Box Score
LOGAN, Utah --- Portland junior Laiken Dollente scored a game-high 18 points, sophomore Tara Cronin had a double-double and the Pilots opened the season with a 64-51 win over the Utah State Aggies on Friday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Sophomore Lauren Angel added 14 points for the Pilots.
Portland (1-0) led 29-20 at the break and scored the first two points of the second half to take its first double-digit lead of the game. Dollente made good on a lay-up to make it a 31-20 game.
The UP lead would hover around ten points for the next ten minutes until Cronin nailed a mid-range jumper to give the Pilots a 43-30 lead with 11:41 showing on the clock. Two minutes later, Angel hit from mid-range to hand Portland its biggest advantage at 47-32.
A three-pointer by Utah State’s (0-1) Danyelle Snelgro cut the UP lead to seven points with 2:10 remaining, but jumpers from Angel and freshman ReZina TecleMariam pushed the lead back up to 59-48.
Dollente then helped seal the win by hitting all four of her free throws in the closing minute. Cronin also connected from the charity stripe during the game’s final seconds.
The Pilots, who set a program record by shooting .774 from the free throw line last season, finished 13 of 16 from the line. Dollente, the nation’s second leading free throw shooter last season, missed two of her first four attempts from the charity stripe, but would hit her final six.
She also grabbed five rebounds, handed out three assists and made two steals.
Cronin crashed the boards for the Pilots and led the way with a team-high 10 rebounds. It’s the first career double-double for the guard, who scored 11 points.
Angel looked like her usual self from the floor, hitting seven of 10 from the field.
Portland shot 41 percent (25-for-61) from the floor and hit just one three-pointer, courtesy senior Karlie Burris. Burris chipped in with seven points and fellow senior Allyson Sievers added eight points and five rebounds.
The Pilots took care if the ball and finished with just 10 turnovers, matching a season-low from last year.
Utah State on the other hand was plagued by 19 turnovers, which led to 15 points for UP.
Snelgro scored a team-high 15 points for the Aggies, Lydia Whitehead had 12 and Ana Pares added 11. USU hit 21 of 56 shots (37.5 percent) from the field, went just four of 16 from three-point range and connected on five of 13 free throw attempts.
The first half remained close for most of the way until the Pilots ended the opening period with an 11-2 run to take the nine-point lead into the locker room.
The Pilots next head to Boise, Idaho, for a game against the Boise State Broncos on Sunday. The Pilots and Broncos are set to tip-off at 1:00 p.m. (PT) at Taco Bell Arena.
