By David Thompson
The best season in over a decade came to an end for the University of Portland women's basketball team after falling 51-57 to cross-town rival Portland State in a very physical opening round of the Women's NIT tournament last Thursday. The loss capped a season in which the Pilots won 19 times, including wins over every West Coast Conference team.
After falling behind by 12-21 14 minutes into the game, the Portland Pilots responded with tough defense that did not allow the Vikings to score a single point the final six minutes of the half as well as an inside game that accounted for 18 of the Pilots 25 first half points.
Senior Allyson Sievers led the Pilots in the first half scoring 10 of her 16 points and grabbing three rebounds.
The first half was anything but elegant as the Pilots shot only four free-throws despite a physical, low post presence. The referees were letting the players play, a common trend come tournament time.
"You don't want me to comment on that," said Head Coach Jim Sollars when asked about the physical nature of the game.
The inside game existed because of the great perimeter defense PSU applied. The Vikings did not allow the Pilots to make a single 3-point field goal in the first half.
"We tried to pound it inside more in the first half," junior Laiken Dollente said. Dollente led Portland with 17 points, 11 of which came in the second half.
The Pilots failed to score in the first minute and a half after halftime and trailed 25-26. They then rallied off a 14-4 run which led to a 39-30 lead with 15 minutes left in the half. Again the Vikings responded tying the game at 41 with 11 minutes to play.
From that point, neither team could build a lead greater than four and the game was again tied with two minutes left. With the score 51-51, the Pilots failed to convert on two lay-ups and the Vikings then went down the court and scored on a jump shot by senior Kelsey Kahle. Portland again had two more opportunities to score but could not find the bottom of the net. Portland State then converted on free-throws to ice the game.
Kahle was sensational going 11-12 from the field and 8-8 from the charity stripe to score a game high 30 points. She added 10 rebounds and two assists.
"We just couldn't stop her," Sollars said. Sollars, in his 22nd year as head coach at the University of Portland gave credit to Portland State for its tough defense. "They did a nice job especially at the end to force us into tough shots."
The game was an emotional one for the team, especially the five seniors.
"I wouldn't trade this season for anything," Sievers said. "We lost some early games but we learned from every one. I'm so proud of our team."
The season was by far the most successful season that the seniors had seen as Pilots. "We proved a lot of people wrong finishing second," Sievers said.
The Pilots advanced to the WNIT with an automatic bid they received after finishing second in the WCC during the regular season.
Next season the Pilots return eight players including three starters. Sophomores Lauren Angel and Tara Cronin will look to build off their break-out seasons and Dollente will look to finish her career in a Pilot uniform strong.
