Cronin’s late charge helps Portland upset GU

Two words that explain Gonzaga’s improbable 70-67 home-court loss to West Coast Conference rival Portland on Sunday afternoon just became synonymous with heart and desire.

Tara Cronin.

The Pilots’ 5-foot-10 sophomore from Gonzaga Prep scored the last five points of the game and finished with career-highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Pilots ended a 16-game losing streak to the Bulldogs, thrilling a small segment in the crowd of 3,012.

“We got beat by a team that wanted it more than us,” GU coach Kelly Graves said. “It looked very similar to the (men’s) game last night I watched. They wanted it. Tara Cronin wanted to win this game more than anybody we had and she played like it. The rest of the team followed suit. We didn’t play bad but we just got out-worked.”

Cronin hit 9 of 13 shots, including all seven in the first half. She converted a three-point play with 26 seconds left for a 68-67 lead, then added two free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining.

“Although the crowd was screaming and yelling, just focus, take deep breaths and shoot them how you shoot them in practice,” Cronin said. “I’ve always wanted to beat the Zags on their home court and this year we have the team to do it. We came out and played our best and got the job done.”

When Janelle Bekkering’s 3-pointer from the right corner bounced off the rim, GU’s eight-game domination streak was over. The Bulldogs’ closest game since a late December loss to Tennessee was a 19-point win at Portland.

The Bulldogs (19-5, 7-1 WCC) still have a one-game lead over the Pilots (13-10, 6-2) with four of their last six games at home.

After Courtney Vandersloot, who led Gonzaga with 19 points on her 20th birthday, opened the game with a pair of free throws, Portland took the lead and held it until Gonzaga’s Heather Bowman, who had 18 points, converted a three-point play with 14 minutes to play.

The lead lasted less than a minute and GU didn’t get back in the lead until less than 3 minutes remained. Bowman, who had 18 points, made a layup and two free throws to tie the game and Vandersloot followed with two free throws at 1:47.

Veteran Portland coach Jim Sollars seemed somewhat stunned by the result, considering his team scored 10 points above its average, 11 more than the Zags allow, 17 more than in conference games.

“I don’t know what the score was but we can’t play this up and down game with them because they’re just too good at every spot,” he said. “You just have to contest their shots and hope they don’t make them all and try to box out.”

Laiken Dollente added 16 points for the Pilots, but Cronin was the talk of the game.

“She has played unbelievably well in conference,” Sollars said. “She’s in the top five in shooting field goals and free throws. Not bad for a smart kid.

“Quite frankly, we didn’t anticipate her being as good as she is. We thought she’d be a great team player, team leader, hard work every day. We just didn’t anticipate her being as good as she is. It’s a good surprise.”

Cronin, who had four offensive rebounds when GU’s top rebounders had five total, said: “I’ve taken more time to look for my shot (at coach’s urging). Coach always asks. That’s my style of play, I’d rather take it to the rim than pull up and shoot. This is awesome. I’m so happy.”