PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Montana Lady Griz overcame a half-time deficit and 16 points from Portland senior Kari Luttinen to claim a 69-55 win over the Pilots in a non-conference women's basketball game played on Sunday afternoon at the Chiles Center. Senior Cassandra Thompson added 11 points and nine rebounds for Portland (2-7).
 
The Pilots led 32-27 at the break and would push the lead to eight points early in the second half with the help of a Cassandra Brown three-pointer and a nice bucket down low by Sara Zaragoza. But from there the Lady Griz (4-4) would embark on a lengthy run to surge ahead.
 
At one point the Montana defense held the Pilots to just one field goal during a stretch of nearly 15 minutes. That field goal was a corner three by Jazmyn Johnson that tied the score 42-42 with 12:36 remaining. The Lady Griz followed Johnson's three with a game-clinching 18-3 run.
 
In the first half it was a different story as it was the Portland defense that stifled the Montana offense, holding the Lady Griz without a field goal during the final eight minutes of the half. Meanwhile, Luttinen provided the offense with 14 first-half points, which included a pair of three-pointers.
 
At one point during the first half the Pilots trailed by 10 before making a run to take the five-point lead into the locker room at the break.
 
The Pilots ended up shooting just 27.1 percent from the floor, while Montana countered with a 36.5 shooting percentage. Rebounding helped Montana during their comeback bid and the Lady Griz finished with a 51-36 edge on the glass.
 
Both teams were connecting at the foul line, the Pilots were 18-for-20 and the Griz shot 17 of 21, and UM had six three's, while Portland made five.
 
Kellie Rubel was 11-for-12 on free throws and led Montana with 24 points. Post Carly Selvig had a game-changing eight blocked shots.
 
Portland's Cassandra Brown finished with 11 rebounds and Jasmine Wooton added nine points and five assists.
 
The Pilots next conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule with road games at Eastern Washington and Boise State. Wednesday's game against the Eagles is set for 6 p.m. in Cheney, Wash., while Sunday's game in Boise, Idaho, will begin at 1 p.m. (Pacific).