The Portland Pilots fell behind early against Gonzaga, but unlike their game Thursday they were unable to pull out the victory as they lost to the Bulldogs 71-65. The Pilots fall to 10-11 on the season and 2-6 in WCC play, while the Bulldogs improve to 11-11 overall and 2=6 in conference play.

The Pilots took the lead 1-0 on a free throw by Khalila O’Rielly-Williams, but with a layup by Shannon Matthews the Bulldogs took the lead 2-1 and never trailed again. A 3-pointer by Juliann Laney with 10:07 left in the first half gave the ‘Zags a 24-9 lead. The Bulldogs would have as much as a 19 point lead over the Pilots. The Pilots were unable to get the ball in the basket for most of the first half shooting 19.4% from the field and 12.5% from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs took a 16 point lead into the lockerroom at 41-25.

The second half started out with a couple missed shots for both teams until O’Rielly-Williams was able to knock down a jumper to pull the Pilots to within 14. A pair of free throws by O’Rielly-Williams brought the Bulldog lead to under 10 points at 44-36. The ‘Zags would get back up to a 12 point lead, but the Pilots came right back and got the lead down to sixat 47-53. With just over two minutes remaining the Bulldogs would take a 10 point lead at 65-55. Tami Standish and Da’Love Woods would combine for seven points in the next minute and a half to bring the Pilots within four with 31 seconds remaining. Five free throws for Gonzaga and a 3-pointer by Hanna Seltzer would close out the scoring and give the ‘Zags the 71-65 victory to earn a split on the season series.

Jessica Malone led the ‘Zags with 18 points, with 16 of those coming in the second half. Four other Bulldogs finished with double figure scoring. Shannon Matthews with 14 points, Bernice Stime with 11 points and Ashley Burke and Raeanna Jewell finished with 10 points apiece. Malone finished with 3-7 shooting from beyond the 3-point line and also brought in six rebounds.

Tami Standish led all scorers with 24 points, five rebounds and four steals. Khalila O’Rielly-Williams earned her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Da’Love Woods added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. The Pilots shot 48.5% from the field in the second half to bring their game total to 34.4% for the afternoon.

The Pilots will be home this week to face Santa Clara and San Diego. The Pilots will host the Broncos Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. and the Toreros on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.