Jan. 18, 2003

Box Score

(Portland, OR) - Junior forward Carey Sauer poured in a career-high 32 points but it was not enough as a balanced Portland attack prevailed 75-59 in West Coast Conference women's basketball action Saturday in the Chiles Center. The Lady Dons (6-11, 1-2 WCC) drop their second straight league contest and first in the Rose City since the 1999 campaign, while the Pilots (8-9, 2-2 WCC) earn their second straight WCC victory.

Sauer was the only thing preventing USF from being blown out completely in the first half, scoring 18 of USF's 26 first-half points. San Francisco made a furious rally in the second half after falling into a 44-26 hole at the intermission. The Lady Dons opened the second half on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to nine, 44-35 with a lay-up by Sauer at the 17:38 mark. Portland managed to maintain a 8-11 point cushion until a 8-0 run, capped by a jumper by Sauer made the score 52-51 with 6:58 remaining.

Portland immediately bounced back by virtue of a 3-point play and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions gave the Pilots a 58-51 lead with 6:02 remaining. The Lady Dons cut it to three, 58-55 on a lay-up by freshman guard Joy Hollingsworth with 4:28 remaining, but San Francisco would get no closer as the Pilots built a 10 point lead with 2:39 left.

Sophomore center Leeane Jensen scored a season-high 11 points, converting on 4-of-4 from the floor; 3-for-3 from the free throw line to go along with a career-high four blocked shots. Sophomore guard Toni Russell scored 10 points to go along with a season-high seven steals, while Hollingsworth pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds to go along with a career-high eight steals.

Both teams shot the ball well, with USF holding a .467 (21-45) edge from the floor to Portland's .442 (23-52), but the Pilots were hot from long distance, converting on .391 (9-23) to the Lady Dons' .273 (3-11). San Francisco lost the battle of the boards 29-27 and turned the ball over 20 times, while Portland committed 15 miscues.

Junior center Khalila O'Rielly-Williams was a monster for the Pilots, scoring 19 points to go along with 14 rebounds. Freshman guard Michaela Dalgleish scored a team-high 21 points and made four 3-pointers.

USF's loss concludes a program record eight-game road trip. The Lady Dons went 4-4 with victories at Wisconsin, Long Beach State, UC Irvine and Saint Mary's. San Francisco hosts San Diego Friday Jan. 24 at War Memorial Gym. Game time is 7:00 PM.