Box Score

PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland sophomore Kari Luttinen scored 15 points, but the Gonzaga Bulldogs pulled away from the Pilots in the second half en route to an 82-51 West Coast Conference win on Monday night at the Chiles Center. It’s the 11th time this season to score in double figures for Luttinen, who leads the Pilots with an average of 13.0 points per game.
 
Portland (5-12, 0-4 WCC) hung around for much of the first half after the Bulldogs jumped out to an early nine-point lead. Down 14-5, the Pilots rattled off a 9-1 run, which was capped off by back-to-back buckets from freshman Annika Holopainen, who is fresh off a 29-point performance at San Francisco last Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs responded with a couple of baskets, but the Pilots were still within six moments later when sophomore Cassandra Thompson hit a lay-up. From there, Gonzaga ended the first half on a 12-4 run to enter the locker room with a 34-20 cushion.
 
The second half looked promising early for the Pilots after Luttinen converted a somewhat rare four-point play to pull Portland within 11 points. Luttinen buried a three-pointer from the right side while getting fouled, and she made the ensuing free throw to make it 39-28 four minutes in.
 
But that’s as close as Portland would get the rest of the way as the Bulldogs (13-5, 3-1 WCC) would cruise to the win behind some hot shooting from Taelor Karr. Karr, who had a game with eight-three pointers earlier this season, connected on four of six three’s against the Pilots to finish with a game-high 20 points.
 
Holopainen joined Luttinen in double figures with 11 points, while junior Amy Pupa celebrated her birthday with 11 rebounds.
 
GU shot 47 percent for the game, hit 11 of 23 from the three-point arc and was just nine of 17 at the foul line. The Pilots combined to shoot 34.0 percent from the floor, connected on three three-pointers and went 12-for-18 on free throws.
 
The Pilots were hurt by 25 turnovers, which led to 27 points for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga, which committed just five turnovers in the second half, also claimed a slight 39-37 edge in rebounds.
 
Portland next heads on the road for three straight conference games away from the Chiles Center. On Saturday, the Pilots will be in Los Angeles, Calif., for a 2 p.m. game against the Loyola Marymount Lions at Gersten Pavilion.