Complete 2008-09 Schedule
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots women's basketball team begins the 2008-09 season with its first official practice Friday night at the Chiles Center. Portland's pre-season, home-opener is set for Monday, Nov. 3 against the Concordia Cavaliers at the Chiles Center. The Pilots open the regular season on the road against Utah State on Friday, Nov. 14.
2008-09 SEASON PREVIEW
Despite what he calls one of the most difficult schedules in program history, Portland head coach Jim Sollars expects the Pilots to improve for the third straight season.
“We made progress last year and I’m expecting us to grow on that,” said Sollars, whose Pilots went 15-15 overall last season and 5-9 in the West Coast Conference. “We try to improve our record every year. That would be a major accomplishment this season with our challenging schedule.”
Two seasons ago, it was a six-win improvement for the Pilots. Last winter, Portland made a five-game jump in the wins column. And with a senior-laden roster this year, coach Sollars says 20 wins is a very real possibility.
“You always want to win 20 games,” added Sollars, who is entering his 23rd season at the helm of the UP program. “You want to compete for the conference championship and you want to go the NCAA tournament.”
UP’s overall record last winter was the first non-sub .500 mark since the Pilots finished 1999 at 16-13. Portland also had its best conference record since going 8-6 in 2004. And with nine returning letterwinners and three starters, Sollars says the Pilots should pick up right where they left off.
“With six upperclassmen (five seniors) and seven sophomores and freshmen, we have a pretty well-balanced roster,” noted Sollars. “And it’s not necessarily the number of juniors and seniors as much as it’s the quality of leadership which they’ve exhibited. That’s really important.”
Sollars points to senior forward Allyson Sievers and junior guard Laiken Dollente as two integral components to this team’s success. Sievers will help anchor the UP front line, while Dollente should continue her assault on the Portland record books.
Dollente, who led Portland in scoring last season with a 14.6 points per game average, enters the 2008-09 season just 108 points shy of 1,000 for her career. She also ranks first all-time at UP in free throw shooting (.899) and three-point accuracy (.416), while ranking fifth in career points per game (14.9), three-pointers made (96) and free throws made (302).
Besides her mind-boggling stats, Dollente has embraced a leadership roll for the Pilots., while her infectious work ethic has had an effect on her teammates.
“Laiken has done a great job of becoming the on-court leader for us,” Sollars said. “I feel much better about the culture of hard work that we’ve seemed to embrace and improved upon.”
While Dollente might be the headliner in Portland’s crowded back court, Sievers is clearly the leader up front. During conference play last year, Sievers took her game to a new level, averaging 10.9 points and 6.7 rebounds during WCC games.
“Allyson could be considered our overall team leader on and off the floor,” said Sollars. “We’re expecting a huge senior year from her.”
Ahead of Sievers, Dollente and the rest of the Pilots are six difficult road games to open the season. Included in those six games are Boise State, Purdue and Iowa, who all reached the postseason last year. After that brutal stretch on the road, Portland still has to face perennial powers Montana and Oregon in December. January brings one more non-conference game (BYU) before the Pilots open WCC play against four-time defending regular season league champion Gonzaga.
“Our non-conference schedule is probably the toughest we’ve ever undertaken at UP,” added Sollars, “but hopefully we’ll learn from it and maintain our confidence. It’s a very, very tough schedule overall, so hopefully we’re a mature enough team to deal with six road games to open the season.”
Portland’s four newcomers will have little time to adjust to collegiate basketball, but Sollars says that shouldn’t be a problem with Portland’s abundance of returning players leading the way.
Sollars also points to a deep and talented roster and a team that’s not lacking on the offensive side of the court as crucial elements that should allow the Pilots to make it through November and December on their way to a wide open conference.
“I think we have a pretty good balance between inside and outside play,” Sollars said. “Everyone on this team has decent offensive skills. We’re not terribly fast, but everyone can handle the ball and shoot the ball relatively well. Our opponents can’t put five defenders on four of our offensive players, and I think that that’s a real advantage.”
THE BACKCOURT
Entering her third season on The Bluff, Laiken Dollente has already established herself as one of the most prolific scorers in program history. As a sophomore, she led the Pilots and ranked seventh in the WCC in scoring, scored in double figures in all but seven games, scored at least 20 points eight times and led the Pilots in scoring 18 times. Dollente also finished second in the nation and set a UP single-season record in free throw shooting, hitting 139 of 152 (.914) from the line.
With that being said, Sollars said it’s her leadership skills that might be most beneficial for the Pilots this season.
“Laiken has shown some great on-court leadership, so that’s a really good sign,” Sollars said. “It’s great to have an upperclassman take the responsibility of helping the younger players.”
But Sollars is quick to remember what she brings to the floor offensively.
“She has an uncanny ability to score,” added Sollars “She’s also one of the top free throw shooters in the country, so we’d like to see her get to the line even more.”
Sollars points out that Dollente is one part of a loaded Portland backcourt. Back for her senior season is the versatile Karlie Burris, who had somewhat of a breakout year as a junior. Burris was named all-conference honorable mention in 2007-08 after leading the Pilots in assists (3.4). She also put up averages of 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
“She is really one of our best defenders,” Sollars said of Burris, who can also play forward. “We’d love to get 10 points a game from her, which she is more than capable of doing.”
Sophomore Tara Cronin, who made eight starts as a freshman and appeared in all 30 games, will resume her roll as the team’s workhorse. Cronin averaged 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists last year, despite dealing with some health issues.
“Tara has just been tearing it up during preseason workouts,” notes Sollars. “She had some health issues that really impacted her stamina last season. We’ve seen noticeable improvement from her this year, so that’s a really good sign. She had a good year last year and I think she’ll be vastly improved this season.”
New to the mix this season are freshmen Nakeisha Brown and ReZina TecleMariam and sophomore Nicole Gardner. Sollars expects all three to have an immediate impact for the Pilots.
Brown, who Sollars calls a “wing-type player”, could play in the backcourt or the frontcourt during her first season with the Pilots. The native of Houston, Texas, missed most of her senior year in high school with a knee injury. She still averaged nearly 17 points and five rebounds per game during her three years on varsity.
“Nakeisha is a good-sized player with long arms,” said Sollars. “She is a great athlete who is willing to learn. She works hard and has all the ingredients to be a fine player in this league.”
Both Brown and TecleMariam could potentially work their way into Portland’s starting five this season. Sollars says TecleMariam, a point guard, will allow the Pilots to run more this winter, in addition to allowing Dollente to focus more on scoring and less on bringing the ball up court.
TecleMariam, who hails from Puyallup, Wash., once posted a triple-double in high school.
“ReZina adds a true point-guard mentality to the team, which I think is very important and very much needed,” Sollars said. “She’s one of the best athletes on the team and she has high expectations of herself, which I think is great. We’re expecting her to be a major contributor.”
Gardner, a sophomore walk-on from Seattle, Wash., will help provide always-important depth off the Portland bench.
“Nicole works really hard,” said Sollars. “She handles the ball well, can shoot it from long range and is good post entry passer. We’re glad to have her.”
THE FRONTCOURT
After her phenomenal performance during the second half of the 2007-08 season, Allyson Sievers is poised to have her best year yet. Sievers is Portland’s top returning rebounder (5.2 rpg) and second returning scorer (8.9 ppg). The senior should provide a much-needed scoring boost after the departure of three-year starting post Rachel Warren.
“Allyson looks really good,” said Sollars. “She always works hard and is always up front during conditioning. She should help replace Warren’s productivity, both scoring and rebounding.”
Carly Koebel, a center,is one of four Portland seniors up front. At 6-5, she is easily UP’s best shot-blocker and enters the season with 67 career swats. She appeared in 27 games last year, making one start, and should see an increased role this winter.
“Carly blocks everything that comes her way during practice,” Sollars said. “She has made great strides and we expect her to be a major contributor this year.”
Rounding out the foursome of frontcourt seniors are Jennifer Wassom and Andrea Wujek. Both players can play on the wing as well, helping add to Portland’s depth. Wassom is one of the most deadly three-point shooters in program history, once drilling a school-record seven trey’s in one game.
Last season, Wujek became the first walk-on team captain during the Sollars’ era.
“Andrea continues to be one of the hardest workers on the team,” Sollars said. “She has great leadership and is just a great contributor to the program.
“Jen is in as good as shape as she’s ever been in,” continued Sollars. “She’s probably our best perimeter shooter, so we just have to get her in a spot where she can get the ball and take her shot. Her defense has improved immensely.”
After a successful freshman campaign, sophomore Lauren Angel should see increased playing time and could even start for the Pilots this winter. Angel, a 6-3 center/forward, showed flashes of dominance last season, while exhibiting a feathery touch from mid-range.
“Lauren has a lot of natural ability,” said Sollars. “She truly has the potential to be one of the best posts we’ve had in a long time. She’s become a different person in terms of conditioning, and that’s going to make her much more effective. She has good hands and can shoot with either hand around the basket. She has a real feel for the game.”
Jessica Clemens, a sophomore who also plays volleyball at UP, is once again expected to join the Pilots in December, following the volleyball season. Clemens came on strong towards the end of the 2007-08 season, providing Portland with sturdy rebounding and consistent scoring down low.
“Jessica is looking really good,” Sollars said. “She’s a year older and I think she’s really grasping the difficulty of being a two-sport athlete. At the end of last season she looked like a different player. We’re looking forward to getting her back and contributing.”
Rounding out the post players is freshman Alexis Gannis, who is another versatile player that can fill a myriad of roles for the Pilots. The 6-1 native of Phoenix, Ariz., was a 2007-08 preseason McDonald’s All-America nominee. She just missed becoming the all-time leading scorer at Desert Vista High School by 25 points. Gannis also recorded the most double-double’s in school history and owns the record for most career blocked shots.
“Alexis has a wealth of ability,” said Sollars. “She can shoot the three and moves around the basket really well, which will create some mismatch problems for the defender.”
THE OVERALL OUTLOOK
Sollars enters this season sitting on 300 career wins at UP. He also became the winningest conference coach in WCC history last winter, racking up 132 career league wins. Even with the wins piling up, Sollars knows there is always room for improvement.
“Defense and rebounding are the two areas we are focusing on,” said Sollars. “We’d like to be a lot more consistent as a whole, and I think rebounding consistently and a thorough effort and defense will help us improve.”
One area the Pilots don’t need to improve on is free throw shooting. As a team, Portland had its best season at the free throw line in program history in 2007-08. The Pilots combined to go 407-for-526 (.774) from the line, which was the 10th best percentage in the country. During their win at home against San Francisco on Feb. 16, the Pilots set a program and Chiles Center single-game record by hitting all 17 of their attempts from the line.
Sollars is hoping to capitalize even more this season on his team’s accuracy from the charity stripe.
“I think the one thing we’re going to have to do this season is attack the basket more because we’re such a good free-throw shooting team,” Sollars said. “You’re not going to get that many free throws when you rely heavily on jump shots. Last season, other teams consistently took more free throws than we did, so I think we have to be more aggressive and more assertive to the basket and get to the foul line more.”
For the second year in a row, the Pilots feature two first-year assistant coaches, Shayla Johnson and former UP standout Anne Graner. Johnson spent the past two years as an assistant coach at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania after previously starring as a guard at the University of Rhode Island. Graner was a volunteer assistant coach for the Pilots last season after using up her eligibility in 2007.
10th-year assistant coach Sean Kelly is also back to help guide the Pilots.
“Shayla has brought in a lot of good ideas and drills to this program,” noted Sollars. “She gets along well with the players and the staff and I think she’s going to be a very fine coach for us. Anne is one of the most competent, hard-working people I’ve ever known. She’s just been superb.
“Sean does a great job. This is his program as much as it is mine and the University’s, and that’s what you want.”
With a solid staff, a deep and talented roster and a dedicated work ethic, the Pilots are poised to reach their goals in 2008-09. And those goals are? 20-wins, a conference title and a trip to the NCAA tourney, the exact same goals as Sollars’ first season at UP 23 years ago.
“The goals are the same as always,” said Sollars. “We think we’re capable of reaching those goals if we avoid injuries, play to our potential and improve in some areas.
“We’re not going to have any easy games this season. But if we can hold it together, be competitive and do what we need to do during those six road games in November, then I think we could be a very strong contender in our conference.”
