PORTLAND, Ore. - The Seattle University women's basketball team withstood a late run by the University of Portland to grab their first road win of the season, 61-58, on Wednesday evening in Portland, Ore.
"It feels really good this year to get our first road win," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "I'm really proud because we became a better team today."
The Pilots grabbed the tipoff to open the game and went up 4-0 within two minutes on two jumpers by Lauren Angel. It was nearly a minute before Julee Christianson (Missoula, Mont.), in her first start of the season, connected on a layup on an assist Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.), followed quickly by a Brown jumper to tie the score up at the 16:47 mark.
Baskets were hard to come by and the score stayed tight as the teams battled it out the rest of the half. Salena Dickerson (Federal Way, Wash.) had a steal and a layup to put SU up 12-10 at 12:19, but Portland's Cassandra Brown tied it up again with two free throws, and then Natalie Day hit a three to put the Pilots up 15-12 with 11:12 to go in the half. Brown hit a three a little over a minute later to put the score at 15 all.
Portland then established a four point lead, but Dickerson came out after a Seattle U timeout to score a three-pointer to take the lead over the Pilots 20-19 at the 6:54 mark. The Redhawks did not give up the lead the rest of the half and finished with a strong 7-0 run, paced by another steal and layup by Brown and a three-pointer by Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.). The Redhawks went into the locker room with a 32-25 advantage.
The second half began scoreless for the first 1:15. Portland would use a Seattle U scoring slump to take a 9-0 run in the first five minutes for a 34-32 lead. Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) would come in off the bench to hit two free throws for the Redhawks and tie the score at 34-34 to get Seattle U moving. Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) hit a three for the lead and the Redhawks would take a 9-0 run themselves for a 41-34 lead before the Pilots called timeout.
Coming back onto the court, Tara Cronin hit a layup and Portland would begin to slowly inch up on the Redhawks. The Pilots came within two after Angel hit a layup, but she was answered by a Kerfoot three-pointer and layup to establish a 49-42 Redhawk lead. After a short-lived run that ended with a layup by Brown and took the Redhawks up 57-48 with 4:30 to go in the game, the Pilots began a furious effort to put themselves back in it.
A jumper by Angel at 4:08 jump-started the Pilots on a 9-2 run. A free throw by Alexis Gannis gave the Pilots a 59-57 lead with 54 seconds to go. After Natalie Day was fouled at with 17 seconds left in regulation, she made her first free throw to bring the score within one point. Her next free throw bounced off the rim and Dickerson claimed a key rebound for the Redhawks and took a foul. She would go on to make her two free throws to clinch the win. A last-ditch three-point attempt by Day fell short and the game ended in Seattle U's favor 61-58.
"We knew we could score more points and do a better job. We're still working but we are learning a lot about ourselves. We are just becoming a better team," said Bonvicini.
Seattle U shot 45.5 percent (10-for-22) from the field in the second half to hold off the Pilot run. Leading the Redhawks, scoring in double-figures for the third consecutive contest was Dickerson, putting up 16 points and claiming six rebounds. Brown scored a career-high 14 points for SU and grabbed five steals. Kerfoot was solid in her offense with eight points and eight steals. Tatiana Heck (Lynnwood, Wash.) grabbed nine boards for the Redhawks.
Portland was led by Angel's 14 points and two blocks, Nakeisha Brown's 13 points on 100 percent (4-for-4) shooting from the free throw line, and Day's 12 points and five steals.
Seattle U improved to 2-5 on the season, while Portland fell to 5-3. The Redhawks will return home this weekend to host Boise State on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. in the Connolly Center.
"It feels really good this year to get our first road win," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "I'm really proud because we became a better team today."
The Pilots grabbed the tipoff to open the game and went up 4-0 within two minutes on two jumpers by Lauren Angel. It was nearly a minute before Julee Christianson (Missoula, Mont.), in her first start of the season, connected on a layup on an assist Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.), followed quickly by a Brown jumper to tie the score up at the 16:47 mark.
Baskets were hard to come by and the score stayed tight as the teams battled it out the rest of the half. Salena Dickerson (Federal Way, Wash.) had a steal and a layup to put SU up 12-10 at 12:19, but Portland's Cassandra Brown tied it up again with two free throws, and then Natalie Day hit a three to put the Pilots up 15-12 with 11:12 to go in the half. Brown hit a three a little over a minute later to put the score at 15 all.
Portland then established a four point lead, but Dickerson came out after a Seattle U timeout to score a three-pointer to take the lead over the Pilots 20-19 at the 6:54 mark. The Redhawks did not give up the lead the rest of the half and finished with a strong 7-0 run, paced by another steal and layup by Brown and a three-pointer by Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.). The Redhawks went into the locker room with a 32-25 advantage.
The second half began scoreless for the first 1:15. Portland would use a Seattle U scoring slump to take a 9-0 run in the first five minutes for a 34-32 lead. Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) would come in off the bench to hit two free throws for the Redhawks and tie the score at 34-34 to get Seattle U moving. Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) hit a three for the lead and the Redhawks would take a 9-0 run themselves for a 41-34 lead before the Pilots called timeout.
Coming back onto the court, Tara Cronin hit a layup and Portland would begin to slowly inch up on the Redhawks. The Pilots came within two after Angel hit a layup, but she was answered by a Kerfoot three-pointer and layup to establish a 49-42 Redhawk lead. After a short-lived run that ended with a layup by Brown and took the Redhawks up 57-48 with 4:30 to go in the game, the Pilots began a furious effort to put themselves back in it.
A jumper by Angel at 4:08 jump-started the Pilots on a 9-2 run. A free throw by Alexis Gannis gave the Pilots a 59-57 lead with 54 seconds to go. After Natalie Day was fouled at with 17 seconds left in regulation, she made her first free throw to bring the score within one point. Her next free throw bounced off the rim and Dickerson claimed a key rebound for the Redhawks and took a foul. She would go on to make her two free throws to clinch the win. A last-ditch three-point attempt by Day fell short and the game ended in Seattle U's favor 61-58.
"We knew we could score more points and do a better job. We're still working but we are learning a lot about ourselves. We are just becoming a better team," said Bonvicini.
Seattle U shot 45.5 percent (10-for-22) from the field in the second half to hold off the Pilot run. Leading the Redhawks, scoring in double-figures for the third consecutive contest was Dickerson, putting up 16 points and claiming six rebounds. Brown scored a career-high 14 points for SU and grabbed five steals. Kerfoot was solid in her offense with eight points and eight steals. Tatiana Heck (Lynnwood, Wash.) grabbed nine boards for the Redhawks.
Portland was led by Angel's 14 points and two blocks, Nakeisha Brown's 13 points on 100 percent (4-for-4) shooting from the free throw line, and Day's 12 points and five steals.
Seattle U improved to 2-5 on the season, while Portland fell to 5-3. The Redhawks will return home this weekend to host Boise State on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. in the Connolly Center.