USF could not find an answer for a hot-shooting Portland team that finished the game shooting .571 from the floor and fell 79-68 in West Coast Conference women’s basketball Friday in War Memorial Gym. The Lady Dons (11-11, 4-5 WCC), who never led in the second half, watched the Pilots (12-10, 3-6 WCC) win for just the fourth time on USF’s home floor.

USF’s last lead in the contest came at the 16:02 mark when the Lady Dons held an 8-6 advantage. The Pilots then went on a run, building a 16-point advantage, 35-19 with 5:39 remaining in the first half. The Lady Dons would close to within three, 37-34 with 56 seconds left, but Sara Werner scored for the Pilots with four seconds to give Portland a 39-34 lead at recess.

Freshman forward Khalila O’Rielly-Williams poured in a game-high 25 points for Portland, while sophomore guard Ashlee Giles added 16 points for the Pilots. Portland, who entered the game as the worst free throw shooting team in the league at .623, converted on .750 tonight (18-24), while the Lady Dons, the league standard at the charity stripe shot a poor .643 (9-14) from the line.

Leading the way for the Lady Dons offensively were senior center Kim Whisler, who scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season, while sophomore guard Alicia Hernandez scored 15 points off then bench. Sophomore guard Lisa Whiteside scored a career-high 14 points off the Lady Dons’ bench.

Never to be confused with a thing of beauty, the two teams combined for 50 turnovers and 40 personal fouls.

USF attempts to snap a two-game WCC losing streak when they host Gonzaga Saturday at War Memorial Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM.