MALIBU, Calif. --- Haylee Andrews finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, Alex Fowler registered a double-double, and the Pilots recovered from a first-half deficit to open play in the West Coast Conference with a 74-64 win over the Pepperdine Waves on Monday night at Firestone Fieldhouse. Maddie Muhlheim and Liana Kaitu'u also scored in double digits for Portland with 10 points each.
 
After falling behind by 10 early in the second quarter, the Pilots (4-3, 1-0 WCC) went on a 14-4 run to climb back into the game. Muhlheim buried a three from the top of the key to spark the surge, and she'd follow that with three free throws to pull the Pilots within four. Moments later Fowler drained an elbow jumper to make it a two-point game, and Jayce Gorzeman leveled the score by hitting a pair from the foul line.
 
Pepperdine did recover to re-claim the lead from there, but Portland was within 38-37 at the break with the help of 11 first-half points from Andrews.
 
The Pilots still trailed early in the third quarter, but a nice post move by Kaitu'u and a lay-in from Fowler put the Pilots in front. Fowler would then drill a three-pointer, and Andrews added a lay-up as the Pilots built a six-point lead by the end of the period.
 
That lead quickly grew in the fourth quarter when the Pilots scored the first six points of the frame. Andrews connected from close range, Fowler finished down low, and Keeley Frawley capped a fast break with a lay-up that made it 59-47 in Portland's favor.
 
The Waves answered, and in just two and a half minutes they were back within five points. The two teams exchanged buckets from there, and when Pepperdine's Monique Andriuolo hit a couple of foul shots, the Portland lead was down to just three with 3:27 left.
 
Fowler then came through with a put-back after an offensive rebound, but both teams went through an offensive drought as the score remained 67-62 for almost two minutes. The Pilots did force the Waves into a couple of costly turnovers during that stretch, and Muhlheim pushed Portland's edge to seven points with a couple of free throws. And with about 30 seconds showing on the clock, Andrews sealed the win with a steal and an uncontested lay-up.
 
The 22 points and nine rebounds are both season-highs for Andrews. Fowler did most of her damage in the second half as 15 of her 19 points came after the break. She added 10 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season, and it's the ninth of her career.
 
Kaitu'u also scores a season-high in points, and Muhlheim was a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe.
 
Andriuolo led the Waves (3-2, 0-1 WCC) with a team-best 13 points.
 
The Pilots next make the short trek to LA to play the Loyola Marymount Lions on Wednesday. Tip-off at Gersten Pavilion is scheduled for 4 p.m.