Colorado Buffaloes at Oregon State Beavers

Colorado knocks out No. 8 Oregon St. in Pac-12 quarters

As improbable as it seems, the Buffaloes are one more unexpected win from playing for an NCAA tournament berth.

Lexy Kresl scored 19 points, Jamee Swan scored 11 of her 18 in the second half and Colorado stunned No. 8 Oregon State 68-65 on Friday night in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals.

Jen Reese added all 13 of her points in the second half as the Buffaloes beat a ranked team for the first time this season and won against one away from Boulder for the first time since 2007. It snapped a 17-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

"We just played together. We had a lot of confidence," Kresl said. "We don't really view it too much of an upset because we knew it was something we've been capable of when we play well and we play together."

Colorado (15-16) watched the regular-season champion Beavers erase a seven-point deficit and take a 60-59 lead with 4:21 remaining on Ruth Hamblin's three-point play.

But the Buffaloes scored the next eight points and held Oregon State scoreless for more than four minutes. Swan gave Colorado the lead for good with her jumper in the lane with 2:38 left, and Kresl's backdoor cut for a layup with 1:05 left pushed the lead to five.

Oregon State (26-4) lost for the second time in three games and now is left to wonder what the late slide will do to its NCAA tournament seeding. Hamblin led the Beavers with 14 points but Sydney Wiese and Ali Gibson combined to shoot 6-for-26 from the field.

"By the time we settled into a rhythm, they had already. They felt like they could win this game, and we needed to come out with a little different defensive mindset," Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. "We needed to dictate the game a lot more than we did on that end of the floor. I know that."

Someone carried the Buffaloes for stretches of the upset. Kresl got Colorado started with three early 3-pointers. Swan took over late, and Reese got hot when Colorado needed points early in the second half.

After trailing by five early in the second half, Colorado took a 56-49 lead with 8:32 when Reese converted a three-point play, hitting a fadeaway jumper while being fouled. Oregon State pulled within 59-57 after Deven Hunter's three-point play with 5:29 left, and Hamblin's three-point play with 4:21 left put Oregon State back ahead 60-59.

Wiese missed a 3-pointer with 1:25 left, and Kresl scored on a backdoor cut to push the lead to five with 65 seconds left. Hunter missed another 3-point attempt, and the Buffaloes hit three of four free throws in the final 40 seconds.

"We have a different focus level. We didn't give up things that were easy to Oregon State all night long," Colorado coach Linda Lappe said.

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TIP-INS

Colorado: Kresl couldn't miss to start. She scored 11 of Colorado's first 14 points all within the first three minutes. Her 14 first-half points were more than she scored in 17 games this season.

Oregon State: The Beavers struggled with Colorado in their only meeting of the regular season. The teams were tied at 26 at halftime Feb. 20 before the Beavers outscored Colorado 40-18 in the second half and cruised to a 22-point win.

UP NEXT

Colorado: The Buffaloes will face California in Saturday's semifinals.

How can I watch Buffaloes vs. Beavers?

• TV Channel: Buffaloes vs Beavers 2021 College Basketball, week 17, is broadcasted on .
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: KeyArena

Location: Seattle, WA
Capacity: