Laiken Dollente |
Freshman Laiken Dollente leads Portland with 16 points as Santa Clara wins 81-71
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Santa Clara shot 55 percent from the floor and had four players score in double figures as the Broncos topped the Portland Pilots 81-71 in a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. Freshman guard Laiken Dollente led the Pilots with 16 points.
The loss drops Portland’s overall record to 8-11 (0-4 WCC). Santa Clara improves to 10-8 overall and 2-1 in the WCC.
The Broncos scored 45 first-half points to claim a ten-point lead at the break. Santa Clara then opened the second half on a 15-2 run as Portland managed only one field goal during the first seven and a half minutes of the stanza. Yasemin Kimyacioglu capped the run with a three-pointer to make it 62-37 in favor of Santa Clara.
The lead was still 24 points at 73-49 five minutes later. Dollente then hit two free-throws to spark a 21-8 Portland run during the final seven minutes of the game. Dollente accounted for nine of UP’s points during the run.
Dollente, who leads the WCC in free-throw percentage (.883), hit all eight of her free-throw attempts and handed out four assists. Junior center Rachel Warren had a game-high 12 first-half points and finished with 14. She was Portland’s top rebounder with seven boards. Freshman forward Laura Thomas chipped in with 10 points on four of five shooting. Thomas also had five rebounds as Portland outrebounded the Broncos 37-25.
Chandice Cronk, the leading scorer in the WCC, scored 16 points for Santa Clara, as did Kasey Monteith. Jen Gottschalk had 13 points with eight rebounds, while Ashley Graham added 11 points.
The Broncos outscored Portland 46-26 in the paint. SCU shot 31 for 56 from the field and hit six of 19 three-pointers. The Broncos went 13 for 17 from the line.
Portland finished 24 of 59 (41 percent) from the floor and connected on four of 16 attempts from behind the three-point arc. The Pilots made 19 of 22 free-throws and turned the ball over 23 times. Santa Clara scored 25 points off of UP turnovers, while the Pilots turned 18 Bronco turnovers into 19 points.
The Pilots next travel to Spokane, Wash. for a conference game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3:00 p.m. The Zags lead the conference with a 4-0 record.
