Huskies End Beavers’ Poor Season, 81-68

The second worst season in Oregon State history came to a merciful conclusion Friday when the Beavers were defeated by Washington, 81-68, during first-round play of the women’s Pac-10 Conference tournament in front of 3,067.

The No. 7 Huskies (14-15), who had 19 points from Kristen O’Neill, will play No. 2 Oregon today.

No. 10 Oregon State, led by Shannon Howell with a game-high 25, finished the year at 6-23, their fewest wins since going 5-26 in 1989-90. It lost its last 13 games against Pac-10 opponents.

Although the first half seemed an endless parade of miscues -- the teams combined for 29 turnovers -- Washington established its superiority with an 11-0 run midway through the half.

The Beavers tried to make it respectable by outscoring the Huskies, 29-14, in the final 6:54.

No. 8 California 70, No. 9 Washington State 52 -- For the third straight year, the Bears won their first-round game. And for the third straight year, the reward is playing top-seeded Stanford in the quarterfinals. California (11-17) outscored the Cougars (6-22), 34-17, in the first 14 minutes of the second half to assume control. Leigh Gregory and Kristin Iwanaga each scored 16 for Cal.

--Mike Terry