Thursday • Jan. 29, 2009 • 7:00 p.m.
San Diego, Calif. (Jenny Craig Pavilion - 5,100)
Live Video/Stats: usdtoreros.com
Series: POR leads 28-23
Last Meeting: USD 61, POR 57 (March 6, 2008 - San Diego, Calif.)
Pilots (10-10, 3-2) at Saint Mary’s (7-13, 3-2)
Saturday • Jan. 31, 2009 • 2:00 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. (McKeon Pavilion - 3,500)
Live Stats: smcgaels.com
Series: SMC leads 27-18
Last Meeting: SMC 64, POR 58 (Feb. 28, 2008 - Moraga, Calif.)
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The Portland Pilots (10-10, 3-2 West Coast Conference) will play their fourth and fifth games in 10 days this weekend as they travel to California for a pair of crucial WCC contests at San Diego (12-7, 3-2 WCC) and at Saint Mary’s (7-13, 3-2). On Thursday, Portland will be in San Diego, Calif., for a 7:00 p.m. game against the Toreros. Then it’s up to Moraga, Calif., for a 2:00 p.m. game against the Gaels on Saturday.
Portland, San Diego, Saint Mary’s and Loyola Marymount all enter the weekend tied for second place in the WCC. LMU is at home this week to host Santa Clara and San Francisco.
Game Coverage
All women’s basketball home games are video streamed live at www.pilotsvideo.com. A season pass is available for $50, while single-game are $8. As usual, free audio streams and live stats are available at www.portlandpilots.com.
A Brief Look Back
The Oregon Ducks needed a second-half rally to defeat the Pilots 64-55 in a non-conference game on Monday night at McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore. After Portland led 32-25 at the half, the Ducks opened the second stanza on a 10-2 run to claim a one-point advantage. Later in the half, Jessica Clemens drilled a three-pointer to make it a one-point (53-52) game once again with 6:52 remaining. From there, the Ducks would embark on a game-ending 11-3 run to pull away for the win. Junior Laiken Dollente hit four of five three-pointers to lead the Pilots with 18 points. The game was originally scheduled for Dec. 22, but was postponed due to the winter weather.
Last weekend, the Pilots picked up a huge 59-56 win over the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. The Pilots and Waves entered the match-up with identical overall and league records. Sophomore Tara Cronin broke a 54-54 tie with a lay-up with 18 seconds remaining in the game. Dollente then hit three free throws and grabbed a crucial rebound to help seal the win. Portland, which built a 15-point lead in the first half, led almost the entire game before Pepperdine jumped ahead 52-50 with 2:38 left in the game. Dollente would then hit four straight free throws to help UP re-claim the lead before Pepperdine’s Jazmine Jackson tied the game at 54-54 with two of her own from the line. Dollente finished with a game-high 14 points.
Previously, the Pilots hung around for most of the game before LMU pulled away down the stretch en route to a 64-53 win at the Chiles Center on Thursday night. The Pilots were within five points late in the game, but LMU would finish on a 12-6 run. Cronin hit eight of 11 shots to finish with a game-high 18 points.
About San Diego
The Toreros have lost two straight games after winning six in a row. Last weekend, USD lost 76-74 in double overtime at Saint Mary’s. Senior forward Kiva Herman ranks second in the WCC in scoring with an 18.2 per game average. Senior center Amber Sprague is fourth in the conference in scoring (16.5) and is the top scorer in USD program history with 1,556 career points. Sprague is also averaging a team-high 8.4 boards per game. Cindy Fisher is in her fourth season as head coach of the Toreros. 10 letterwinners and four starters returned from a team that won the 2008 WCC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament First Round.
Pilots/Toreros Series
San Diego won two of three meetings with Portland last season and leads the all-time series 28-23. Each team won on the other’s home court last year before the Toreros defeated the Pilots 61-57 at the WCC tourney in San Diego. The Pilots are 6-17 all-time at San Diego.
About Saint Mary’s
The Gaels, who are coming off a double-overtime win over San Diego, play at Gonzaga on Thursday night. Sophomore forward Louella Tomlinson leads the nation in blocks with a 5.9 per game average. She also has two career triple-doubles and leads the Gaels in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg). Senior forward Maija Lahde is second on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg). Head coach Paul Thomas is in his third season at the helm of the Gaels. Nine letterwinners and three starters returned from last year’s team that was 15-17 (6-8 WCC/5th).
Pilots/Gaels Series
The Gaels have won seven of the last eight meetings with Portland and lead the all-time series 27-18. The two schools split their two meetings last year, with each team winning at home. The Pilots are 5-16 all-time in Moraga and haven’t won at Saint Mary’s since 1997.
A Brief Look Ahead
After their recent grueling stretch of games, the Pilots take a week off from action before resuming play with their second swing through the WCC. Portland is set to travel to Spokane, Wash., for a game against first-place Gonzaga on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 1:00 p.m. UP then returns home for conference games against San Francisco (Feb. 12) and Saint Mary’s (Feb. 14).
To New Beginnings
Portland, which is 3-2 and tied for second place the WCC, is off to its best start in conference play since the 1996-97 team opened the league slate at 5-0. That squad would finish with a perfect 14-0 WCC record and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Portland’s 3-2 league record is the fifth best beginning to league play since the Pilots joined the WCC in women’s hoops in 1987-88.
Each Win Brings A New Record
Head coach Jim Sollars, who has won 135 West Coast Conference games with the Pilots, currently has more WCC wins than any other coach in the 21-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 310-343 (.475) all-time at Portland. Sollars, who coached at Portland State before moving to UP, has 333 total wins at the NCAA DI level and 487 wins overall.
West Coast Cronin
5-10 sophomore guard Tara Cronin, who has been Portland’s top rebounder all season, has stepped up offensively five games into the conference slate. Cronin has reached double figures in scoring four times during league play and is currently averaging 14.0 points per WCC contest. After opening with 13 points against Gonzaga on Jan. 10, the native of Spokane, Wash., notched 12 points at San Francisco on Jan. 15 and a career-high 20 points at Santa Clara on Jan. 17. She then poured in 18 points on eight of 11 shooting against LMU on Jan. 22.
On the season, Cronin is putting up 9.5 points per game, which ranks second on the team. Earlier this year, Cronin scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds during a win at Utah State on Nov. 14 for her first career double-double. Cronin has led the Pilots in rebounding a team-high nine times this year. Her average of 6.0 rebounds per game leads the Pilots.
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 1,206 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 and is 39 points shy of moving up to 11th.
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 204-120 record for a winning percentage of .630. The Pilots went 9-6 at the friendly confines last season and are 5-4 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.
Rise of the Laiken
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 1,206 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 (.880), is second in three-point accuracy (.398), ranks third in free throws made (388) and three-pointers made (130) and is fifth in career points per game (15.1).
Dollente has been a scoring machine this season, leading the Pilots in points 11 times. She is averaging 15.6 points per game, which ranks seventh in the WCC, has games of 21, 27, 22, 26 and 25 points and has reached double figures 14 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 career record books. Sophomore Tara Cronin ranks third in free throw percentage (.814), senior Karlie Burris is fourth in three-point percentage (.380) and eighth with 303 career assists and senior Carly Koebel is sixth with 98 career blocks.
Among the Conference Elite
Junior Laiken Dollente, who ranks fifth in the WCC in scoring with a 15.7 points per game average, is one of a handful of Pilots making an appearance among the conference’s statistical leaders. Dollente is tied for third in free throw accuracy (.819), ranks fourth in three-pointers made (34), is fifth in three-point percentage (.354) and is sixth in assists per game (3.0). Senior Karlie Burris is second in assist-turnover ratio (1.92), is third in assists (3.8), ranks fifth in steals (2.2) and three-point accuracy (.388) and is eighth in blocked shots (0.7). Sophomore guard Tara Cronin ranks fifth in free throw percentage (.817) and is tied for seventh in steals (2.0). Senior Carly Koebel is third in blocks per game (1.8) and sophomore Lauren Angel is tenth in field goal percentage (.447).
As a team, Portland is second in the WCC in scoring defense (60.3 ppg), three-point field goal percentage (.338) and assists per game (13.75).
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.
