Box Score
PULLMAN, Wash. --- Make it 501 career wins for Portland head coach Jim Sollars as his Pilots rolled to a 79-53 victory over the Washington State Cougars in a non-conference women’s basketball game at Friel Court on Sunday afternoon. Sollars picked up career win No. 500 against Idaho on Friday night.
Sunday’s win is Portland’s (7-3) fourth straight and the seventh victory in its last eight games. Washington State, which plays in the Pac-10 Conference, drops to 4-5 on the year.
The Pilots featured another balanced offensive attack, as junior and Eastern Washington native Tara Cronin led the way with a game-high 19 points. Cronin, who hails from Spokane, was feeling it from the field, shooting eight of 11. She hit a three-pointer and made two of three free throws.
Cronin also helped out defensively as the Pilots held the Cougars to 17.0 percent (7-for-39) shooting in the first half and 29.7 percent (19-for-64) overall. Cronin finished with a game-high three steals.
The Pilots, who outscored the Cougs 47-30 in the second half, shot better than 50 percent for the second time this season. Portland hit 32 of 62 (52.5 percent) overall, shot 5-for-10 from downtown and went 10-for-12 at the line.
UP senior Laiken Dollente had a solid all around game, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists. Sophomore Natalie Day hit all three of her free throws and hit her only three-point attempt en route to 13 points. Junior Lauren Angel also finished with 13 points on six of 10 shooting.
Sophomore ReZina TecleMariam was active on the glass and had a career-high 10 rebounds by halftime. She finished with 11 boards overall as UP outrebounded Wazzu 43-35.
After leading 32-23 at the half, the Pilots opened the second half on a 17-4 run to push the lead to 22 points with 13:30 left to play. Cronin had a three-pointer during the outburst, while freshman Sara Kliewer hit a pair of lay-ups.
The Pilots would cruise from there as the Cougars never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way. Kliewer finished with a career-high eight points.
Jazmine Perkins and Kiki Moore both finished with a team-high 10 points for Washington State. The Cougars shot just 3-for-20 on three-pointers and went 12-for-19 at the line.
Neither team was too careless with the ball as the Pilots had 15 turnovers to WSU’s 14. Portland was dominant down low, outscoring the Cougars 44-26 in the paint. UP’s bench also outscored that of Wazzu 29-17.
Sollars, who is in his 24th year at UP and in his 34th year overall as a head coach, has amassed his win total at three different schools.
Up next for Portland is finals week before hosting Montana on Saturday at the Chiles Center. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
