Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. --- After the Pilots kept within striking distance all night long, sophomore Kari Luttinen nearly gave Portland the lead in the final seconds, but Gonzaga forced a miss before knocking down a pair of free throws allowing the Bulldogs to escape with a 59-56 win in front of 5,887 fans at the McCarthey Center on Thursday night. The Pilots did have the game’s final possession trailing by three, but the Bulldogs caused a turnover with five seconds remaining to seal the win.
The loss marks the final West Coast Conference road game for the Pilots (10-18, 5-10 WCC), who next return home for the season finale on Saturday. Gonzaga claims the league’s regular season title and enters the WCC Tournament with a 25-5 overall record and 15-1 conference mark.
The Bulldogs, who are receiving votes in the most recent national rankings, struggled to shake free of the Pilots on senior night. After the Pilots had nearly pulled within one possession twice in the second half, GU was able to push the lead to 52-42 with 6:13 left.
That’s when the Pilots got big basket after big basket, including a jumper and a lay-up by Luttinen and an impressive reverse lay-in by sophomore Jasmine Wooton to make it a 57-53 deficit with only 1:58 remaining.
The Pilots then forced the Bulldogs into a pair of misses at the other end before freshman Annika Holopainen buried a clutch three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:15 showing on the clock, making it a one-point game.
Portland again tightened up on defense and this time got an emphatic blocked shot by junior Amy Pupa to give the ball back to the Pilots with about 30 seconds left. After Wooton brought the ball up court, Luttinen went baseline with a drive but couldn’t convert on a tough pull-up jumper. GU grabbed the defensive rebound, forcing UP to foul.
The Pilots still had a chance to tie it after Gonzaga’s Jazmine Redmond hit two from the foul line, but the Bulldog defense forced a turnover and ran out the clock before Portland could get off a shot.
Wooton finished with a game-high 16 points on six of eight shooting, while also grabbing five boards. Luttinen scored in double figures for the 18th time this season, finishing with 12 points. Pupa led the way on the glass with 13 rebounds, which marks the ninth time this year to reach double figures in boards.
Shelby Cheslek and Taelor Karr both scored 10 points for the Bulldogs, who never led the Pilots by more than 10. Cheslek added 13 rebounds to register a double-double.
Portland shot 36.2 percent (21-for-58), made two more field goals than Gonzaga, hit three three-pointers and went 11 of 17 at the line. The Bulldogs were 19 of 58 from the field, connected on just two three-pointers and were 19-for-32 on free throws, which proved to be the difference.
GU’s 50-39 edge on the glass helped the Bulldogs to a 12-5 advantage in second chance points, but the two teams were mostly statistically even otherwise.
The Pilots and Bulldogs were never separated by more than seven points in the first half and Gonzaga entered the half-time locker room with a slim 27-24 lead. Portland’s only lead of the game came four minutes in when the Pilots were on top 4-2.
Saturday’s regular season finale against BYU is set for 2 p.m. at the Chiles Center. The Pilots then head to the Orleans Arena for the WCC Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., next week.
