Box Score I Video Highlights
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Loyola Marymount Lions overcame a six-point half-time deficit to defeat the Portland Pilots 71-58 on senior day at the Chiles Center on Saturday afternoon. UP honored its lone senior, guard Laiken Dollente, with a pre-game ceremony.
Dollente, a four-year starter for the Pilots, is currently the No. 3 scorer in UP program history with 1,802 career points. She is also the all-time leader in free throw (.881) and three-point (.409) accuracy, she ranks second in both free throws (548) and three-pointers made (208), is fifth in career points per game (15.3 ppg), seventh in assists (389) and ninth in field goals (523).
But not even Dollente could stop a determined LMU squad on Saturday as the Lions kept the Pilots off-balance all day long with a zone defense. The zone drew 29 three-pointers from Portland, which made only seven. At the other end, the Lions hit 11 three-pointers en route to the West Coast Conference win.
LMU and Portland are now tied in the WCC standings with identical 5-7 league records with two regular season games left to play. LMU is 12-14 overall, while the Pilots are 16-11.
All looked well for the Pilots in the first half as the home team built an 11-point lead 10 minutes into the game. Sophomore ReZina TecleMariam gave Portland its first double-digit lead of the game when her lay-up made it 18-7. UP would still lead by 11 a few moments later, before LMU cut into the deficit during the half’s final few minutes.
Both Dollente and junior Jessica Clemens were active during the first half, coming in with eight points each at the break as Portland led 33-27.
The Pilots still led by seven (41-34) four minutes into the second half when momentum dramatically shifted in the visitor’s favor. LMU would embark on a lengthy 32-11 run, which included a stretch of 11 straight LMU points, covering 12 minutes and ending with the Lions leading 66-52 with 3:15 left to play. The Pilots got no closer than 10 the rest of the way.
TecleMariam matched a career high with 18 points to lead Portland. She also handed out six assists and corralled five rebounds. The Pilots were solid off the bench with both Clemens (10) and sophomore Natalie Day (10) scoring in double figures. Dollente finished with eight points and five assists in her final career regular season appearance at the Chiles Center.
Sophomore Alexis Gannis grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, marking the 10th time this season to finish in double figures in rebounding. She also helped the Pilots to a 39-33 edge in boards.
Alex Cowling was huge for LMU, doing it inside and out on her way to a game-high 25 points. She also finished with 10 boards for the double-double. Renahy Young hit five tree-pointers and registered 17 points.
The Pilots shot just 32.3 percent in the second half and finished at 37.1 percent (23-for-62) for the game. They went 5-for-6 at the line. LMU was 25-for-55 (45.5) from the floor, hit 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from downtown and was 10-for-14 from the charity stripe.
The Lions had 16 turnovers, while UP finished with 18.
The Pilots next finish the regular season at San Francisco and at Santa Clara next week. On Thursday, the Dons and Pilots are set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. in San Francisco, Calif., while Saturday’s tilt with the Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Portland then heads to Las Vegas, Nev., for the WCC Tournament at the Orleans Arena March 5-8.
