Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The BYU Cougars led from start to finish en route to 65-37 non-conference win over the Portland Pilots on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. The Pilots, who entered the game riding a four-game winning streak, drop to 7-7 on the season.
BYU wins its eighth straight game to improve to 10-2.
The Cougars, who led 30-20 at the half, scored the first 10 points of the second half to open a 40-20 lead and take control of the game. The Pilots, who were a frigid 26.5 percent (13-for-49) from the field, got no closer than 19 points the rest of the way.
Neither team featured a double-digit scorer as BYU’s Shawnee Slade finished with a game-high nine points. 12 of the 13 players that saw action for the Cougars scored.
UP sophomore Lauren Angel led the Pilots with eight points, while senior Allyson Sievers and junior Laiken Dollente both added six.
The Cougars owned the boards, finishing with a 46-31 advantage in rebounds and a 16-8 edge in second chance points. BYU’s Kristen Riley was the game’s top rebounder with seven boards, while Sievers led the Pilots with a team-high six rebounds.
BYU finished 26-for-59 (44.1 percent) from the floor, went 6-for-17 on three pointers and shot seven of 13 from the free throw line. The Pilots missed all nine three-point attempts and connected on 11 of 15 free throws.
The Cougars also claimed an 8-0 advantage in fast break points and a 36-19 edge in points off the bench. BYU had 19 turnovers to Portland’s 23.
BYU began the game on fire from the field and raced out to a 10-3 lead. But the Pilots responded by scoring six unanswered points to pull within one. Angel scored on a jumper and a lay-up during the run to help make it a 10-9 game.
With BYU still leading moments later, Dollente hit a jumper to make it 21-17 with 6:13 left in the first half. From there, BYU ended the half on a 9-3 spurt to take the ten-point lead into the locker room.
The Pilots next open play in the West Coast Conference with a home game against Gonzaga on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 2:00 p.m. at the Chiles Center. The Bulldogs are the four-time defending conference champions.
