Rachel Warren |
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Gonzaga Bulldogs scored 53 points after the break en route to an 87-67 victory over the Portland Pilots in a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. The game was the final regular season home game for center Rachel Warren and guard Rachel Stratton, Portland’s two seniors.
Gonzaga (20-7, 11-1 WCC), which wrapped up its fourth consecutive conference title, outscored Portland (15-12, 5-7 WCC) 53-38 in the second half to bust open a close game.
Down just 34-29 at the half, the Pilots kept it close early in the second stanza. With Portland down three points two minutes in, Warren went down low to convert on a lay-up and pull UP within one. It was as close as Portland would get the rest of the way as Gonzaga responded with a 14-5 run to build a double-digit lead at 50-40 with 13:00 remaining.
The Bulldogs would continue to pour it on as the Pilots struggled to find their rhythm on offense. The lead eventually would grow to 26 when Tiffanie Shives hit a three-pointer to give Gonzaga its biggest lead at 87-61 with 2:30 left on the clock.
GU shot 60 percent from the floor during the second half to nail down the win. The Bulldogs shot 50 percent (34-for-68) overall for the game and hit five of ten from behind the three-point arc.
Portland looked lively early in the game as both teams came out firing. Down one seven minutes into the game, sophomore Laiken Dollente fed junior Karlie Burris for a lay-up to give Portland its only lead of the game at 11-9.
Gonzaga would re-claim the lead from there before settling for a five-point advantage at the break.
Portland would shoot 38 percent (28-for-74) from the floor and hit three three-pointers. Warren led the Pilots with a team-high 15 points. She hit seven of 12 from the field and corralled five rebounds.
Freshman Tara Cronin also scored in double figures for the Pilots, finishing with 10 points. Burris added nine points and six assists, while junior Allyson Sievers battled foul trouble to finish with eight points.
Gonzaga’s Heather Bowman led all scorers with a game-high 20 points. She grabbed 10 boards for the double-double. Shives, who hit three treys on the afternoon, finished with 19 points. Courtney Vandersloot handed out 11 assists.
Sophomore Laura Thomas was Portland’s top rebounder with nine boards, but the Pilots were outrebounded 47-36. Gonzaga also hurt UP on the break, finishing with 14 fast-break points. GU owned a 15-8 advantage in second chance points as well.
UP turned the ball over 19 times, while GU committed 20 turnovers.
Portland next finishes the regular season with a pair of conference games on the road next week. On Thursday, the Pilots travel to Moraga, Calif., to face the Saint Mary’s Gaels at 7:00 p.m. The Santa Clara Broncos then welcome the Pilots for a 2:00 p.m. game on Saturday.
