PORTLAND, Ore. --- After the Pilots jumped out to a comfortable lead, the Saint Francis Red Flash came all the way back before claiming a thrilling 106-101 win over the Pilots in double overtime on Wednesday afternoon at the Chiles Center. It's the first time to score 100 points for the Pilots since 1997.
 
Portland (4-7) was in control for most of the afternoon and led by 29 points with five minutes left to play in the third quarter. But that's when the Red Flash (5-6) began a comeback that would stretch through the fourth quarter and right up to the final buzzer.
 
During the closing seconds in regulation, Saint Francis had the ball trailing by two. The Pilots forced the visitors into taking a tough three-pointer, but Caitlyn Kroll was in the right place at the right time as the rebound fell into her arms, and her put-back just did beat the buzzer to send the game to the first extra period with the score tied 83-83.
 
Portland's Darian Slaga, who finished with a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers, scored the first six points in OT for the Pilots, but the Red Flash refused to go away, and they eventually led 88-87 for their first lead of the game. Moments later Portland's Ashley Gray found Sara Zaragoza with a nice feed underneath the hoop, and Zaragoza finished to hand the lead back to the Pilots with less than a minute left to play.
 
At the other end of the floor Leah Morrow tied the game with a lay-up, but Portland would have the final possession with just eight seconds remaining. After a timeout, Kate Andersen was fouled, which sent the Pilots' sophomore to the line for two free throws and a chance to give the edge back to the home team. But after a video review by the officials, it was determined that an elbow was thrown after the Red Flash foul, and two free throws were given to Saint Francis as well. Both Andersen and SFU's Jessica Kolvatch hit one of their two foul shots, meaning the game was tied and the Red Flash would have possession and a chance to win.
 
On the ensuing possession, Andersen came through with a steal, and the two teams would head for a second overtime. That's where the Red Flash scored the first seven points of the second OT to surge ahead 99-92. The Pilots did climb back within reach when Andersen hit a lay-up and buried a three-pointer to make it a two-point game with 15 seconds showing on the clock, but the Red Flash sealed the dramatic win at the foul line.
 
Three players fouled out for the short-handed Pilots, who still managed to shoot 50.7 percent for the game. It was that hot shooting that allowed Portland to lead 25-13 after the first quarter, with the help of nine early points from Slaga. The Pilot lead grew in the second frame as Julie Spencer started knocking down shots, and Portland took a 25-point lead into the break.
 
The Pilots' advantage swelled to 29 points in the third before the Red Flash used an effective full-court press to begin their second-half rally.
 
Slaga was 10 of 14 shooting, hit a pair of three's, and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Andersen was clutch late for the Pilots and finished with a career-best 17 points. Freshman Josie Matz nearly collected her first career double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds, and Spencer added 15 points.
 
Kovatch led Saint Francis with 26 points, and the Red Flash forced a remarkable 27 Portland turnovers, which led to 42 points. Portland did out-rebound their visitors 54-52.
 
The Pilots next open play in the West Coast Conference when they host BYU on Thursday, Dec. 28 at the Chiles Center.