PORTLAND, Ore. --- Junior Holly Blades was hot early and the Pilots jumped ahead of the Gaels in the first half, but Saint Mary's recovered and went on to defeat Portland 78-51 in a West Coast Conference women's basketball game played on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. Blades finished with three three-pointers, while freshman Darian Slaga led the Pilots with 10 points.
 
Blades came out launching as her early three's helped the Pilots (2-18, 0-9 WCC) surge ahead of the Gaels (16-4, 7-2 WCC) 11-5. The Portland offense was clicking throughout the first quarter, and a late three-pointer from Hannah Mattson allowed the Pilots to lead 16-12 after one.
 
Freshman Ellie Woerner then followed Blades' lead and knocked down a couple of three-pointers to begin the second quarter, and the Pilots still led by five with about seven minutes left in the half. But that's when Portland went ice cold from the field, allowing the Gaels to go on a sizeable run. The surge allowed the Gaels to take a 33-23 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
Saint Mary's continued its run into the second half, and soon the Portland deficit was 20 points. The Gaels cruised to the win from there.
 
Slaga hits double digits in points for the fifth time this season and it's the third time for the guard to lead the team in scoring. Mattson, a junior, had a solid game with nine points, while fellow junior Kaylie Van Loo handed out seven assists. Van Loo began the afternoon fifth in the WCC in assists.
 
The Gaels shot nearly 50 percent from the field, while holding the Pilots to 33 percent. Devon Brookshire led five Gaels in double figures with 14 points, while also corralling a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Next up for the Pilots is a trip to the Bay Area to face the San Francisco Dons and Santa Clara Broncos. First the Pilots will be at USF for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday night. Portland will then travels south to Santa Clara to face the Broncos at 2 p.m. on Saturday.