SANTA CLARA, Calif. --- Sophomore forward Meagan Bermingham led the Portland Pilots with 13 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Santa Clara Broncos topped Portland 67-58 in a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game at the Leavey Center on Saturday afternoon. Bermingham added eight rebounds for the Pilots, who are now 4-18 overall this season and 1-8 in the WCC.

The Broncos, led by the WCC’s leading scorer Michelle Cozad’s 18 points, win their sixth straight to improve to 13-9 overall, 7-2 in the conference. Santa Clara also beat the Pilots earlier this season 74-73 at the Chiles Center on Jan. 8.

Portland looked good early by scoring the game’s first five points on a three-pointer by Bermingham and a jumper from senior point guard Whitney Grant. SCU quickly responded tying the game at 7-7. The teams then played the rest of the first half evenly with neither team able to gain an advantage.

The Broncos built a nine point lead a couple of times during the first half, but Portland responded each time to keep the game within reach. Santa Clara led at the break 33-25.

UP started the second half much the same as the first with a 9-2 run to pull within 35-34 two minutes in. Sophomore guard Rachel Stratton capped the run with a three-pointer to pull the Pilots within one. Santa Clara then scored nine straight to take a double-digit lead at 44-34 with 12:08 left to play.

The Pilots were able to cut into the lead and made it a four-point game (51-47) after a Grant three-pointer with six minutes left on the clock. That’s as close as Portland would get as the Broncos got timely offense from Cozad, who scored eight of Santa Clara’s final 16 points, and made enough free throws to hold onto the win.

Grant finished with 11 points, ending her consecutive streak of 20-point games at three. She has scored double figures in 20 of Portland’s 22 games this season. Senior forward Rose Sauer finished with 10 points and eight boards. Stratton matched her career high with eight points.

Portland outrebounded its opponent for the second straight game, finishing with a 42-38 advantage on the glass. The Pilots shot 37 percent from the field and hit six of 22 three-point attempts. Portland went to the line 11 times, making six.

Santa Clara, who got 17 points from Chandice Cronk and 10 from Kasey Monteith, went 17 of 22 at the charity stripe and also shot 37 percent for the game. The Broncos went eight of 22 from behind the three-point arc. SCU turned the ball over only 12 times, as Portland recorded 18 turnovers.

Monteith finished with a game-high 10 rebounds for the double-double.

Portland returns home for three straight home contests, starting with a conference game against Gonzaga next Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Chiles Center.