PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots mounted a furious comeback in the second half to take the lead, but the Gonzaga Bulldogs prevailed 46-41 in a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center.

Down 31-14 with 14:32 left to play, the Pilots busted out on a 26-6 run to take a 40-37 lead with 4:41 left.

Gonzaga reclaimed the lead and had a three-point advantage in the closing seconds. Portland had the ball with a chance to tie the game, but freshman forward Jennifer Wassom’s three-point attempt with four seconds left was tipped by Stephanie Hawk, who gathered in the rebound. GU’s Juliann Laney then sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

Portland drops to 4-19 on the season and 1-9 in the WCC. The Bulldogs move to 12-13, 7-3 in the conference.

The first half was sloppy as neither team was able to find a rhythm on offense. The Pilots managed to connect on only five of their 30 attempts from the field as the Zags took a 20-10 lead into the break.

It was more of the same at the start of the second half before Portland went on its run. Junior guard Anne Graner, who provided some much needed energy off the bench, got the run going with a three-pointer to make the score 31-17 in favor of the Zags.

The Pilots chipped away at the lead and cut it down to single digits. Down 33-25, senior point guard Whitney Grant made a steal then went coast-to-coast on a lay-up, while getting fouled in the process. Grant missed the free throw, but UP was within 33-27 with 10:54 left.

After a Gonzaga free throw, Wassom drilled a three-pointer from the left corner to pull the Pilots within two for the first time since the opening moments of the game. Gonzaga then stretched the lead to five, but Portland responded. Two lay-ups later, one from Grant and the other from junior forward Nicole Rowe, and the Pilots were within one.

Grant then went down the middle of the lane to give Portland a 38-37 lead on a lay-up with 5:36 left. The lead grew to 40-37 on a Grant jumper, before the Zags closed the game with a 9-1 run.

Junior center Rachel Warren was a force in the paint finishing with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for her fifth double-double this season. Grant scored 11, giving her double-digits in 21 of Portland’s 23 games this season. Grant also tied a career-high with five steals.

The Pilots finished 18 of 63 from the field and 2 of 21 from behind the three-point arc. UP outrebounded the Zags 47-43, getting seven boards from sophomore forward Meagan Bermingham and six from freshman forward Allyson Sievers.

Hawk was the only Zag to reach double figures finishing with 10 points. Ashley Anderson scored nine, to go along with 10 rebounds. Gonzaga managed to shoot only 14 for 49 from the field and was outscored 28-12 in the paint.

The Pilots conclude their home schedule with a pair of conference games next week. Portland hosts Pepperdine at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Loyola Marymount at 2 p.m. on Saturday.