Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland sophomore forward Alexis Gannis scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds for her second career double-double as the Pilots defeated the Portland State Vikings 75-71 in a non-conference women’s basketball game on Tuesday night at the Chiles Center. The win is the third in a row for Portland, which improves to 3-2 on the season.
Gannis was efficient, hitting five of eight from the field and nine of 13 from the free throw line to help Portland build a double-digit lead in the second half. With 6:26 remaining, two free throws from Gannis let Portland match its biggest lead of the night at 63-50.
That’s when Portland State’s (2-2) senior guard Claire Faucher began heating it up and hit consecutive three-pointers to pull the Vikings within seven. Her Portland counterpart and high school teammate Laiken Dollente answered with a three-pointer of her own to push the lead back to 10 with 4:40 on the clock.
But the Vikings refused to go away and cut the deficit all the way down to one point when a three from Kelly Merchant from deep in the left corner made it a 70-69 game with less than 90 seconds to play.
At the other end, sophomore guard ReZina TecleMariam responded by calmly cutting through the lane and hitting a pull-up jumper to hand Portland a three-point advantage with 44 ticks showing. The Pilots then tightened up on defense and forced Portland State into a couple of missed shots and a turnover.
After the Vikings were forced to foul, TecleMariam helped seal the win with a pair of free throws, which made it a two possession game with 22 seconds to play. Another missed PSU shot and a Tara Cronin free throw later and the Pilots had their third straight win.
Gannis has at least 10 rebounds in every game this year except during the season-opener against Eastern Washington, when she still scored a career-high 21 points. Gannis entered Tuesday night No. 3 in the West Coast Conference in rebounding.
Portland junior post Lauren Angel also had a big night for Portland, displaying an array of shots en route to matching a career high with 18 points. She was nine of 15 from the floor.
Cronin, a junior guard, nearly had an unorthodox double-double, finishing with eight points and a career-high nine assists. Sophomore wings Natalie Day and Nakeisha Brown provided Portland with a spark off the bench and scored nine and seven points, respectively. The duo went a combined 7-for-11 from the floor.
Faucher led the Vikings with 18 points, 10 boards and seven assists, while Merchant finished with 15 points.
The Pilots shot 45.8 percent (27-for-59) from the floor, hit four three-pointers and went 17-for-23 from the free throw line. Portland State was 29 of 62 from the field (.468), six of 15 from three-point land and seven of 11 from the charity stripe.
The Vikings were hurt by 19 turnovers, which led to 18 points for the Pilots.
11 of Gannis’ points came in the first half as Portland took a 36-26 lead into the locker room. Angel had 10 first-half points.
Portland next takes a break from action before returning to the court on Wednesday, Dec. 2 for a game against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Ore.
