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SANTA CLARA, Calif. --- Trailing big at the half, the Portland Pilots made a furious second-half run, but the Santa Clara Broncos would prevail 69-62 in a West Coast Conference women's basketball game played on Friday night at the Leavey Center. Portland's 32-7 run late in the second half wasn't enough as the Pilots drop to 9-8 on the year and to 2-4 in the WCC.
 
The Broncos (7-10, 3-3 WCC) stifled the Pilots offense in the first half and took a comfortable 40-13 lead into the locker room. It was more of the same early in the second half as the Broncos would stretch their lead to 62-30 with 10:11 remaining.
 
But that's when the Pilots came to life on both ends of the court, holding the Broncos to just a single point for the next eight minutes. Meanwhile, the Pilots starting knocking down shots, including back-to-back three-pointers by Cassandra Thompson and Hannah Mattson.
 
And after Cassandra Brown converted a lay-up and Jasmine Wooton hit a pair of free throws with 2:19 remaining, Portland had climbed within single digits with a 22-1 run.
 
Then following two Santa Clara free throws, Wooton drilled a three and Thompson followed a Bronco miss with a lay-up to pull the Pilots within 65-59 with 33 seconds showing on the clock. But the Pilots would soon run out of time as Santa Clara got game-clinching points from Marie Bertholdt and Nici Gilday via a lay-up and two free throws, respectively.
 
The Pilots out-scored the Broncos 49-29 in the second half.
 
Amy Pupa registered a double-double for the Pilots, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. It's the second double-double this season for the senior forward out of Ventura, Calif.
 
Wooton added 12 points, while Thompson finished with 10.
 
The Pilots shot 44.7 percent in the second half and finished at 33.9 percent for the game. Portland hit eight of 27 from beyond the three-point arc and went 12-for-17 from the foul line.
 
Gilday led the Broncos with a game-high 19 points, while Santa Clara combined to shoot 44.9 percent from the field. Santa Clara connected on five three's and went a game-deciding 20-for-25 at the free throw line.
 
Portland made a season-high 20 steals, which led to 27 points off of 27 Santa Clara turnovers. The Broncos claimed a 41-34 edge on rebounds, despite Pupa's efforts on the glass.
 
The Pilots will next look to rebound from the loss when they make the short trek to San Francisco for a game against the Dons on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at War Memorial Gym.