The University of Portland women’s basketball team out-scored cross-town rival Portland State, 40-15 in the second half, recording an impressive 66-52 come-from-behind win on Sat., Jan. 4 at the Chiles Center in Portland, OR. Portland improves to 5-6 on the season, while PSU drops to 4-8 overall. The University of Portland and Portland State University joined forces to create an intercollegiate athletic competition between the two institutions and with tonight’s win, the Pilots own the bragging rights.

Portland State jumped out to a 37-26 lead in the first half, scoring 18 points off Pilot turnovers. After the break, Portland took control of the game and went on a 21-4 run with just under eight minutes to go in the game. Portland State tied the game, 49-49 with 4:56 to go, but the Pilots maintained their composure and out-scored PSU, 16-3 down the stretch to seal the deal for a 66-52 win.

“We came out in the second half and played really well,” said Head Coach Jim Sollars. “This was the best defensive effort we’ve had in the past several years, holding them to just 15 points in the second half.”

On the night, Khalila O’Rielly-Williams led all players with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting from the free-throw line. Jamie Medley came off the bench and racked up 13 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and a perfect 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. Michaela Dalgleish notched 12 points, while Whitney Grant added 10 points, Ashlee Giles led all players with seven rebounds. As a team, the Pilots shot 51 percent (26-51) from the field, 44 percent (4-9) from three-point range and 59 percent (10-17) from the charity stripe.

“Khalila (O’Rielly-Williams) had another great night and Jamie (Medley) had a great game as well, possibly her best of the year,” said Sollars. “It was a total team effort and I’m happy with the win.”

Portland State’s Sarah Hedgepeth and Nikki Petticrew combined for 22 points on the night. Hedgepeth went 4-of-11 from the field, 1-of-2 from behind the arc and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line along with five boards. Petticrew was 4-of-16 from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range, along with four assists and two steals. For the game, the Vikings shot 32 percent (19-60) from the field, 32 percent (6-19) from behind the arc and 80 percent (8-10) from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT: On Sun., Jan. 5, Portland will take on Eastern Washington at 5:00 p.m. in Portland, OR. The Pilots will host the Wyoming Cowgirls on Wed., Jan. 8 at 7:00 p.m.