@ Seattle, Sunday 1/3/10, 2:00pm

Pilots Score Dramatic Overtime Win at Seattle

SEATTLE, Wash. --- Portland overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half and junior Lauren Angel scored six points in overtime, including the go-ahead lay-up with 47 seconds left to play, as the Pilots handed the Seattle Redhawks a 74-69 defeat at the Connolly Center on Sunday afternoon. It’s the first overtime game of the season for the Pilots, who pick up their 11th win in their last 13 games.

The Pilots finish the non-conference portion of their schedule with an 11-4 record, the program’s best mark after 15 games since the 1996-97 season. That year the Pilots won 28 of their first 29 games.

After trailing 56-41 with 12:05 remaining in regulation on Sunday, the Pilots ended the game on a massive 21-6 run to tie the score at 62-62, forcing overtime.

During the extra period, UP hit all six of its of free throws and shot three of five from the field to secure the win. Portland sophomore Natalie Day hit two free throws to open the scoring and give Portland a two-point lead with four minutes remaining. The Redhawks then countered with a jumper and two free throws of their own to reclaim the lead at 66-64.

That’s when Angel hit a mid-range jumper before assisting on a lay-up by sophomore Alexis Gannis that made it a 68-66 UP advantage. But SU answered once again, this time with a three-pointer by Elle Kerfoot that gave the Redhawks a 69-68 lead with less than two minutes left.

From there, Seattle would go ice cold from the field, missing the rest of their shots. Meanwhile, Angel calmly gave the lead (70-69) back to Portland with a lay-up with 47 seconds showing on the clock. Sophomore ReZina TecleMariam and Angel then both followed SU misses with free throws to put the game on ice.

Angel led five players in double figures with a team-high 16 points. She hit seven of 12 from the field and added four rebounds.

TecleMariam continued her solid sophomore season with 13 points, a game-high nine rebounds and seven assists, while committing just one turnover in 43 minutes of action.

Gannis, who missed a couple of games recently with an injury, was huge for Portland off of the bench, scoring 15 points on six of 10 shooting. She also had six boards. Day was active on the glass, coming in with seven rebounds to go along with 10 points, while senior Laiken Dollente (11 points) reached double figures in scoring for the 14th time this season.

With her 11 points, Dollente moves up to No. 3 all-time in career scoring at the University of Portland. Now with 1,612 career points, Dollente surpassed Khalila O’Rielly-Williams (1,602) on the list and she sits behind Martha Sheldon (1,953) and UP’s all-time overall leading scorer Lorena Legarde (2,568). Sheldon (1988-92) is Portland’s all-time leading scorer at the NCAA Division I level as Legarde’s (1981-85) career took place when UP was still competing as an NAIA school.

Ashley Brown scored a game-high 24 points for Seattle (3-15). She hit six three-pointers and was 8-for-16 from the field overall. Kerfoot added 19 points and Cassidy Murillo had 11.

SU led 32-31 at the half before pushing the lead to 15 points 8:00 into the second stanza. That’s when Portland embarked on its game-ending run, during which six Pilots scored. The big basket came with UP trailing 60-57 with barely two minutes remaining. TecleMariam took a pass from Dollente, stepped back and drilled a game-tying three pointer.

With the score still tied moments later, Gannis gave Portland its first lead since early in the second half when she converted a lay-up to make it a 62-60 lead with 1:20 left. Tatiana Heck had the response for Seattle and tied the game with a lay-up of her own with 51 ticks remaining.

The Pilots then forced a Seattle miss in the closing seconds before going to OT.

Portland shot 44.3 percent (27-for-61) from the floor and capitalized on 25 SU turnovers with 33 points. The Redhawks, who shot 43.6 percent (24-for-55), were able to score just 12 points on 15 UP miscues.

The Pilots had a huge advantage in points off the bench (18-0), hit seven three-pointers and went 13-for-14 at the line. Seattle held a slight 35-32 edge in rebounds, made a season-high 15 three-pointers and were 6-for-10 at the charity stripe.

Next up for the Pilots is a first-place showdown with Northwest rival Gonzaga on Saturday afternoon in Spokane, Wash. The Pilots and Bulldogs, who are tied on top of the West Coast Conference standings, are set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. at the McCarthey Center.

UP Recap wrote:Next up for the Pilots is a first-place showdown with Northwest rival Gonzaga on Saturday afternoon in Spokane, Wash. The Pilots and Bulldogs, who are tied on top of the West Coast Conference standings, are set to tip-off at 2:00 p.m. at the McCarthey Center.