SPOKANE, Wash. --- Portland's Cassandra Brown registered game-highs of 18 points and eight rebounds, but the Gonzaga Bulldogs used a balanced scoring attack to claim a 79-57 win over the Pilots in a West Coast Conference women's basketball game played on Saturday afternoon at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Kari Luttinen scored 11 first-half points for the Pilots (2-12, 0-3 WCC) before finishing with 14 for the game.
 
Gonzaga's (10-4, 3-0 WCC) Elle Tinkle hit a pair of three-pointers en route to 16 points and she was one of five Bulldogs to score in double digits.
 
Luttinen opened the game by hitting a three-pointer to give the Pilots an early lead, but the Zags would respond by connecting on their first six three's to surge ahead by 12 points.
 
Portland's Sara Zaragoza momentarily stopped the Gonzaga outburst with a lay-up down the lane and a pair of free throws by Brown pulled the Pilots within 23-15 with 8:12 remaining in the half. Gonzaga then pushed the lead to 17 points before Luttinen hit a jumper and Brown knocked down a three to cut the deficit 12.
 
But GU would end the half on a 10-0 run to claim a 46-24 lead at the break.
 
The Gonzaga momentum continued into the second half and the Bulldog lead soon swelled to 67-34 with just under 10 minutes left to play. That's when the Pilots tried to climb back into the game by embarking on a lengthy 23-8 run to pull Portland within 18 points with about four minutes remaining.
 
The Pilots drained four three-pointers during the run and Brown accounted for seven of Portland's 23 points.
 
But the clock would soon run out on the Pilots, who would go scoreless the rest of the way.
 
Brown was six of 10 from the field and she was 4-for-4 from the foul line as she remains a perfect 15-for-15 on free throws in three WCC contests. Cassandra Thompson added 10 points for the Pilots.
 
The Pilots shot 35.7 percent (20-for-56) overall, hit seven three-pointers and went 10-for-14 on free throws. Gonzaga cooled off somewhat in the second half and shot 46.4 percent (26-for-56) overall. The Bulldogs also connected on seven three's and were 20 of 27 at the foul line.
 
Portland remains on the road next week for WCC games at Santa Clara on Thursday and at San Francisco on Saturday. Tip-off against the Broncos Thursday night is set for 7 p.m., while the Pilots and Dons will play at 2 p.m. on Saturday.