SEATTLE -- The Pac-12 title game could have included Washington and senior Kelsey Plum adding to her NCAA-record scoring haul in front of a home crowd. It could have included an upstart like Oregon showcasing the prodigious young talent that is Sabrina Ionescu.
So seeing a championship matchup between Oregon State and Stanford might feel staid.
But the sixth-ranked Beavers and the No. 10 Cardinal were the two best teams in the nation's toughest conference -- and what was arguably the most competitive season in Pac-12 history. And the fact that they landed in Sunday's Pac-12 final (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET) is testament to the things they have in common: veteran leadership, poise under pressure and a commitment to defense.
"Our experience was vital," said Oregon State coach Scott Rueck after his team ousted No. 4 seed UCLA 63-53 on Saturday. "Gaby (Hanson) and Sydney (Wiese) showed so much leadership and strength and confidence, and there's no other way to get it than being here before. They knew what it took. They were level-headed and just came to the huddle and said, 'How do we execute?'
"That's the key [Sunday], and Stanford has the same thing."
Stanford earned its 14th trip to the championship game with a 71-56 win over sixth-seeded Oregon, rebounding from a ragged start to set up one more shot against an Oregon State team that has already handed the Cardinal two of their five losses this season.
The previous two matchups were decided by a total of six points.
The first was a double-overtime win in mid-January that marked Oregon State's first win at Maples Pavilion. The second took place last week in Corvallis, Oregon, with the Cardinal falling in front of a sellout crowd at Gil Coliseum in a game that ultimately decided the Pac-12 regular-season title for the Beavers. Oregon State is also the defending Pac-12 tournament champion.
"Our team knows what the problems were [against Oregon State]," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "Basketball is not rocket science. Teams that win take and make better shots. So it's taking good shots. It's not doing things that are not part of your game.
"We were outrebounded. And quite honestly, we didn't make free throws. ... We learned from that loss against Oregon State last week, and our team has listened since and I think we're playing better."
VanDerveer's team -- which has not gone two years in a row without winning this tournament title in its 16-year history -- is short on superstars but long on team-first kids who are hard-working, disciplined and drama-free. But she wouldn't buy into the idea that the Cardinal are a completely well-oiled machine, even with three seniors playing big roles on the floor.
After a rough first quarter against Oregon's zone, she bluntly told the Cardinal "to quit jacking up (bad shots)." Stanford senior forward Erica McCall did what she does best, providing an emotional lift with her energetic play in the post. Kaylee Johnson contributed big on the boards, while seniors Bri Roberson and Karlie Samuelson did strong defensive work to shut down Oregon's perimeter threats.
"We just throw spaghetti up against the wall and see what works," VanDerveer said. "It changes from game to game."
Rueck knows what works for his team: Keep the ball in Wiese's hands on offense (she scored 19 against the Bruins), and keep Hanson on the other team's best scorer. The Beavers struggled when Hanson left the game in foul trouble in the second quarter, but when she returned in the third, her defense and scoring helped propel the Beavers past UCLA and Jordin Canada's 27 points.
"We've been in this position so many times this year where we've been forced to make plays," Wiese said. "It's just another game, another day, another dollar. It was exciting to see how many people stepped up, and they weren't afraid of those big moments."