STOCKTON, California -- Initially, Oregon State's players went their separate ways as they walked inside their locker room. Some needed to cry. Or sit in silence. Or temporarily live inside their own heads.

But then Breanna Brown gathered her teammates together. The Beavers linked arms. And Brown offered important perspective.

No. 2 seed OSU's season ended Saturday with a 66-53 loss to third-seeded Florida State in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 at Stockton Arena. The final page of this chapter was disappointing and painful, yes. But this chapter was the latest -- and, perhaps, the most surprising to outsiders -- in a historic run for the program.

"It's easy to lose sight of that because of a loss," Brown said. "I just wanted to remind them that people picked us fifth (in the Pac-12). People that didn't believe in us.

"We were kind of the underdog again ... we said, 'We're gonna make a name for ourselves as a group, and we're gonna prove to people that we'll work our butts off to get to where we need to get.' At the end of the day, we did that."

After losing five seniors -- including stars Jamie Weisner and Ruth Hamblin -- off of last year's Final Four team, OSU became the first program other than Stanford to win at least a share of three consecutive Pac-12 regular-season titles. The Beavers finished 31-5, including an 11-2 mark against the other league teams that made the NCAA Tournament. They were led by a school and Pac-12 record-breaker in Sydney Wiese, and the program's latest conference defensive player of the year in Gabby Hanson. They advanced to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament, and made the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

And early on against the Seminoles, it looked like OSU was on its way to repeating in the Elite Eight and playing for another trip to the Final Four.

The Beavers raced out to a 21-4 lead, using an aggressive offense that got up and down the court in transition and drove hard to the basket. But Florida State responded with adjustments, putting an extra defender in the paint to make it tougher for the Beavers to execute high-low passes and backdoor cuts. The Seminoles unleashed their athleticism to convert difficult shots and pull down 11 crucial offensive rebounds.

That all created a drastic swing, with Florida State using a 16-5 run in the second quarter to slice OSU's halftime lead to 35-30, then a 14-2 spurt after intermission to seize the advantage. And after two Hanson free throws pulled the Beavers even at 46-46 with 6:55 to play, Florida State outscored the Beavers 20-7 down the stretch to pull away.

"That's what March brings out of you," Hanson said. "It brings out the best in you, and whoever can put the most perfect minutes together for the longest is usually going to win the game.

"We struggled at the end to just find a good look, because they took things away pretty well. You can look back and say, 'OK, maybe we could have done this or done that differently,' but I think they just played really smart defense and made it tough for us."

Overall, Florida State outscored OSU 36-18 in the second half. The Beavers shot 36.4 percent, including 2 of 17 from beyond the arc, and committed 23 turnovers. And Wiese's final game in an OSU uniform doubled as arguably her most difficult shooting performance, going 0 for 10 from long range and 3 of 14 overall in an outing she characterized as "one of those days."

"The shots that Syd got, definitely a few of them were forced," OSU coach Scott Rueck said. "But she also got shots that she hits. The ball just didn't go down."

As Wiese and Hanson walked back inside the locker room following the Beavers' postgame news conference, they had their arms around each other. "I don't want to let go," Hanson said, before they split again.

Hanson untied her shoes and detached the Velcro from her knee pads, but acknowledged she'd likely delay taking off her OSU jersey for the final time. Wiese grabbed a gold necklace with a cross and snapped it back around her neck.

And Wiese still needed to cry. Her red eyes and wavering voice illustrated the pain and disappointment of a season and college career now finished. But those tears existed in the first place because the past four years have been so meaningful.

So perspective from those seniors already permeated through the raw emotions. They reflected on their initial belief in a program during the early years of Rueck's rebuild. The countless hours spent in the practice facility. The adversity like Wiese's broken hand and the heartbreaking losses they turned into lessons. The "accomplishment after accomplishment that we can talk about forever." The culture fostered that they trust will continue after they depart.

That's why, when the Beavers had initially gone their separate ways immediately following this season-ending defeat, Brown brought them all back to link arms.

"It was special, and it was right for us to come together," Wiese said, "and really trust that whatever the numbers were, whatever the final score was, we're family. The season's over, but these relationships are going to live on forever."

-- Gina Mizell | @ginamizell