PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland junior Julie Spencer had a huge second half and finished with a career-best 25 points, but the Brigham Young Cougars built a double-digit lead before holding off the Pilots 72-58 to open play in the West Coast Conference on Thursday night at the Chiles Center. Portland freshman Josie Matz collected a career-high 13 rebounds in the loss.
It was Spencer who knocked down the game's opening shot, but the Cougars answered with nine unanswered points to surge ahead. BYU then tried to pull away, producing a double-digit lead. Matz helped keep the Pilots within reach with a jumper, and Lisa Kaempf buried a three-pointer from the top of the key late in the first quarter to make it an eight-point deficit.