The University of Portland women’s basketball team out-scored the UC Riverside Highlanders, 6-3 in the final minute of play to pull out a 54-53 road win on Mon., Dec. 30 in Riverside, CA. Portland improves to 4-6 on the season, while UC Riverside drops to 3-7 overall.

The Highlanders extended their lead to 36-24 with 16:44 remaining in the half, but the Pilots chipped away and took their first lead of the game on a three-pointer by freshman guard Whitney Grant to put the Pilots up 48-47 with 1:49 left in the game. UCR guard Trecha Kennedy came right back to hit a three-pointer to put UCR up 50-48 but senior guard Ashlee Giles hit two free throws to tie the game at 50-50.

Junior forward Khalila O’Rielly-Williams hit a layup with 26.3 seconds left to put the Pilots up 52-50. On Riverside’s possession, junior Crystal Harris was fouled with 7.5 seconds left by Cecily O’Rielly-Williams and hit 1-of-2 to cut the score to 52-51. Reeves fouled sophomore Hanna Seltzer, who hit both free throws for the 54-51 lead. UCR has one last possession and Harris hit a layup at the buzzer and Riverside fell 54-53.

“We came back in the second half and played great,” said Head Coach Jim Sollars. “Khalila (O’Rielly-Williams) has had two great games in a row and Ashlee (Giles) posted some good numbers for us tonight.”

O’Rielly-Williams led the Pilots with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Giles added 10 points and five rebounds. Teammate Amy Botto chipped in eight points, while Whitney Grant added six points. Portland shot 17-of-52 (32.7%) from the field and 5-of-15 (33.3%) from behind the arc.

“We played with a lot more composure in the second half and we played well as a team,” said Sollars. “I am proud of the way we competed tonight.”

Harris led the Highlanders with 22 points and four rebounds. Casandra Reeves added seven points and four assists while LaKeima Stephens had seven points and six rebounds. Riverside shot 20-of-54 (37.0%) from the field and 2-of-10 (20.0%) from three-point range.

Portland had the advantage at the line, hitting 15-of-22 (68.2%) to 11-of-16 (68.8%) for Riverside. UCR out-rebounded Portland 42-35, but had 13 second half turnovers and 21 overall to 18 for the Pilots. On the night, Portland racked up 22 points off UCR turnovers, 14 points from the Pilot bench and 14 second-chance points.

UP NEXT: Portland will match-up with in-state rival Portland State for the River City rivalry game on Sat., Jan. 4 at the Chiles Center in Portland, OR.