Portland Pilots advance to quarterfinals, beat Seton Hall

The Portland Pilots made a strong comeback to beat Seton Hall 61-55 in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament on Sunday. This victory allows the Pilots to move on to the quarterfinals, where they will face Villanova. With five minutes left in the game, Portland was down by eight points at 54-46. However, they rallied with a 15-1 run to take the lead and secure the win. Emme Shearer was key in this comeback. She hit a three-pointer and helped narrow the gap. McKelle Meek also made significant plays, including a steal and a three-point play. Portland's first lead in the second half came from Shearer’s layup with just over two minutes to go, making the score 56-55. Leading only for a brief time during the game, Portland pulled through with strong performances from its players. Shearer scored a total of 15 points, with nine of those coming in the fourth quarter. Trista Hull added 14 points, while Alexis Mark and Maisie Burnham contributed 12 and 9 points, respectively. Seton Hall, the No. 3 seed, struggled in the final minutes, missing all their shots and giving up three turnovers. Jada Eads was the standout for the Pirates, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Pilots will now travel to play No. 4 seed Villanova in the next round of the tournament after their victories against ranked opponents, including Stanford.