Portland, OR - Hanna Seltzer hit eight free-throws down the stretch to seal the deal as the University of Portland women’s basketball team defeated the San Diego Toreros, 65-60 on Thurs., Feb. 27 at the Chiles Center. Portland improves to 11-15 overall, 5-8 in WCC Play. San Diego falls to 11-15 on the season and 5-8 in the WCC.

Portland controlled the first half and took a 22-15 lead with 3:05 left. The Toreros went on a 6-0 run with just over a minute in the first half, but the Pilots held the lead, 22-20 heading into the break.

In the second half, the Toreros took a 25-24 lead on a trey by Kerri Nakamoto. Nakamoto hit another three-pointer, putting USD up by four, but the Pilots answered back with a trey by senior Ashlee Giles. Both teams battled for the lead , but down the stretch Portland made the clutch free-throws that counted. On the night the Pilots went 21-of-32 from the charity stripe. San Diego managed to shoot just 6-of-13 from the free-throw line.

For Portland, Jamie Medley recorded her third-straight double-figure game. Medley ended the night with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line. Seltzer tallied 12 points and hit 9-of-12 from the free-throw line, while Khalila O’Rielly-Williams notched nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Giles added nine points on the night. For the game, Portland shot 20-of-53 (38 percent) from the floor and 4-of-17 (24 percent) from three-point range.

“Jamie Medley and Hanna Seltzer were huge for us late in the game,” said Head Coach Jim Sollars. “ Ashlee Giles showed her leadership tonight and we played great as a team.”

Erin Malich led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line. Nakamoto tallied 12 points and teammate Marta Menuez chipped in 11 points for the Toreros. San Diego shot 26-of-55 (47 percent) from the floor and just 2-of-11 (18 percent) from behind the arc tonight.

Portland was out-rebounded, 37-31, but forced 27 turnovers in the game. The Pilots racked up 19 points of San Diego turnovers and 20 points from its bench. USD managed 40 points in the paint for the game.

“Everyone gutted it out tonight,” said Sollars. “We executed better and hit our free-throws down the stretch when it counted. It was a total team effort and I am proud of the way we played tonight.”

UP NEXT: 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.