Freshman Michaela Dalgleish racked-up a career-high 21 points, leading the University of Portland women’s basketball team to a 73-59 win over the San Francisco Lady Dons on Sat., Jan. 18 at the Chiles Center in Portland, OR . Portland improves to 8-9 on the season, 2-2 in the WCC, while San Francisco falls to 6-11 overall, 1-2 in WCC play.

Both teams came out in the first half shooting and the score went back and forth until the Pilots pulled away, 25-14 with 11:40 left. Portland continued to dominate, out-scoring the Lady Dons, 44-26 at the break. The Pilots converted 12 points off turnovers compared to the Lady Dons’ seven, and out-rebounded the competition, 13-10 through one half. The Pilots scorched the Lady Dons with the outside shot, going 7-of-11 from three-point range. Portland shot 56 percent (14-25) for the half, while the Lady Dons converted 46 percent (11-24) through the first 20 minutes. The first half was paced by Dalgleish’s 13 points and teammate Ashlee Giles contributed 12.

San Francisco went on a 9-0 run with 17:38 left in the game. With 6:58 to go, the Lady Dons came to within one point (52-51), but Portland’s Michaela Dalgleish converted a three-point play the old fashioned way and teammate Jamie Medley hit a clutch trey to extend the Pilot lead back to seven. Down the stretch the Pilots hit the shots that counted for a convincing, 73-59 win.

For the game, three Pilots players racked up double-figures. Dalgleish led the Pilots with a career-high 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. Khalila O’Rielly-Williams had another strong game with 19 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Giles finished the night with 14 points and five boards. On the night, the Pilots shot 44 percent (23-52) from the floor, 39 percent (9-23) from three-point range and 78 percent (18-23) from the free-throw line.

“We played great in the first half tonight,” said Head Coach Jim Sollars. “San Francisco came back in the second half, but overall we did well as a team. Down the stretch we played with more poise and executed when we needed to.”

USF’s Carey Sauer led all players with 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field. Leeane Jensen totaled 11 points, while Toni Russell added 10 points and seven assists. Joy Hollingsworth led USF on the boards with 12. As a team, the Lady Dons shot 47 percent (21-45) from the field, 27 percent (3-11) from beyond the arc and 88 percent (14-16) from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT: Portland will travel to Spokane, WA to match-up with Gonzaga on Sat., Jan. 25 at 3:00 p.m. On Thurs., Jan. 30, the Pilots will face Santa Clara on the road at 7:00 p.m. Portland will take on San Diego on Sat., Feb. 1 at 7:00 p.m. in San Diego, CA. The Pilots are back at home on Thurs., Feb. 6 against Pepperdine at 7:00 p.m. and on Sat., Feb. 8 against Loyola Marymount at 7:00 p.m.