Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. --- After trailing Pepperdine by double-digits for much of the second half, Portland had a chance to tie the score in the closing seconds, but the three-point attempt from junior Tara Cronin was off as the Waves defeated the Pilots 67-64 in a West Coast Conference women’s basketball game at the Chiles Center on Thursday night. It’s the second straight 67-64 loss for Portland, which drops to 16-10 overall and to 5-6 in the WCC.
Pepperdine improves to 17-8 and to 8-3 in the league.
Trailing by three with two minutes to play, Portland had a couple of chances to tie it or at least cut into the lead, but both Laiken Dollente and Cronin missed couple of jumpers from the field. Pepperdine wasn’t exactly clutch at the other end as the Waves turned the ball over three times.
The third turnover led to a UP in-bounds play with 27 seconds remaining. That’s when Cronin missed one jumper trying to beat the shot clock, got her own rebound and missed a potential game-tying three from traffic, which was rebounded by Pepperdine’s Skye Barnett.. The Pilots immediately fouled Barnett and then had to foul again, sending Pepperdine’s Jazmine Jackson to the line with the score still 67-64 and nine seconds remaining.
Jackson missed the first free throw of the one-and-one situation and Portland sophomore Alexis Gannis came up with the huge rebound. Gannis found sophomore ReZina TecleMariam, who immediately headed up court. Just when it appeared TecleMariam was going in for the uncontested lay-up, Z found an open Cronin behind the three-point line. But Cronin’s attempt was just short as Pepperdine held on for the win.
Cronin netted 14 points, while matching a career high with nine assists. Dollente, who caught fire in the second half, flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Gannis (16) also finished in double figures and corralled seven boards.
Miranda Ayim led the Waves with 15 points, while Jackson had 12.
The Waves had a huge advantage in points off of turnovers, converting 22 Portland miscues into 24 points. The Pilots countered with just eight points on 11 Pepperdine turnovers.
The first half was back-and-forth before the Waves created a little separation before the break and entered the locker room with a 38-29 lead.
The Waves looked to take control in the second half, opening a 49-34 lead with 15:22 left. That’s when the Pilots came to life to bust out a 16-6 run and pull within five. Dollente was feeling it from the field and capped the run by hitting four straight to make it a 55-50 game.
The Waves were able to push the lead back to 10, but Portland refused to go away. And when sophomore Natalie Day hit back-to-back shots, the deficit was only three with 2:50 left to play. Pepperdine then hit a shot at the other end, but Dollente answered with two free throws, leading to the final 2:16 when the score was stuck on 67-64.
UP shot 43.1 percent from the floor and finished with 22 assists on 25 field goals. The Pilots were 7-for-17 on three’s and went a perfect 7-for-7 at the line. The Waves hit 26 of 53 from the field (49.1 percent), went 4-for-10 from downtown and hit 11 of 17 free throws.
Portland outrebounded Pepperdine 33-29.
The Pilots next host the Loyola Marymount Lions at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday for the final regular season game at the Chiles Center. The game also marks the last appearance at home for Dollente, Portland’s lone senior. The No. 3 scorer in UP program history will be honored with a pre-game ceremony.
