IOWA CITY, Iowa --- Junior guard Laiken Dollente scored 27 points to lead four Pilots in double figures as Portland defeated the Boston University Terriers 74-62 on the final day of the Hawkeye Challenge at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday. Dollente had seven assists to go along with her game high in points.
The Pilots, who play six straight road games to open the season, improve to 2-3 on the year. Boston drops to 2-2.
Dollente has led Portland in scoring every game this season. Against the Terriers, she hit nine of 14 from the field as UP shot 51 percent (25-for-49) on the day. Dollente, Portland’s all-time leader in three-point and free throw accuracy, shot 4-for-5 from behind the three-point arc and hit five of six from the line.
After leading by 15 points in the first half, Portland entered the locker room with a 31-24 lead.
The Terriers hit a three-pointer to open the second half, pulling within four points. But Portland would respond with a 12-2 run to re-claim a double-digit lead. Dollente scored seven points and handed out an assist during the run, which ended with the Pilots leading 43-29 with 16:50 left in the game.
Portland would enjoy a double-digit advantage the rest of the way. Dollente gave UP it’s biggest lead with a three-pointer to make it 55-39 with less than ten minutes to play.
The Pilots featured a balanced scoring attack as juniors Carly Koebel and Karlie Burris and sophomore Tara Cronin each scored in double figures. Cronin, a guard, scored 14 points and led Portland in rebounding with eight boards. Cronin’s relentless attack on the glass helped the Pilots to a 39-37 edge in rebounding.
Koebel, a center playing in her third game of the season, flirted with a triple-double, scoring 10 points with seven rebounds and six blocked shots. She missed matching a career high in blocks by one.
Burris also put together a complete game with 10 points and seven boards. She hit two of Portland’s seven three-pointers.
Aly Hinton scored 13 points off the bench to lead BU. Kristi Dini and Christine Kinneary both scored 12 points.
Portland, which shot 17-for-24 from the charity stripe, held Boston to 35.4 percent (23-for-65) shooting on the day. The Terriers also went 7-for-21 on three-pointers and 9-for-13 from the line.
Dollente, who averaged 23 points during Portland's two games at the Hawkeye Challenge, was named to the all-tournament team.
The Pilots are next scheduled to play their first game of the season in the Rose City on Wednesday as they make the trek across town to face Portland State. UP and PSU are set to play at 7:00 p.m. at the Stott Center. Next Sunday, the Pilots are scheduled to play their first home game of the 2008-09 campaign as they welcome the Sacramento State Hornets to the Chiles Center for a 2:00 p.m. game.
