"Our players played their hearts out," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "We are so much better than our record. Ashley (Brown) not only did a great job scoring, but she rebounded, played hard and smart, as did everyone. The key is now, just learning how to win."
"We are ready to knock down the door. The losing has been hard, but we are becoming a better team. We are going to become a team that people are not going to want to play and we know that. We are ready to get over that cusp and get this program to continue to go in the right direction."
The opening minutes of the game saw sound all-around basketball from SeattleU, who took off on a 12-4 run. Back-to-back three's from Maggie McCarthy (Burlingame, Calif.) and Cassidy Murillo (Yakima, Wash.) combined with a sluggish start for the Pilots, aided in the early eight point advantage. Following their initial slow start, Portland began to spark their offense after missing 5-of-7 of their opening jumpers.
With 13 minutes left in the first half Lauren Angel knocked in a layup to give Portland a 13-12 lead, which spurred an eventual nine point Pilot advantage over the Redhawks. With 5:33 left in the half and down 29-20, Murillo slammed in a 3-pointer and Brown (Kirkland, Wash.) knocked in a consecutive beyond the arc baskets to tie the game at 29-all with two minutes remaining the first.
After sporting a 6-0 run and preventing UP from scoring in over three minutes of play, the Redhawks 3-point momentum continued with Elle Kerfoot's (Surrey, B.C.) three to send SU into the half with a 32-31 advantage.
The Redhawks went into halftime riding a 9-2 scoring run, which they carried through into the second half of play. With 12:05 remaining in regulation, SeattleU garnered at 15 point lead, their best score advantage of the afternoon. Kerfoot guided the Redhawks to their 56-41 lead with three 3-pointers, and Brown and Murillo added beyond the arc baskets of their own.
The second half looked to be the SU half, where they were going to continue to play their pace and cruise to their fourth victory of the season, but it was the Pilot's who began to play tight and scrappy man-on-man defense. They began to chip away at the SeattleU lead and with four-and-a-half minutes left in the second period, Portland made it a 58-57 game. The once double-digit Redhawk lead had diminished to one point.
Despite letting UP back in the game, SU remained focused. They did not get frustrated and McCarthy responded with a layup to make it a 60-57 game with 3:38 left. ReZina Teclemariam evened the score and Alexis Gannis added a lane basket that gave Portland a 62-60 lead with 1:20 left. With just under a minute remaining in regulation, Tatiana Heck (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) made it a 62-all game and tied the score for the second time in the half. As the clock ticked down, Kerfoot missed her jumper on the Redhawks final possession to send the game into overtime.
The Pilots went into overtime with the momentum on their side, after a strong second half where they came back from a double-digit deficit. Both squads exchanged leads in the first minute of extra time, with SU holding a 69-68 advantage with 1:57 left in overtime. Over a minute later it was Portland who got back on the board with a layup from Angel, who gave them a one point lead. It would be enough and the Pilots added four insurance points to hand SU their 15th loss of the season.
Despite suffering a second straight heartbreaking loss to a WCC opponent, the Redhawks played solidly throughout the lineup. Brown led both teams with 24 points, setting a new career-high. She also added nine boards to lead SU on the day. Kerfoot scored in double-digits for the sixth consecutive game with 19 points, and senior Murillo rounded out the trio of top-scorers with 11 points and a team-leading five assists.
SeattleU looks to rebound on their road trip to the Dakotas this week. On Friday, Jan. 8, the Redhawks will face off with North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. Tip time is slated for 3 p.m. PT. Two days later, SU will take on South Dakota in an 11 a.m. PT contest in Vermillion, S.D.