PORTLAND, Ore. --- In a battle for second place in the West Coast Conference at the Chiles Center, Portland led BYU by one at the half, but the Cougars out-scored the Pilots after the break to claim a claim a hard-fought 66-54 win in front of an electric crowd on Thursday night. Alex Fowler led the Pilots with 17 points and eight rebounds.
 
The first half was tightly contested with neither team able to create much of an edge. Kate Andersen hit a pair of three-pointers in the opening quarter and Lauren Walker connected on an elbow jumper, but it was BYU who led 14-10.
 
The Pilots scored the first four points in the second quarter, and Fowler converted a three-point play to level the score 14-14. The Cougars then tried to pull away, but Fowler helped keep it close with a mid-range jumper. Moments later Maddie Muhlheim drained a three, and Andersen followed with her third three-pointer to keep the Pilots within three.

Portland continued its surge after that, and Haylee Andrews got a tough lay-in to fall to give the Pilots a 27-26 lead. BYU answered with four straight points to jump back in front, but the Pilots responded with a Fowler jumper, and two free throws by Andersen that gave Portland the slight 31-30 advantage at the half.
 
The Cougars began the third on a 9-0 run with the help of two lay-ins by Paisley Johnson and a three-pointer from Maria Albiero. Fowler momentarily stopped the run with a jumper, but the Cougars soon led by 13.
 
The Pilots refused to go away as Fowler buried one from behind the arc. Andrews also drained a three, and she added a lay-up before the end of the period to make the score 51-43 in BYU's favor going to the final frame.
 
Fowler hit the first shot of the fourth to cut the deficit to just six points. Both teams then cooled off offensively, and with six minutes left BYU's Sara Hamson provided a lay-up to end the scoring drought. The Cougars then extended their lead back to double digits and it would reach 14 points before the Pilots made a late push.
 
Andrews knocked down another mid-range jumper, and when she made a steal at half court before going coast-to-coast with a lay-up, the margin was down to eight points with 1:23 remaining. But that's as close as the Pilots would get as BYU made their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Andersen finished with 14 points, while Andrews chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds.
 
Hamson just missed a triple double, registering 14 points, 10 boards, and nine blocked shots. She entered the game second in the nation in blocks.
 
The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Pilots, who drop to 13-8 overall and to 6-4 in the WCC. BYU wins their sixth in a row, and they're now 13-7 and 8-2 in the conference.
 
On Saturday the San Diego Toreros visit the Chiles Center for another key WCC contest. Tip-off for the Pilots and Toreros is set for 2 p.m., and the two teams enter the game tied for third place in the conference.