By Sal Aversa |
With 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, junior Holly Blades nailed a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc to cut Pacific's once 19 point lead to five. But it was too little too late. Portland suffered a 72-64 loss and are still winless in conference.
The Pilots, currently on a 14-game losing streak, are 2-17 overall. The Tigers improve to 3-5 in the WCC and are 10-9 overall.
Freshman Ellie Woerner, Portland's current leading scorer, led all scorers with 15 points. Sophomore Ashley Gray chipped in 13 points, and Holly Blades added 12 off the bench.
Chelsea Lidy led the Tigers with 12 points.
Woerner scored 14 of her 15 points in the second half, her first field goal coming in the fourth quarter.
After finding themselves down 19 late, the Pilots, led by Woerner, went on a 10-0 run to close the gap.
“I think the feel of the game in general helped me. Our team was knocking down shots when we needed to, which helped us make that run at the end of the game,” Woerner said.
Pacific's nearly eight minute scoring drought ended off of a lay-up from Ameela Li.
Portland was down only five with 45 seconds remaining but Pacific knocked in free throws to seal the win. The Tigers shot 18-of-22 from the free throw line.
Despite the loss, Sorenson said she was impressed with how her team played tonight.
“I was really proud of their effort in the fourth quarter," Sorenson said. "We keep focusing on our in-game goals that we set for ourselves, and we try and stay motivated to meet those goals. If we meet those in-game goals, we have a better chance of winning.”
The Pilots will face St. Mary's in the Chiles Center on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tipoff.
Sal Aversa is a sports writer for The Beacon. He can be reached at aversa17@up.edu or on Twitter @Sal_Aversa.
