Jan 10- All eight WCC teams were in action Saturday night in conference play. Portland defeated Pepperdine 84-68, while Gonzaga improved to 2-0 in conference with a 70-52 win over LMU. Santa Clara edged San Francisco 49-48, and Saint Mary's handed San Diego a 56-47 defeat.

Portland 84, Pepperdine 68
Portland sophomore point guard Whitney Grant played all 40 minutes and recorded a career-high 22 points and added seven assists, leading the Pilots past Pepperdine, 84-68 on Saturday night at the Chiles Center. With the win, the Pilots snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Waves dating back to the 1997 season. Portland improves to 5-8 overall, 1-0 in the West Coast Conference. Pepperdine falls to 6-9 on the season, 0-2 in the WCC.

Five Pilots reached double-figures as Sollars went to an eight-player rotation as guard Lauren Himmelspach was unavailable due to achilles tendonitis. The two constants throughout were Grant and backcourt mate Hanna Seltzer, who also logged a complete 40 minutes of action. Seltzer finished with 10 points (all in the second half), six assists and a season-high five rebounds. Pepperdine had the early energy, jumping out to a 17-10 lead seven minutes into the game. Portland answered with a persistent, 25-9 run over the next nine minutes to gain their largest first half lead at 35-26. The Waves closed the gap to 37-34 heading into halftime.

Cecily O?Rielly-Williams finished the half with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting off the bench for the Pilots. Jennifer Lacy came off Pepperdine?s bench for eight first half points.

The first five minutes after halftime was a seesaw battle as the Waves bounced back to take the lead, 43-41 on a Lacy lay-up with 16:29 on the clock. Pilot junior Ashlee Orndorff tied it back up with a lay-in of her own. Portland then gained control with 16-6 run for a 10-point lead with just under 11 minutes remaining.

Pepperdine would get no closer than seven points from there on out, as the Pilots converted 18-of-22 second half free throws to seal the win. Seltzer and Grant combined for 22 second half points to pace Portland.

Grant finished 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Khalila O?Rielly-Williams scored 16 points, Cecily O?Rielly-Williams had 13 and Ashlee Orndorff finished with 11 points, six boards, four blocks, three assists and three steals.

All eight Pilots scored, as the team shot 51 percent (28-55) from the field and 36 percent (5-14) from beyond the arc. The Waves finished at 40 percent (24-60) and 29 percent (5-17) from three-point range.

Shannon Mayberry led the Waves with 16 points in limited minutes because of foul trouble. Lacy chipped in 14, while Shandrika Lee dished out seven assists.

Gonzaga 70, LMU 52
Junior Shannon Mathews led the Gonzaga University women?s basketball team with 15 points as the Bulldogs went 2-0 in West Coast Conference play with a 16-point victory over Loyola Marymount University, 70-54, on Saturday evening in The Kennel.

Gonzaga (9-6, 2-0 WCC) was led by Mathews? 15 points, with junior Raeanna Jewell following closely behind with 13 and sophomore Ashley Anderson with 12. Mathews and junior Ashley Burke each had seven boards for the defensive front.

The Lions (9-5, 0-1 WCC) played their first conference game with two players in double figures. Mary Turner led the team with 13 points, while Kate Murray followed with 12.

The first half was shared between the teams, exchanging the lead a handful of times. Jewell?s three-pointer with16:17gave Gonzaga momentum to grab the lead and extend it to five points. However, the lead would switch to Loyola Marymount?s with a three-pointer by Self with7:59and the Lions would take the lead into the second half with a three-point advantage, 29-26.

The Bulldogs were able to outrebound LMU, 18-14, but had trouble keeping the ball as they turned the ball over 12 times, compared to the Lions? eight. Gonzaga shot 36 percent (9-for-25), while LMU shot 44.4 percent (12-for-27).

The second half started out slow with the teams again playing tug-of-war with the scoreboard. Each team had held the lead twice by14:06, untilAnderson?s layup put the Bulldogs ahead by two, 37-35. Gonzaga would keep the lead for the remainder of the game.

The Bulldogs went on a 23-7 run to establish a 16-point lead at 58-42 with5:57left on the clock. Gonzaga increased its lead to as much as 18, but a layup at the buzzer by LMU?s Jasmin Matthews reduced the lead to the final score of 70-54.

The Bulldogs drastically improved their shooting percentage in the second half to 57.1 percent, for a 47.2 percentage overall. The Lions ended with 38.5 percent (20-for-52). Gonzaga owned the boards with 39 compared to LMU?s 26.

Burke joined the top ten scorers in the Bulldogs? program history as she moved into the 10th spot with 941 career points.

Santa Clara 49, San Francisco 48
The Santa Clara University women's basketball team opened the 2004 West Coast Conference season with a road victory, besting San Francisco 49-48 at War Memorial Gym. Senior forward Jennie Rondel posted 13 points to lead the Broncos in scoring for the third straight game. However, it was junior guard Quinn Thomas' running jumper with 17 seconds remaining that proved to be the game-winner, as Santa Clara wins its second straight and improves to 5-9, 1-0. The Dons were led by Mary Jane Krueger's fifth double-double of the season, 16 points and 14 rebounds, but their record falls to 7-7, 0-1.

The game was close the whole way, with eight lead changes and eight ties and neither team leading by more than four points. Santa Clara outshot San Francisco 44 percent to 30, but was outrebounded 39-26. Freshman forward Jenni Gottschalk led the Broncos with six rebounds.

San Francisco saw seven steals from Toni Russell, who also finished with nine points. Joy Hollingsworth also netted nine points for the Dons. It marked only the second loss on the hilltop for USF, who went 7-1 at home during non-conference play.

In first-half action, Santa Clara broke a 17-17 tie in part with a three-pointer by freshman guard Ashley Graham and a lay-up by red-shirt forward Tori Markey to earn a 23-19 lead with five minutes remaining. San Francisco countered with its only three of the half, by Louise Larsen, but the Broncos kept the lead with a well-executed play that found Gottschalk alone under the basket for an easy score. A jumper by Don Carey Sauer eight seconds prior to the break made it a one-point ballgame at intermission, the narrow edge favoring SCU 25-24.

The teams kept trading leads in the second half. Six straight points by Krueger put USF ahead 38-34, but a drive by freshman guard Anna Martin and a three from the right wing by Graham restored the Bronco lead, 39-38 at 10:13.

Tied 46-46 at the two-minute mark, Hollingsworth converted both free throws of a one-and-one situation. Santa Clara missed a three-point opportunity at the other end of the court, but a USF turnover gave the Broncos the ball with 1:06 remaining. Rondel was fouled, and converted one shot from the charity stripe. Russell drove to the basket for the Dons, but turned the ball over. The Broncos miss another shot, but was able to grab the rebound. Bento-Jackson called a time out to set up her team's final play, which resulted in Thomas' running jumper from 12 feet. It marked Thomas' second straight game-winner, as she also nailed the winning basket on Tuesday at San Diego State.

San Francisco used its final time out to set a strategy for the final 13.4 seconds. Santa Clara's defense held strong, preventing a play as Graham tipped a pass out of bounds. Russell's attempt was partially blocked, but collected by Krueger, who's buzzer shot bounced off the rim twice before rolling away and securing the Bronco victory.

Saint Mary's 56, San Diego 47
The Saint Mary?s women?s basketball team began West Coast Conference play with a 56-47 victory over the University of San Diego on Saturday night at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels fell behind early to the Toreros, but used a second half rally to improve to 1-0 in conference play and 9-6 on the season. San Diego fell to 0-1 in conference and 5-9 on the season.

In the first half the Gaels got off to a slow start offensively and were held to 19 first half points. San Diego jumped out to an early 19-5 lead with 9:38 left in the first half, before the Gaels cut into the lead.

With Saint Mary?s off to a slow offensive start, the defense kept them in the game. The Gaels held San Diego to 31 percent (10-32) shooting in the first half and 26 points to keep the game close at half.

In the second half, the Gaels really picked up the defensive pressure and held the Toreros to 25 percent (6-24) shooting and 21 points. The 47 points allowed by Saint Mary?s is the sixth time they have held opponents under 50 points and the Gaels are 6-0 in those games. In the game San Diego shot 28 percent from the floor.

After scoring 19 points in the first half, the Gaels? offense picked up in the second half. Saint Mary?s scored 37 points in the second half and shot 42 percent from the floor.

In the game Saint Mary?s was led offensively by Evynn Van Burger, who scored a game-high 13 points. The Gaels? Serena Benavente and Triola Jackson each added nine points and Monica Mertle chipped in with eight. Saint Mary?s also received offensive support from Brianna Winn and Sheridan Arredondo, who each scored five points off the bench.

Jackson also added nine rebounds to go along with her nine points, Benavente added four steals and Lauren Shaughnessy had four points, five rebounds and three steals.