PORTLAND, Ore.- The Portland Pilots are getting used to second-half comebacks, and they’ve been on both sides of those comebacks all season long. Monday night, Portland (7-10, 2-2 WCC) was the beneficiary of a 17-point lead early in the second half, but needed almost all of it in handing crosstown rival Portland State (3-13, 0-2 BSC) a 74-67 defeat at the Chiles Center. Senior forward Khalila O’Rielly-Williams was a force on both ends of the floor for the Pilots, finishing the night with a season-high 25 points, eight rebounds and four steals. With the win, the Pilots swept the two-game RiverCity Rivalry series with the Vikings.

Portland seemed to have complete control for the first 25 minutes, jumping out to a 44-27 lead with a little more than 16 minutes remaining in regulation. PSU fought back with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to cut the Pilot lead down to six points, but Lauren Himmelspach made four straight free throws to get the lead back to double digits.

The Vikings didn’t roll over and would make a few more stretch runs, but Pilot senior Khalila O’Rielly-Williams was quick to thwart each effort. After PSU made it a five-point game at the 9:18 mark, O’Rielly-Williams made a lay-up and converted two free throws to create some more separation.

Then another lay-up with 3:58 remaining by O’Rielly-Williams seemed to be the nail in the coffin putting the Pilots up 64-49, but the Vikings kept hovering around a single-digit deficit. Consecutive three-pointers by Viking guards Ashley Brown and Heidi Stuart brought the lead back down to five with 19 ticks left on the clock.

Himmelspach was immediately fouled, made the first free throw but missed the second. O’Rielly-Williams grabbed the offensive rebound and Himmelspach, who finished the night 10-of-12 from the stripe, would go on to nail her final two freebies to ice the game.

“I was getting frustrated with the runs they made,” said O’Rielly-Williams after collecting four second half steals. “I wanted to get it done down the stretch and stop them from making those runs.”

Pilot junior guard Hanna Seltzer had another solid outing with 11 points and six assists, while Ashlee Orndorff tied a career-high with 11 rebounds.

“We are figuring out how to win,” said Pilot Head Coach Jim Sollars. “Our execution is getting better, now it’s coming down to making shots. We’ve made a conscious effort in practice to improve our shooting and I think it is starting to pay off.”

The Pilots shot 43 percent (24-for-56) and made 21-of-29 from the charity stripe. Portland State shot 45 percent (28-for-62) from the field, but went to the free throw line only 10 times, making 8-of-10. Portland’s speed and quickness was too much for the Vikings, especially in the post as O’Rielly-Williams continually penetrated for easy baskets.

Portland out-rebounded Portland State 38-32 for the game, and dominated the glass in the first half, taking the momentum into the locker room with a 37-23 lead. The Vikings used a 38-28 advantage in the paint to claw back within reach. Second half pressure resulted in 15 fast break points in the final 20 minutes for the Vikings, but the Pilots had enough cushion for the victory.

Tiffanie Ward scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added six rebounds for the visiting Vikings. Heidi Stuart finished with 14 points, while freshman point guard Ashley Brown chipped in 11.

Portland gets back to WCC action as they take on Gonzaga this Sat., Jan. 24 in Spokane, Wash.