Thursday • Nov. 20, 2008 • 4:00 p.m.
West Lafayette, Ind. (Mackey Arena - 14,123)
Live Audio/Stats: purduesports.com
Series: PUR leads 1-0
Last Meeting: PUR 74, POR 59 (1995 NCAA First Round - San Diego, Calif.)
Pilots (1-1) at the Hawkeye Challenge
Sat.-Sun. • Nov. 22-23, 2008
Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena - 15,500)
Pilots vs. Providence (1-1)
Saturday • Nov. 22 • 12:30 PM
Series: First Meeting
Pilots vs. Iowa (1-1) or Boston U (1-0)
Saturday • Nov. 22 • 12:30 or 2:30 PM
Series: First meeting with both schools
Live Stats for Both Games: hawkeyesports.com
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The Pilots continue their six-game journey on the road to begin the 2008-09 season with games in Indiana and Iowa this weekend. On Thursday, Portland travels to West Lafayette, Ind., to face the 21st-ranked Purdue Boilermakers (1-0) for a 4:00 p.m. (PT) game at the Mackey Center. On Saturday, Portland heads to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Hawkeye Challenge. The Pilots open with a 12:30 p.m. (PT) game against the Providence Friars at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Then on Sunday, UP faces either tournament-host Iowa (1-1) or Boston University (1-0) at a time yet to be determined.
A Brief Look Back
Portland opened the 2008-09 season by splitting its two games on the road last week. On Friday, the Pilots defeated the Utah State Aggies 64-51 in Logan, Utah. Junior Laiken Dollente scored a game-high 18 points, while sophomore Tara Cronin recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore Lauren Angel added 14 points for the Pilots, who turned the ball over just ten times.
On Sunday, the Pilots couldn’t overcome a 13-point deficit in the second half as the Boise State Broncos claimed a 68-59 win in Boise, Idaho. Trailing by double digits, the Pilots refused to falter and responded with a 13-4 run in the closing minutes. Dollente scored nine points during the spurt, which was capped by a jumper from Angel that made it a 63-59 game with 49 ticks left on the clock. From there, Boise State would make five free throws down the stretch and held on defensively to preserve the win. Dollente finished with 21 points, while Angel added 10.
A Brief Look Ahead
The Pilots conclude their six-game, season-opening road trip with a jaunt across town to face the Portland State Vikings on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Stott Center.
Portland finally plays its first home game of the season on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 2:00 p.m. against Sacramento State at the Chiles Center. The Pilots then open December with a home game against Seattle on Sunday, Dec. 7.
1,000 Points of Light
Junior Laiken Dollente is quickly closing in on 1,000 career points. The guard from Yakima, Wash., has scored 931 points during her two-year and two-game career, leaving her just 69 shy of the milestone. Dollente will become the 18th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark and the first since Whitney Grant concluded her career in 2006 with 1,138 points. Lorena Legarde (1981-85) is Portland’s all-time leading scorer with 2,568 points. Martha Sheldon (1988-1992), who racked up 1,953 career points, is UP’s all-time leading NCAA DI scorer, as Portland competed at the NAIA level during Legarde’s career.
The Century Club x 2
The next win at the Chiles Center will be Portland’s 200th all-time. In the 24-year history of the facility, the Pilots have compiled a 199-116 record for a winning percentage of .631. Portland will get its first shot at win number 200 on Nov. 30 against the Sacramento State Hornets. The Pilots went 9-6 at the friendly confines last season.
Assaulting the UP Record Books
In her third season on The Bluff, junior guard 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 with a 14.6 points per game mark, 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.
In two games this season, Dollente is averaging 19.5 points per game.
Dollente is currently just 69 points shy of 1,000 for her career. She also ranks first all-time at UP in free throw shooting (.897) and three-point accuracy (.406), while ranking fifth in career points per game (15.0), three-pointers made (99) and free throws made (312).
A Rough Road Ahead
Portland head coach Jim Sollars calls this season’s schedule one of the most difficult in program history. The Pilots open the year with six straight games away from the friendly confines of the Chiles Center. Included in those six games are trips to Boise State, Purdue and Iowa, who all reached the postseason last year. Purdue is currently ranked 21st in the Associated Press Preseason Poll.
After the brutal stretch of six straight games 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.
Montana, Gonzaga, Iowa and Boise State are all receiving votes in either the AP or ESPN/USA Today Coaches preseason polls.
WCC Coaches Pick Pilots to Finish Seventh
The Gonzaga Bulldogs were chosen as the favorite to win their fifth straight WCC women’s basketball regular season title. Loyola Marymount received one first place vote and totaled 40 points to come in at second in the voting. The Pilots were tabbed to finish seventh, while junior guard Laiken Dollente was voted to the WCC’s preseason all-conference team.
New Leadership
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.
While at Cheyney, Johnson helped guide the team to a seven-win improvement. Last year, the Wolves reached the conference tournament for the first time in 19 years. Prior to her stint at Cheyney, Johnson was a guard at Rhode Island (2000-04), where she played alongside former UP assistant coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. Johnson was a 1,000-point scorer with the Rams and landed on the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Defensive team three times. She was also named to multiple all-tournament teams and was voted the MVP at the 2002 Terrapin Classic. As a co-captain during the 2002-03 season, Johnson helped lead the Rams to the A-10 championship game.
Graner played two years with the Pilots (2005-07) after transferring from the North Dakota State College of Science. Graner appeared in 58 career games for the Pilots, while making 36 starts. The native of Red Wing, Minn., had career averages of 4.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, while her career free throw percentage of .755 ranks ninth all-time at UP. During her senior campaign in 2007, Graner was named to the WCC Winter All-Academic Team and the ESPN The Magazine/CoSida Academic All-District Second Team.
