SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- Portland kept it close for most of the afternoon and Jojuan Carrington scored a career-high 14 points, but the San Francisco Dons pulled away in the fourth quarter to claim an 83-71 win over the Pilots in a West Coast Conference women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Kaylie Van Loo added 20 points for the Pilots, giving her at least 20 points in three straight games.
 
The Dons (15-12, 9-7 WCC) scored the game's first five points, but the Pilots (6-21, 4-12 WCC) answered with an 11-0 run to surge ahead. Van Loo canned a mid-range jumper during the outburst, and Julie Spencer capped the run with a jumper and a three-pointer to give the visitors a six-point lead.
 
USF recovered, and when Anna Pierce buried a three-pointer to end the first quarter the Dons had tied the score 16-16. San Francisco repeatedly tried to pull away in the second period, but the Pilots responded every time. Carrington, a sophomore transfer in her first career start with the Pilots, scored eight of her points during the quarter, and Spencer evened the score at 28-28 when she converted a lay-up. Moments later Kate Andersen briefly gave the Pilots the lead with a free throw, but USF took a slim 32-31 edge into the halftime locker room.
 
It was more of the same early in the third frame as neither team could create separation. Two minutes in Carrington hit a jumper, which was followed by a lay-up by Holly Blades, allowing the Pilots to enjoy a three-point lead. USF then reclaimed the lead before Van Loo knotted the score at 41-41 with a lay-in. But that's when the Dons embarked on a 15-4 run the rest of the quarter, which gave the hosts a double-digit lead.
 
The lead would grow in the fourth, and San Francisco would hold on for the win.
 
Van Loo, who also handed out five assists, was coming off a career-high 26 points during a win at Pacific on Thursday night. She becomes the first Pilot to reach 20 points in three straight games since Cassandra Brown in January of 2015.
 
Carrington was 5-for-8 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Blades connected on a pair of three-pointers and finished with 12 points, while Spencer just missed a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds.
 
Rachel Howard and Michaela Rakova both scored 19 points to lead the Dons, who shot 46 percent from the floor. USF also combined for an impressive 15 three-pointers, while going 12 of 16 at the line.
 
Portland shot 41 percent, hit four three's and shot 15-for-18 on free throws. USF out-rebounded the Pilots 41-32.
 
The Pilots have two regular season games remaining, beginning with a trip to Provo, Utah, on Thursday to face the BYU Cougars at 6 p.m. (Pacific). Portland then returns home to host San Diego next Saturday before heading to Las Vegas for the WCC Championships.