Pilots go deep to down Lady Griz
12/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The University of Portland went 11-for-25 from 3-point range and pulled away late to post a 66-58 victory over the University of Montana Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center in Portland, Ore. The Lady Griz, who were playing their final game before a short Christmas break, dropped to 4-7 with the loss.
The Pilots won their fifth straight game to improve to 8-3.
Montana led by one at the half, 25-24, and trailed by just two with two and a half minutes to play, but the Lady Griz went scoreless over the final 3:35 to remain winless (0-6) away from home this season.
???It was a pretty good effort against a good basketball team,??? UM coach Robin Selvig said after the game on KENR 107.5 FM. ???We just didn???t make any plays when it came down to, Okay, who???s going to win this thing? Down the stretch we didn???t make any baskets, and they did.???
Portland got four 3-pointers from four different players to jump out to a 20-13 lead in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Montana answered with eight straight points and would go up by three, 25-22, on a jumper by junior Jessa Loman Linford with 1:18 remaining.
Portland???s Natalie Day, who would lead both teams with 17 points, cut the Pilots??? halftime deficit to one with a basket in the final minute.
Montana, which had five players score four points in the opening 20 minutes, shot 39.3 percent in the first half while holding Portland to 33.3 percent.
There were five ties in the tight second half, the final deadlock coming at the 8:22 mark when UP???s Jessica Clemens hit one of two free throws to square things at 49.
Following a Montana turnover, Day hit a 3-pointer, then hit another just over a minute later, and Portland would lead the rest of the way.
Dollente knocked down the Pilots??? seventh 3-pointer of the second half (in 12 attempts) to make it 58-53 with just over five minutes remaining.
Senior Lauren Beck answered with a 3-pointer at the 4:25 mark to make it a two-point game, 58-56, and a pair of free throws by freshman Katie Baker pulled Montana within two, 60-58, at the 3:35 mark, but Montana wouldn???t score again.
The Lady Griz went 0-for-3 from the field and turned the ball over four times in the final three minutes.
The Pilots scored their final six points of the game from the free throw line.
???They really hurt us with threes in the second half, especially Day,??? Selvig said. ???She shot it well, and they were big shots. She needed to make those.
???They were 7-for-12 (from three) in the second half, and we were still in that thing. It was an almost.???
Baker was Montana???s only double-figure scorer with 14 points, though Beck, senior Shaunte Nance-Johnson and junior Sarah Ena all scored nine points and junior Stephanie Stender added eight.
Freshman Alyssa Smith came off the bench to lead the Lady Griz with seven rebounds in just 11 minutes.
Nance-Johnson added six assists and two steals against just two turnovers.
Day, who went 3-for-6 from 3-point range, was one of four Pilots in double figures.
Dollente, who was limited to three points in the first half, went 3-for-7 from 3-point range to finish with 13 points, Lauren Angel had 12 points and seven rebounds and Jessica Clemens added 10 points.
Portland, which finished at 41.4 percent for the game, shot 50.0 percent in the second half and scored 42 points over the final 20 minutes.
The Pilots outscored the Lady Griz by nine from 3-point range, going 11-for-25 to UM???s 2-for-7.
Montana shot 40.0 percent for the game and finished with a 35-33 rebounding advantage.
???It was a pretty well-played game,??? Selvig said. ???We made a lot of good plays and had enough good looks that I felt we could have won. This was a tough road game against a good team, and we had a chance to win, so that???s something positive.???
Montana will come out of the Christmas break with a home game against UC Riverside (2-6) on Tuesday, Dec. 29. The Highlanders still have pre-Christmas games remaining against Kansas (Dec. 20) and Arizona (Dec. 23), then play at Montana State on Sunday, Dec. 27.
Montana???s game against UC Riverside will be its final game before opening Big Sky Conference play against Weber State on Saturday, Jan. 2.
