Portland is without two of its starters as Gonzaga wins 61-48 in Spokane

SPOKANE, Wash. --- Freshman guard Laiken Dollente scored a game-high 17 points to lead the short-handed Portland Pilots, but the Gonzaga Bulldogs prevailed 61-48 in a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game on Saturday at the McCarthey Center.

Dollente hit three of six three-pointers to lead Portland in scoring for the 11th time this season.

Portland (8-12, 0-5 WCC) was without the services of two of its starters as junior center Rachel Warren and sophomore forward Allyson Sievers both sat out with injuries.

Stephanie Hawk led Gonzaga (13-8, 5-0 WCC) with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Michelle Elliott scored 12 points, while Heather Bowman chipped in with 10.

Sophomore center Carly Koebel, who made her first career start, blocked a career-high five shots for the Pilots. Junior guard Rachel Stratton scored nine points and freshman forward Laura Thomas scored eight. Sophomore guard Karlie Burris grabbed team-high five rebounds.

After leading at the half by nine, Gonzaga opened the second half with a 13-5 spurt to open a 46-29 lead eight minutes in. Freshman guard Laiken Dollente scored all five of Portland’s points.

The Pilots were able to cut the lead to seven with a 15-5 burst covering the next ten minutes. A three-pointer from Dollente made it a 51-42 GU advantage with 5:15 left on the clock. Moments laster, freshman forward Laura Thomas pulled the Pilots within seven with a nifty lay-up to make it 51-44 with 3:20 on the clock. UP junior guard Rachel Stratton scored six points during the run.

GU responded with eight unanswered points, pushing the lead back to double digits at 58-44 with 2:00 left. The Zags scored their final three points on free throws.

The Bulldogs outrebounded Portland 47-31 for the game and 31-18 in the second half. Gonzaga scored 20 second chance points and scored 24 points off of 18 Portland turnovers. The Pilots only turned the ball over four times in the second half.

Portland outshot GU from the field at 37 percent to 34 percent. The Pilots hit five of 14 three-pointers and were nine of 14 from the foul line. Gonzaga connected on six of 15 three-point attempts and went nine for 18 from the line.

Gonzaga opened the game hot from the field and hit seven of its first nine shots, opening a 15-6 lead with 13:30 left in the first half. A few minutes later, the lead grew to ten after Elliott drilled a three-pointer.

Portland was able to cut the deficit to five after a three-pointer from Stratton and a lay-up by Thomas, who went straight down the lane. UP eventually climbed within four after Dollente hit a three, but GU built the lead back up to ten at 31-21 with 2:40 left. The Bulldogs went into the locker room with a 33-24 advantage.

Dollente led all scorers with seven first-half points. Portland shot 44 percent for the half but turned the ball over 14 times. GU finished the half with a 43.8 shooting percentage.

The Pilots next travel to Southern California for a conference game against the San Diego Toreros on Thursday. The game is slated to tip-off at 7:00 p.m.