SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Portland Pilots trailed by as much as 13 in the second half but made a furious comeback in the third quarter to earn a 73-66 road win over the Santa Clara Broncos. Portland reaches double digit wins at 10-8 overall and 4-2 in WCC play.
 
Dyani Ananiev broke her career high with 22 points on the day as well as five rebounds and two steals. She's the first Pilot to break 20 points in a game this year.  Rhyan Mogel and Florence Dallow were the other two double-digit scorers for the Pilots at 15 and 17 points respectively. Dallow's 17 points are also a career high. Portland hit five of their six 3-pointers in the second half and had 17 assists total on the day.
 
Defensively, Julia Dalan matched her career high, swatting away eight shots for Portland. She's now got 65 blocks on the year and is just two shy of matching the freshman record for blocks in a season and three shy of breaking it. Dalan added eight rebounds as well. The Pilots had nine steals as well and 10 team blocks, their block total being the highest for Portland in a Division I game this year.
 
How it Happened
 
It was a low-scoring first quarter, with neither team shooting well. The Pilots, however, held the Broncos to just 12.5% from the field on 24 shots, keeping the lead despite turning it over nine times themselves. Portland ended the period on a 6-0 run to take a 10-8 lead into the second quarter.
 
The second quarter saw the Broncos take more control. They shot 63.6% from the field and poured in 19 points. Portland, meanwhile, struggled still offensively, with the turnover total reaching 13 through two quarters. After a Lainey Spear layup put Portland up two points, the Pilots conceded a 6-0 Bronco run to give Santa Clara a 27-23 lead at the half.
 
The Pilots regained control in the third period after trailing by as much as 13 points. An 11-2 run gave the Broncos their big lead, but Portland responded with force. Ananiev's and-one kickstarted a 16-2 run that saw the Pilots retake the lead by one. The Pilots traded runs with the Broncos the rest of the quarter, scoring 26 points overall to knot things up at 49 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
The final quarter was neck and neck, with Portland leading most of the fourth quarter but the Broncos never going away. Santa Clara brought it within one point late, but four clutch free throws from Florence Dallow and a late fastbreak bucket from Tiffany Barbosa kept the Pilots ahead and secured them the 73-66 victory.
 
Game Notes

• Ananiev surpassed her career high with 22 points. It's the highest total scored by any Pilot this season.
• Mogels's 15 points are the most she's scored since she matched her career high with 17 against Montana State.
• Florence Dallow scored a career high 17 points in the contest as well.
• The Pilots were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying 10 blocks as a team. It's their highest block total against a Division I team this year.
• Dalan's matched her career high with eight blocks. She's the only player in the nation with multiple games of eight blocks or more.
• Since the 2009-10 season, Dalan is one of just 11 freshmen to have put together at least two games with eight blocks or more. Only seven players in the WCC have had multiple games of eight blocks or more in a season since that same year.
• Dalan is now just one block away from tying the Pilot freshman record for blocks in a game and three away from breaking it.
• Portland tallied 17 total assists in the game.
• The Portland defense forced 17 turnovers and added nine steals.

Up Next
 
The Pilots return to the Chiles Center to host the Seattle U Redhawks. The two teams play on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with an audio stream available on the Portland Sports Network. Check PortlandPilots.com for tickets, live stats, video and audio options.

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