Complete 2009-10 Schedule
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots women’s basketball team is set to host the Concordia Cavaliers in an exhibition game on Wednesday night at the Chiles Center at 7:00 p.m. Portland is scheduled to open the regular season at home against Eastern Washington on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The Pilots, who were selected to finish fourth this season in the West Coast Conference, return seven letterwinners and three starters from a team that reached the post-season (WNIT First Round) for the first time in 10 years. UP went 17-14 overall and 10-4 in the WCC (2nd) in 2008-09 for the program’s first winning record since 1998-99. It was also the most wins since the 1997-98 squad won 19 games.
Guard Laiken Dollente headlines the group of returners for Portland and is the lone senior on the roster. Dollente, who was selected to the WCC’s Preseason All-Conference team, landed on the All-WCC First Team last winter and currently ranks No. 7 on Portland’s all-time scoring list with 1,366 career points. The native of Yakima, Wash., averaged 15.3 points per game last season, scored at least 20 points eight times and reached double figures 25 times.
Also back for UP is junior guard Tara Cronin. The native of Spokane, Wash., led the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg) in 2008-09, was second in scoring (9.3 ppg) and was named all-conference honorable mention.
Head coach Jim Sollars, who was named the WCC Coach of the Year last season for an unprecedented fifth time, adds four newcomers to the roster, including Howard University transfer Natalie Day. Day, a sophomore guard/forward with three years of eligibility remaining, was recently ruled eligible for the upcoming season by the NCAA, which waived the usual one-year residence requirement for transfers.
The Pilots will host Warner Pacific on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in their final exhibition game before opening the regular season.
