Written Story by Knight Jarecki

PORTLAND, Ore. — The 18th ranked Oregon Women's Basketball team defeated to the Portland Pilots in a gritty 62-59 thriller Saturday Night at the Chiles Center.

The first quarter was a sloppy one for both teams. Through the first 5 minutes of play, both teams combined for 5 total turnovers due to both teams implementing a successful full court press. The stingy defense paid off for both sides as the Ducks held Portland to just 4-12 shooting and the Pilots minimized the Ducks offense to just 6-16 shooting including a mere 1-7 from the beyond the arc. Despite the tough defense, Oregon led 14-10 behind 5 points from Sydney Parrish and 4 points from Sedona Prince.

The tight defense continued into the second quarter as both teams remained locked in on the defensive side of the ball. Oregon began the quarter just 2-8 shooting and Portland had a four minuet stretch without a basket. Oregon led by just one point 19-18 midway through. After a media timeout, Oregon started to get things rolling offensively as the Ducks made 4 straight baskets on 4 straight possesions including two made shots from Parrish. Parrish then capped off a 13-point quarter with her fourth 3-pointer of the half as the shot clock expired with 14 seconds left in the frame giving her a game high 18 points at the break on 7-8 shooting. Oregon held the advantage over Portland 31-25 at the half and held the Pilots to 27.8% shooting during the second quarter. Lucy Cochrane led Portland with 7 points on 2-4 shooting and was 3-4 at the charity stripe.

Sedona Prince came out of the break hot as the 6'7 forward started the half 4-4 shooting on the teams first 5 shots pushing Oregon's lead to 39-29 just 2 and a half minutes into the second half. After Oregon made another basket, Portland went on a 6-0 off of back to back Oregon turnovers to make the score 41-35 halfway through the period. Both teams went extremely cold towards the end of the half with Oregon not making a field goal in the last 3 minutes of play and Portland not making any shots in the finals three and a half minutes. The Ducks and Pilots were able to scratch across some points at the free-throw line with Oregon leading 48-41 after 3 quarters. Portland shot 47% during the 3rd quarter and started with an impressive 7-11 shooting before the cold streak. Sedona Prince had 12 points in the frame on 4-6 shooting from the field and 4-4 shooting at the line.

The 4th quarter was a battle. Portland was able to outscore the Ducks 11-8 just under halfway through the quarter to make it a 4 point game with under 5 minutes to play due to a few Oregon turnovers. Portland then went on a cold streak with no field goals over 5 minutes of play. The Pilots were able to stay relatively close due to free throw shooting and a made basket with 20 seconds left to keep it a 4 point game at 61-57. Sedona Prince added another point for the Ducks with a free-throw late but a layup by Haylee Andrews made it a three point game at 62-59 with 7.7 seconds remaining. Portland forced an Oregon turnover off the inbound and threw up a 3-point prayer at the buzzer but fell just short as the Ducks hung on for the 62-59 victory.

Sydney Parrish finished with a career high 26 points and had 5 assists. Sedona Prince also tied her career high in points with 22 points and added 8 rebounds in the effort.

Alex Fowler led the way for the Pilots with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Haylee Andrews added 10 points and 6 rebounds in the losing effort.

The Ducks now lead the series against Portland 31-5. Oregon has won 6 straight against the Pilots and have won 9 out of their last 10.

The Ducks will be back in action next Saturday when they host Long Beach State at 2 p.m.

Statistical leaders:

Oregon: Portland:

Points: Sydney Parrish (26) Alex Fowler (16)

Rebounds: Sedona Prince (8) Alex Fowler (9)

Assists: Maddie Scherr (6) Haylee Andrews (6)

Final Statistics:

Audio Story by Austin Ota:

Postgame Interview: Coach Kelly Graves