Box Score

MORAGA, Calif. --- Freshman Annika Holopainen scored 26 points and the Pilots came all the way back from a 15-point second-half deficit, but the Saint Mary’s Gaels would prevail 58-53 to snap Portland’s three-game winning streak in West Coast Conference action at McKeon Pavilion on Thursday night. The loss drops Portland’s record to 9-14 overall and to 4-6 in the conference.
 
Saint Mary’s, who entered the game tied for second place in the WCC, improves to 15-6 overall and to 7-2 in the league.
 
After the game was close for much of the first half, the Gaels threatened to run away from the Pilots with a 9-2 outburst to enter the locker room with a 32-18 lead. SMC would push the lead to 15 points five minutes into the second half before Portland embarked on a lengthy 21-5 run to catch the Gaels and then some.
 
Holopainen had a traditional three-point play and a three-pointer from behind the arc during the surge, Alexis Byrd also added five points and Kari Luttinen made a pair of lay-ups, the second giving the Pilots their first lead since the opening minute.
 
Now trailing 44-43 with 6:46 left, the Gaels quickly answered with a lay-up, but Holopainen responded with two straight lay-ups to hand the 48-45 lead back to the Pilots. Saint Mary’s again came back, this time re-claiming a 54-50 lead with 55 seconds remaining. But again Holopainen had an answer as she buried a three-pointer to make it a one-point game.
 
Following a UP timeout, Morgan Hatten converted a clutch lay-up for the Gaels before Holopainen couldn’t connect on a jumper on the other end with only 11 seconds left. The Gaels then sealed the win with a pair of free throws from Jackie Nared, the WCC’s leading scorer.
 
Holopainen was 10 of 13 overall from the field, hit three of five three-pointers and was a perfect three of three at the free throw line. It’s the second time to score at least 20 points this season for the native of Helsinki, Finland, and the 26 points are just shy of the career-high 29 she scored at San Francisco earlier this season.
 
Luttinen scored nine points and Byrd finished with eight steals, which missed tying a program single-game record by one.
 
Portland finished with 17 steals overall and Saint Mary’s committed 27 turnovers, which led to a 30-18 advantage in points off of turnovers for the Pilots.
 
Nared led the Gaels with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Hatten also registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. Nared and Hatten’s work on the glass helped the Gaels claim a sizable 45-27 edge in rebounds.
 
Saint Mary’s shot 39.2 percent (20-for-51), went four of 14 on three-pointers and was 14-for-19 from the foul line. The Pilots combined to shoot 37.0 percent (20-for-54) overall, hit only four of 23 three-point attempts and converted nine of 16 from the stripe.
 
The Pilots next travel south to Malibu for a WCC game against the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.