PORTLAND, Ore. --- Julie Spencer finished with a double-double, the Pilots hit a handful of free throws down the stretch, and a last-second three-point attempt by the Gaels was off the mark as the Pilots stunned Saint Mary's 68-65 in a West Coast Conference women's basketball game played on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. The win is the first for the Pilots over Saint Mary's since 2009.
 
After the Pilots (5-16, 1-9 WCC) had led for most of the afternoon, the Gaels (13-8, 6-4 WCC) used a 10-0 in the fourth quarter to surge ahead 58-53 with about five minutes remaining. The Pilots refused to falter, and a traditional three-point play by Spencer ended the Portland scoring drought.
 
From there it would remain a one-possession game in favor of the Gaels until Darian Slaga provided a clutch, left handed lay-up that gave the lead back to the Pilots with 2:10 showing on the clock. Portland then forced a pair of turnovers by the Gaels, which were each followed by Lisa Kaempf and Rachelle Owens both splitting a pair of free throws to make the score 65-62 with only 26 seconds remaining.
 
On Owens' miss from the line, Ashley Gray appeared to come through with a huge offensive rebound, but a quick jump ball call gave possession back to the Gaels. Stella Beck then took full advantage by hitting a lay-up while getting fouled, and she'd convert the ensuing free throw to tie the score 65-65 with 21 seconds showing on the clock.
 
After a Portland timeout, Andersen was fouled to send the sophomore to the line with a chance to break the tie with 12 ticks left, and she did just that by hitting both foul shots.
 
Now with the ball down two, the Gaels' attempt to tie was off the mark, and the rebound went to Kaempf, forcing Saint Mary's to foul. Kaempf again hit one from the line to make it a three-point margin with only four seconds left to play, and Beck's three at the buzzer rimmed out to hand the win to the Pilots.
 
It's the fourth double-double for Spencer, who finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Kaempf added 14, and Slaga chipped in with 10.
 
Sydney Raggio led the Gaels with 20 points and 13 boards, and Beck also registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Gaels jumped ahead early with the help of several trips to the foul line in the first quarter, but the Pilots responded with a run to climb back into the game. Maddie Muhlheim connected from deep before burying a mid-range jumper, Kaempf drilled a three, and when Andersen found Gray for a lay-in the Pilots had leveled the score 17-17.
 
Portland continued its hot shooting from behind the arc in the second period as a three from Slaga gave the Pilots a 20-19 lead. A couple of buckets from Spencer helped the Pilots preserve their edge before Muhlheim gave the home team their biggest lead with another three-pointer to make it 33-25.
 
The Gaels though would stay close with more trips to the foul line as they were 12 of 16 from the stripe during the first 20 minutes. The Pilots were just 4-for-4, but six three-pointers allowed them to take a 36-32 advantage into the locker room at the break.
 
The Pilots were solid on defense in the third quarter, forcing the Gaels into 10 misses out of 11 attempts during one stretch, but similar to the first half Saint Mary's was able to stay close with repeated trips to the free throw line. A Spencer three pushed the lead to seven points with 4:43 remaining in the third, but the Gaels cut the deficit to 49-48 heading to the final quarter.
 
Slaga and Gray provided the first points of the fourth to make it 53-48 a minute in, but that's when the Gaels scored 10 unanswered to set up the thrilling finish.
 
The Pilots are on the road next week when they travel to Southern California for a pair of WCC games at Pepperdine at LMU. First it's a trip to Malibu to face the Waves at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Firestone Fieldhouse. Tip-off with the Lions is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles.