San Francisco, CA - The University of Portland women’s basketball team picked up its first WCC road win and sweeps the season series with a 64-62 win over the San Francisco Lady Dons on Fri., Feb. 14 at War Memorial Gym. Portland improves to 10-13 overall, 4-6 in WCC Play. San Francisco (8-15, 3-6 WCC) loses their eighth straight home game. The series sweep ties the first time since the 1998-99 season.

USF looked to be in control early leading by 11, 15-4 after a lay-up by Carey Sauer at the 12:59 mark. Portland was unimpressed. The Pilots went on a 14-2 run to seize a 19-17 advantage with 6:38 left and once they took a 21-20 lead at 5:26 in the first half, they would never trail again. The Pilots led by as many as 10, 34-24 before settling for a 34-26 cushion at the intermission. After trailing 15-4, Portland out-scored the Lady Dons 30-9.

Once the second half started, Portland extended their lead to 15, 41-26 with 17:44 in the game, but USF battled back to make things interesting at the end. A bucket and a pair of free throws by USF guard Jenni Jones cut the Pilots lead to two 57-55 with 3:14 left. Three straight free throws by Khalila O’Rielly-Williams pushed the lead to five, 60-55 with 2:24 remaining. A lay-up off a steal by sophomore guard Toni Russell brought USF to within one, 60-59 with 0:44 remaining, but Portland’s Michaela Dalgleish and Whitney Grant converted four free-throws down the stretch to seal the win.

O’Rielly-Williams finished with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-14 from the floor, along with six rebounds. Dalgleish scored 14 points, while Ashlee Giles tallied nine points. Grant chipped in eight points on the night. For the game, Portland shot 42 percent (19-45) from the field, 38 percent (6-16) from behind the arc and 74 percent (20-27) from the charity stripe.

Sauer finished with 13 points and seven rebounds and now has 1, 008 in her career. Joy Hollingsworth had a team-high 15 point, while Russell and Mary Jane Krueger each added 11 points. The Lady Dons went 49 percent (26-53) from the floor, 25 percent (2-8) from three-point range and 73 percent (8-11) from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT: On Sat., Feb. 15, the Pilots will face Saint Mary’s College at 7:00 p.m. in Moraga, CA. Portland will host Gonzaga on Sat., Feb. 22 at 7:00 p.m. and San Diego on Thurs., Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. The Pilots will host the Santa Clara Broncos at 7:00 p.m. on Sat., Mar. 1 in Portland, OR. From Thurs.-Sat., Mar. 6-9, Portland will compete for the WCC Tournament crown in San Diego, CA.