BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Portland Pilots had their Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) run stopped in the Super 16 with a 72-54 loss to the Montana State Bobcats before a hostile home crowd of 3,897 at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Thursday night.
Portland freshman Brynn Smith scored a season high 14 points, while junior Lainey Spear added 10 points and five rebounds. Florence Dallow grabbed a team-best 12 rebounds.
The Pilots (20-15) concluded an injury-riddled season with just nine available players, yet still managed to win 20 games for the fifth consecutive season and earned a postseason bid under head coach Michael Meek in each of his seven seasons at the helm.
The shorthanded squad battled on Thursday and cut a 21-point second half deficit to nine on two occasions but could not pull off the comeback. The Pilots were outrebounded by a 51-30 margin and the Bobcats (27-7) gained a 42-26 margin in paint points.
Addison Harris scored a game-high 23 points for the Bobcats, while Taylee Chirrick added a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Montana State will advance to face South Dakota in the WNIT’s Great 8.
How it Happened
Portland got off to a slow start as the Bobcats forced numerous early turnovers and raced out to an 8-0 lead. Rhyan Mogel hit a three-pointer to stop the run, but Montana State closed the period with a 19-7 lead after forcing eight turnovers and holding the Pilots to 3-of-14 shooting.
The Pilots settled in and cut down the turnovers in the second quarter and knocked down some shots. The Bobcats pushed the margin to 20 before Portland held Montana State scoreless for the final 3:47 of the period. Smith buried two three-pointers to close the half and cut the deficit to 35-21 at the break. The Pilots had 10 turnovers, shot 26 percent and were outrebounded 29-17 in the half, but managed to stay within reach.
Montana State pushed their lead back to 51-30 with 3:56 to go in the third quarter before the Pilots closed the period on a 12-0 run. Smith hit a three and had a fastbreak layup to start the run and then Dyani Ananiev converted a layup and three-pointer just before the buzzer to close the gap to 51-42 entering the fourth.
Mogel’s layup early in the fourth quarter made it 53-44, but that would be as close as the Pilots would get down the stretch.
Game Notes
» Portland knocked down 8-of-29 three-pointers in the game, led by a season high 4-of-7 of Brynn Smith.
» The Pilots shared the ball well, recording 16 assists on 22 made baskets.
» The Portland bench came alive by adding 18 points to its scoring output.
» The Portland defense forced 13 turnovers.
» The Pilots had eight first quarter turnovers, but finished with 16 for the game.
» Portland got a team-high 12 rebounds from Florence Dallow.
» Portland has just two seniors on the roster with Natalie Fraley and Nicole Rodriguez concluding their collegiate careers.
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