eight minutes for a 28-27 halftime edge.

The teams split their two regular-season games. Gonzaga had reached four straight NCAA Tournaments before the Beavers beat them in last year’s semifinals en route to winning the tournament.

WCC Men’s Tournament: No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs beat Oregon St to reach 29th straight WCC final