Thursday • Jan. 15, 2009 • 7:00 p.m.
San Francisco, Calif. (War Memorial Gym - 5,300)
Live Video/Audio/Stats: usfdons.com
Series: USF leads 24-22
Last Meeting: POR 80, USF 78 (Feb. 16, 2008 - Portland, Ore.)
Pilots (7-8, 0-1 WCC) at Santa Clara (2-15, 0-2)
Saturday • Jan. 17, 2009 • 2:00 p.m.
Santa Clara, Calif. (Leavey Center - 4,500)
Live Stats: santaclarabroncos.com
Series: SCU leads 29-20
Last Meeting: SCU 76, POR 62 (March 1, 2008 - Santa Clara, Calif.)
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The Portland Pilots (7-8, 0-1 WCC) face their first West Coast Conference road trip of the season this week as they travel to Northern California for games against the San Francisco Dons (4-12, 0-2 WCC) and Santa Clara Broncos (2-15, 0-2 WCC). The Pilots first head to San Francisco for a 7:00 p.m. game against the Dons on Thursday. Then on Saturday, UP is set to play the Broncos in Santa Clara at 2:00 p.m.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots dropped their WCC opener 60-49 last Saturday to the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Chiles Center. After falling behind by 16 in the second half, Portland embarked on a 17-2 run to pull within 45-44 with 9:30 remaining. But the Bulldogs would outscore the Pilots 15-5 down the stretch to preserve the win. UP junior guard Laiken Dollente scored eight points during the second-half run and finished with a team-high 15 for the game. Sophomore guard Tara Cronin played a solid all-around game and finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Senior wing Karlie Burris was in GU’s passing lanes all day and swiped a career-high six steals. She also added seven points and four assists. Portland freshman Alexis Gannis had one of her better outings of the season as she scored six points and grabbed a career-high six rebounds. Sophomore Lauren Angel was UP’s top rebounder with a career-high eight boards.
About San Francisco
The Dons have lost four straight games after dropping two WCC contests last weekend on the road. USF lost 69-62 to San Diego on Thursday and 89-62 to Saint Mary’s on Saturday. Senior guard Shay Rollins leads the Dons in scoring (17.6) and is one of four USF players averaging double figures in points. Senior post Necolia Simmons is the team’s top rebounder with a 9.5 per game mark. Tanya Haave is in her second season as head coach at San Francisco. The Dons returned six letterwinners and two starters from a team that was 14-16 (5-9 WCC/7th) one year ago.
Pilots/Dons Series
The Pilots and Dons split their two meetings last season with each team winning at home. San Francisco owns a 24-22 advantage in the overall series, but the Pilots hold a 15-4 edge in games played in Portland.
About Santa Clara
The Broncos are set to host Gonzaga on Thursday before playing the Pilots on Saturday. SCU has just two wins on the season and most recently lost at Saint Mary’s (58-55) last Thursday and at San Diego (67-54) last Saturday. Sophomore forward Lena Gipson, a transfer from Fresno City College who leads the WCC in rebounding, is averaging a double-double for the season. She’s putting up 12.8 points and grabbing 10.2 rebounds per game. First-year head coach Jennifer Mountain has six letterwinners and two starters back from a team that went 20-11 (8-6 WCC/2nd) last season.
Pilots/Broncos Series
Santa Clara, which owns a 29-20 advantage in the all-time series with UP, has won nine straight games against the Pilots and has claimed 19 of the last 23 meetings, dating back to 1998. The Pilots hold a slim 11-10 edge over the Broncos in games played in the Rose City.
A Brief Look Ahead
Portland returns home next week for a pair of WCC games. On Thursday, Jan. 22, the Pilots welcome the LMU Lions to the Chiles Center for a 7:00 p.m. game. Then on Saturday, Jan. 24, the Pepperdine Waves visit for a 2:00 p.m. game. The Pilots close the month with conference games at San Diego (Jan. 29) and at Saint Mary’s (Jan. 31).
Arctic Blasted
Portland’s scheduled game at Oregon on Dec. 22, which was wiped out by the recent arctic blast of weather that crippled the region, has been re-scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26. The Pilots and Ducks are set to play at 7:00 p.m. at McArthur Court.
Each Win Brings A New Record
Head coach Jim Sollars, who has won 132 West Coast Conference games with the Pilots, currently has more WCC wins than any other coach in the 20-year history of the conference. Last season, Sollars picked up his record-breaking 130th WCC win against Saint Mary’s on Feb. 2, moving him past former USF head coach Mary Hile-Nepfel for first place on the league’s all-time list. Sollars also won his 300th game at UP last year and is currently 307-341 (.474) all-time at Portland. Sollars, who coached at Portland State before moving to UP, has 330 total wins at the NCAA DI level and 484 wins overall.
A Perfect Half
After trailing by 12 at the half against the Manhattan Jaspers at the Chiles Center on Dec. 19, the Pilots had perhaps one of the greatest second halves of basketball in program history. Portland outscored Manhattan by 30 points after the break to pick up an 84-66 win. UP’s 58 points in the second half are a program record at the NCAA Division I level for points in a half. The Pilots have previously scored 54 points in a half three times, most recently during the 1998 season. UP scored 66 points during a half in 1983 while competing at the NAIA level.
Portland, which shot 61.3 percent (19-for-31) in the second half and 51.7 percent (30-for-58) for the game, outscored Manhattan 58-28 in the second half. The Pilots also had a remarkable 24 assists on 30 field goals.
Junior guard Laiken Dollente was her usual self, leading the Pilots with a game-high 25 points. Dollente also shared the wealth with nine assists. Her nine dimes are the most for a Pilot since Da’Love Woods accomplished the feat in 2001.
1,000 Points of Light
With nine points against Portland State on Nov. 26, junior guard Laiken Dollente became the 18th player in UP program history to score 1,000 career points. The native of Yakima, Wash., needed just 66 games to reach the 1,000-point plateau, becoming the second quickest player to reach the landmark in Portland’s history at the Division I level. Amy Claboe (1993-95) reached the mark in her first 59 career games on The Bluff. Dollente, who currently has 1,142 career points, became the first Portland player to reach the mark 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. Dollente currently sits at No. 12 on the all-time scoring list.
The Century Club x 2
Portland’s 63-59 win at home against Sacramento State on Nov. 30 was the 200th win ever at the Chiles Center. In the 24-year history of the facility, the Pilots have compiled a 203-119 record for a winning percentage of .630. The Pilots went 9-6 at the friendly confines last season and are 4-3 at home this year.
Two Sports? No Problem
Sophomore Jessica Clemens is now in her second year as a two-sport athlete at the University of Portland. Clemens, who is an outside hitter on the UP volleyball team, joined the Pilots in December and made an immediate impact. During Portland’s win over Idaho on Dec. 28, the native of Burns, Ore., scored a career-high 17 points to go along with a career-best six rebounds. The next time out, Clemens scored 11 points and swiped a career-high six steals to help UP defeat Utah Valley on Dec. 31.
During the 2008 volleyball season, Clemens finished with 271 kills and 288 digs. She also had a team-high 29 service aces.
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. On Nov. 26, Dollente became the 18th player in UP women’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points. Now with 1,142 career points, she ranks No. 12 on UP’s all-time scoring list. She also ranks first all-time at UP in free throw shooting (.886), is second in three-point accuracy (.401), ranks third in free throws made (370) and three-pointers made (123) and is fifth in career points per game (15.2).
Dollente has been a scoring machine this season, leading the Pilots in points 11 times. She is averaging 16.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the WCC, has games of 21, 27, 22, 26 and 25 points and has reached double figures 12 times.
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.
Leaving Their Mark
A couple of other Pilots have joined Dollente in the UP record books. Sophomore Tara Cronin ranks third in free throw percentage (.800), senior Karlie Burris is fourth in three-point percentage (.384), senior Carly Koebel is sixth with 97 career blocks, sophomore Lauren Angel ranks ninth with a career field goal percentage of .475 and Burris is tied for 10th with 281 career assists.
Among the Conference Elite
Junior Laiken Dollente, who ranks fourth in the WCC in scoring with a 16.7 points per game average, is one of a handful of Pilots making an appearance among the conference’s statistical leaders. Dollente ranks second the league in free throw accuracy (.835), is fifth in three-pointers made (27), ranks eighth in assists per game (2.9) and is ninth in three-point percentage (.355). Senior Karlie Burris is second in assist-turnover ratio (1.83), fourth in assists and steals (2.3) and ranks sixth in three-point accuracy (.366). Sophomore guard Tara Cronin ranks sixth in free throw percentage (.787), is ninth in the WCC in boards per game (6.3) and steals (1.8). Senior Carly Koebel is third in blocks per game (2.5) and sophomore Lauren Angel is eighth in field goal percentage (.465).
Portland, which set a program record and ranked tenth in the country last season in free throw accuracy, leads the conference once again in free throws with a percentage of .727.
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.
