Despite Khalila O’Rielly-Williams 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks, Portland fell to the Seattle Pacific Falcons, 72-63 in its exhibition season opener on Nov. 15 at the Chiles Center. Michaela Dalgleish went for 12 points, hitting a perfect 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. Freshman point guard Whitney Grant had nine points, four assists and six rebounds in her first game as a Pilot. Sophomore Jamie Medley came off the bench to score eight points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting from behind the arc.

“We played hard tonight, but we need to improve and execute our offense a bit better,” said Head Coach Jim Sollars.

Kelly Berglund, had 20 points and nine boards, making 7-of-12 field goals and 6-of-7 free-throws to lead the Falcons. Valerie Gustafson had 10 points and a team-high five steals.

Seattle Pacific out-rebounded Portland, 50 to 37, but each team tallied 20 assists. The Pilots shot 37.3 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range. Seattle Pacific built a 35-29 halftime lead, and Portland made a great second half comeback, but fell short in the final minute of play.

Medley dialed in from downtown to start the second half, hitting two from beyond the arc in the first eight minutes as Portland closed to within four with 13:05 remaining in the game. The Pilots hit 5-of-17 three-pointers in the game.

“We played with more intensity in the second half,” said Sollars. “Khalila came out and played the way I expected. Jamie Medley came off the bench and did a really nice job for us. Overall, it was a total team effort.”

UP NEXT: The Pilots take on Western Oregon in another exhibition game on Mon., Nov. 18 in Portland, OR at 7:00 p.m. Portland opens its regular-season on the road on Fri., Nov. 22, facing Montana State at 7:00 p.m. in Bozeman, MT. On Sun., Nov. 24, the Pilots will match-up with Montana at 2:00 p.m. in Missoula, MT. Portland will host Oregon State on Tues., Nov. 26 at 7:00 p.m. and Tulane on Sun., Dec. 1 at 2:00 p.m. in the Chiles Center in Portland, OR. The Pilots take on Pacific (CA) on Tues., Dec. 3 at 7:00 p.m. at the Chiles Center in Portland, OR. Portland hits the road on Thurs., Dec. 5, taking on in-state rival Oregon at 7:00 p.m. in Eugene, OR. On Mon., Dec. 16, the Pilots face the Boise State Broncos at 7:00 p.m. in Boise, ID. Portland will match-up with Weber State on Thurs., Dec. 19 in Ogden, UT at 7:05 p.m. The Pilots are back at home on Sun., Dec. 22, facing Illinois State at 1:00 p.m. On Mon., Dec. 30, Portland heads to Riverside, CA to take on UC Riverside at 7:00 p.m.