PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland outscored crosstown rival Portland State 43-20 in the second half and cruised to an 84-51 victory Sunday afternoon at the Chiles Center. Portland (1-1) improves to 17-8 all-time in home openers, while Portland State (0-1) lost in the head coaching debut of Charity Elliott.
Portland’s frontcourt senior tandem of Ashlee Orndorff and Jamie Medley proved to be too much for the undersized Vikings to handle. The duo combined for 31 points and 15 rebounds as Orndorff tallied a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds along with four steals and three blocked shots. Medley finished with 15 points and six boards on 6-of-10 shooting. Portland held a 52-23 edge in points in the paint and 20-7 advantage on second chance points. PSU started four guards and was outrebounded 43-28 in the game.
Junior point guard Whitney Grant was the third Pilot in double figures with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
PSU sophomore guard Heather Arns scored a game-high 19 points, 14 coming in the first half to keep the game close.
The Pilots shot 58.6 percent in the second half to break the game open, knocking down 17-of-29 field goals and 2-of-4 from three-point range. Portland’s defense also put the clamps down, holding PSU scoreless through the first seven minutes after halftime before a three-pointer by Arns broke the run. The Pilots closed the game with a 36-7 run over the final 8:36 of regulation.
Jameelah Magee was the only other PSU player in double figures, chipping in 10 points.
Portland held a 41-31 lead at the half as both squads were efficient on the offensive end. The Vikings shot 50 percent in the period (13-of-16), while Portland shot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) and forced 13 turnovers.
“After a slow start, we put things together and performed well,” said Portland head coach Jim Sollars. “Our height advantage was the difference and we did a good job of exposing their smaller post players in the second half. Our defensive intensity was also much better, limiting them to only 20 points after halftime. It was a good showing and we are making progress.”
Portland returns to the Chiles Center on Friday, Nov. 26 hosting Cal Poly at 7 p.m.
