SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- Haylee Andrews finished with 15 points and eight assists, Alex Fowler provided the go-ahead bucket late in the game, and the Pilots sealed the win with a defensive stop as Portland overcame the San Francisco Dons 56-54 in a West Coast Conference women's basketball contest played on Thursday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
The game was close throughout as neither team was able to get much going offensively, and it was the Pilots who took a slight edge to the final quarter after Liana Kaitu'u ended the third period with a buzzer-beating lay-up. The lead was short-lived as the Dons recovered to go back in front, bur the Pilots refused to go away as Keeley Frawley drilled a three-pointer to keep the game close.
 
Moments later, Fowler gave the advantage back to Portland with a pair of free throws, but the Dons answered with consecutive lay-ups to jump ahead 52-49 with 5:15 remaining. Both teams would experience a scoring drought from there, and it was until nearly four minutes later when Andrews ended the dry spell with two more from the line, which pulled Portland within one.
 
The Dons continued to struggle offensively, and when Fowler finished with a clutch lay-in on a nice pass from Emme Shearer with 1:09 showing on the clock, the Pilots were back in front. Shearer followed that possession with a big-time steal, and Andrews made it a three-point game with two more from the line.
 
USF then converted some foul shots of their own to cut the deficit to one, and they'd force a shot clock violation on the other end to get the ball back with seven seconds left.
 
On the final possession, the Pilots came through with a defensive stop as Jessica McDowell-White was called for the travel, and Rose Pflug sealed the win for Portland with another free throw at the other end.
 
The Pilots improve to 4-1 in the WCC, which is their best start to conference play since 1996-97. Portland is also 7-4 overall, while the Dons drop to 5-7 and to 1-5 in the WCC.
 
Frawley contributed seven points during the win, and Maddie Muhlheim and Shearer both added six points as the Pilots featured a balanced scoring attack
 
In the third quarter, Muhlheim connected on a three-pointer to give her 200 three's during her career. The senior guard becomes just the third Pilot in the history of the program to make 200 or more three's. She ranks third all-time in that category, trailing only Deana Lansing (223) and Laiken Dollente (214).
 
Both teams opened the game ice cold from the field, and Shearer tried to spark the Portland offense when she drained a three to begin the second quarter to give the Pilots a six-point edge. From there, the Dons embarked on a 9-0 run to surge in front.
 
Andrews momentarily halted the run with a nice move down low, and Frawley helped keep the Pilots close when she buried a three from the left corner. Minutes later Kaitu'u converted in the paint, but San Francisco took a 29-25 lead in to the break.
 
Muhlheim's record-breaking three came early in the third period, and she followed that with a three-point play to put the Pilots on top 33-30. The rest of the quarter was back-and-forth from there, setting up the dramatic fourth.
 
USF's Ioanna Krimili led the Dons with 13 points, and Lucija Kostic corralled 10 rebounds.
 
Fowler, Frawley, and Kaitu'u each collected a team-best six rebounds as both teams claimed 34 boards for the game. The Pilots shot just 32.7 percent from the floor, while USF finished at 41.7 percent. Portland did make seven from beyond the three-point arc, compared to just two for the Dons.
 
The Pilots next travel to Santa Cruz, Calif., where the Santa Clara Broncos will host them for a WCC contest on Saturday. Tip-off at the Kaiser Permanente Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m.