Oregon State 77, Santa Clara 48

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon State made its move early and didn't look back.

The Beavers went on an 11-0 run early in the first half Thursday and cruised to a 77-48 win over Santa Clara in the opening round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at Gill Coliseum.

Anita Rivera led four Oregon State players in double figures with 17 points.

Kim Butler added 16 points and 10 rebounds, Casey Nash 13 points and 10 rebounds and Mandy Close 12 points for Oregon State (16-14), which advances to play at Wyoming on Saturday.

"We knew if we could take the air out of the ball and execute our stuff we'd be able to put the ball in the basket," said Oregon State coach LaVonda Wagner, whose team enjoyed a significant height advantage on the visiting Broncos.

Michelle Cozad led Santa Clara (19-12) with 15 points.

Rivera scored the last five points of the early run to put Oregon State ahead for good. She took advantage of Santa Clara's double-teaming of Butler, a senior forward averaging 19 points per game, by driving to the basket.

"I knew they were going to double-down on Kim, and I knew that was going to be open," Rivera said.

The Beavers were able to hold off Santa Clara early despite losing starting point guard Mandy Close to her second foul less than nine minutes into the game. In stepped freshman Mercedes Fox-Griffin, who finished the half with two points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.

"I've been on her the last few weeks to execute, and she got some help from the people around her and it was great to see," Wagner said.

The Beavers led 33-19 at the half and opened the second half on a 10-1 run to put the game away.

Oregon State held Santa Clara, the West Coast Conference co-champion, to 19 percent shooting in the first half and 25 percent for the game.

"They put a lot of pressure on us defensively," said Broncos coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "They were the aggressor early on. We just didn't shoot the ball well."

Ashley Graham added seven points for Santa Clara, and Ashley Gonnerman and Anna Martin had six apiece.

The 29-point margin of victory was the Beavers' largest in any postseason win in school history. Oregon State qualified for the postseason after winning just six games last season.