SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- Portland's Darian Slaga scored 17 points, Haylee Andrews collected 16, and the Pilots jumped out to an early lead at San Diego before prevailing 69-60 over the Toreros in a West Coast Conference women's basketball game played on Thursday afternoon at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Julie Spencer added 12 points for the Pilots as she closes in on 1,000 points for her career.
 
The Pilots (9-8, 1-5 WCC) opened a sizable lead in the first quarter, with the help of a pair of three-pointers from Slaga. Jayce Gorzeman added a lay-up, which gave Portland a 16-4 edge three minutes into the game. Slaga continued to knock down shots, finishing with 15 points in the frame as the Pilots led 27-14 going to the second.
 
The lead would grow as Kate Andersen connected for a three-pointer, but the Toreros responded with a quick 8-0 run to cut the deficit down to just seven points. Slaga ended the run with a jumper in the lane after a timeout, and Andrews followed with a lay-in to push Portland's edge back to double digits. The Pilots then scored nine straight points to end the half and claim a 47-31 advantage at the break, which matched their largest lead to that point.
 
The Pilots maintained their edge in the third as the Toreros struggled offensively. About halfway through the period, Andrews converted another lay-in that made it a 17-point game. The lead was still 17 moments later after Andrews made two free throws, and the margin was 11 going to the fourth.
 
The Toreros remained cold from the field in the final quarter as Portland's lead remained in double figures. San Diego did manage to connect on some shots late in the game and at one point pulled within six, but the Pilots, who rank 14th nationally in free throw percentage, went 6-for-6 at the line down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Portland finished the game 17 of 19 on foul shots, and the Pilots were solid defensively, forcing San Diego (8-10, 1-6 WCC) into making 26 turnovers.
 
Slaga battled through foul trouble to score in double digits for the 15th time this season. Andrews, a freshman, entered the game third on the Pilots in scoring with a 11.3 per game average, and Spencer now has 975 career points. She's looking to become the 26th Pilot in program history to hit the 1,000-point milestone and the second this season, joining Slaga who accomplished the feat in December.
 
Madison Pollock led USD with a game-high 22 points, and Patricia Brossmann registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Pilots next travel to Provo, Utah, to face the BYU Cougars on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. (Pacific) at the Marriott Center.