Wednesday • Dec. 2 • 7:00 p.m. • Eugene, Ore. (McArthur Court - (9,087)
Live Radio: KUIK 1360 AM
Live Stats: GoDucks.com
Series: ORE leads 21-4
Last Meeting: ORE 64, POR 55 - Jan. 26, 2009 @ Eugene, Ore.
Pilots (3-2) vs Pacific (1-3)
Friday • Dec. 4 • 7:00 p.m. • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: POR leads 4-2
Last Meeting: POR 84, PAC 64 - Dec. 28, 2007 @ Stockton, Calif.
Pilots (3-2) vs Boise State (7-0)
Sunday • Dec. 6 • 2:00 p.m. • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: POR leads 7-5
Last Meeting: BSU 68, POR 59 - Nov. 16, 2008 @ Boise Idaho
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The Portland Pilots (3-2), who have won three straight games, have a busy week with a road game at Oregon and home games against Pacific and Boise State. On Wednesday, the Ducks (5-1) are set to host the Pilots at McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore., at 7:00 p.m. Portland then returns to the Chiles Center to host the Tigers (1-3) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and the Broncos (7-0) at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
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 games are $8. As usual, free audio streams and live stats are available at www.portlandpilots.com.
Wednesday’s game at Oregon will be broadcast live on the radio in the Portland area on KUIK 1360 AM.
Stay Connected
Fans can now follow the Portland Pilots like never before. Just visit Twitter (@PortlandPilots), facebook (facebook.com/PortlandPilots) and YouTube (youtube.com/UPPurplePride) for access to everything Pilots.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots have won three straight games, posting wins at Air Force (Nov. 20) and at home against Sacramento State (Nov. 22) and cross-town rival Portland State (Nov. 24). During the 73-65 win over the Falcons, sophomore Natalie Day hit five three-pointers to lead four Pilots in double figures with 19 points. As team, Portland hit 12 from downtown, while sophomore Alexis Gannis tallied her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 boards. UP outscored AF by seven points in the second half en route to the win.
Portland then nearly scored 100 points for the first time since 1997 with a 98-63 win at home against Sac State. The 98 points are the most scored by the Pilots since a 107-74 win over Idaho on Jan. 4, 1997, while it’s the first time scoring 90 points since 2003. Five Pilots reached double figures in scoring, led by senior guard Laiken Dollente’s 19 points. Sophomore guard ReZina TecleMariam doubled her previous career high by finishing with 18 points on just eight shot attempts, while Gannis grabbed 12 more rebounds.
The Pilots followed the win over the Hornets with a 75-71 win against Portland State. UP opened a 13-point lead twice before holding on for the win. Gannis notched her second career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds and junior post Lauren Angel matched a career high with 18 points. Junior guard Tara Cronin handed out a career-high nine assists, becoming just the second UP player to accomplish that feat since 2001. Dollente had nine assists during a game last season.
About Oregon
The Ducks only loss this season was a 58-57 setback against Wisconsin in Eugene last Saturday. Oregon responded with an 87-58 win over Portland State on Sunday. The Ducks are averaging 86.8 points per game and are led by senior G Taylor Lilley and junior P Nicole Canepa, who are both putting up 14.8 points per contest. Sophomore F Amanda Johnson is averaging a double-double (14.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg). Veteran coach Paul Westhead, who has a resume that spans nearly four decades, is in his first season at the helm of the Ducks. Westhead won an NBA title as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980.
Oregon, of the Pac-10 Conference, has won 21 of 25 meetings all-time with Portland and is 14-0 against the Pilots in Eugene. The Ducks topped Portland 64-55 last year at Mac Court.
About Pacific
The Tigers have lost two straight, most recently 64-53 at Monmouth. Pacific’s lone win this season was a 67-54 victory at home over Southern Utah. Junior G Jennifer Fath leads Pacific this season in scoring with a 11.8 per game average. Sophomore P Christina Thompson is the team’s top rebounder, averaging 6.0 boards in just two games. Lynne Roberts is in her fourth season as head coach at Pacific, which plays in the Big West Conference.
Portland has won four of the six meetings all-time against Pacific. In the most recent meeting, Laiken Dollente scored a game-high 24 points as the Pilots defeated the Tigers 84-64 in Stockton, Calif., during the 2007-08 season.
About Boise State
The Broncos are receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls. Last weekend, Boise State won the Lady Rebel Round-Up in Las Vegas with wins over UNLV and Washington State. Senior G Tasha Harris is averaging 18.3 points per game, while fellow senior guard Jessica Van Hoogen is putting up 16.0. Harris is also the team’s top rebounder with a 5.0 per game mark. Boise State plays in the WAC and is led by fifth-year head coach Gordy Presnell.
The Pilots own a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series with Boise State. This is the fourth straight season that UP has faced BSU. The Broncos prevailed last year 68-59 in Boise, despite 21 points from Portland’s Laiken Dollente.
A Brief Look Ahead
The Pilots play just their second and third road games of the season next week. On Friday, Dec. 11, Portland will travel to Moscow, Idaho for a game against the Idaho Vandals. Then on Sunday, Dec. 13, the Pilots are in Pullman, Wash., for a tilt against the Washington State Cougars. Portland then squeezes in two more home games against Montana (Dec. 19) and Montana State (Dec. 21) before Christmas.
Cleaning the Glass
After earning WCC All-Freshman honors last season, sophomore forward Alexis Gannis has taken her game to a new level. Gannis has reached double figures in rebounding in every game this year, save the season-opener against Eastern Washington. All she did against the Eagles was drop a career-high 21 points. The native of Phoenix, Ariz., has also recorded her first two career double-doubles with 10 points and 12 boards at Air Force (Nov. 20) and 19 points and 10 rebounds against Portland State (Nov. 24).
She’s had a career-high 12 rebounds twice and she currently ranks second in the West Coast Conference with a 9.6 per game mark.
Nearly a Chalupa
Portland just missed reaching the century mark for the first time in 12 years when it defeated the Sacramento State Hornets 98-63 at the Chiles Center on Nov. 22. The point total is the highest for the Pilots since a 107-74 win over Idaho on Jan. 4, 1997, while it’s the first time scoring 90 points since 2003.
Five Pilots reached double figures during the win with senior guard Laiken Dollente leading the way with a game-high 19 points. Sophomore guard ReZina TecleMariam doubled her previous career high by finishing with 18 points on six of eight shooting, while sophomore forward Alexis Gannis matched a career high with 12 rebounds.
UP outscored Sac State 55-33 during the second half. Portland also held a 52-39 advantage on the boards.
The Laik Show Rolls On
Senior guard Laiken Dollente, the lone senior on the roster, is one of the most prolific scorers in UP program history and is looking to continue her assault on the record books this winter. Dollente is second on the Pilots in scoring (12.8) this season and she currently ranks No. 6 on UP’s all-time scoring list with 1,430 career points. She is just the 18th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
Dollente also currently ranks first all-time at UP in free throw shooting (.872), is second in three-point accuracy (.395) and free throws made (451), ranks third in three-pointers made (157) and is fifth in career points per game (14.9). She sits just outside the top 10 in assists with 284 career dimes.
This season, Dollente is scoring and spreading the wealth as she currently ranks second in the WCC with a 4.6 assists per game average, while her 1.64 assists/turnover ratio is third in the league.
Each Win Brings A New Record
Head coach Jim Sollars, who has won 142 West Coast Conference games with the Pilots, currently has more WCC wins than any other coach in the 22-year history of the conference. During the 2007-08 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 during the 2007-08 season and is 320-347 (.478) all-time at Portland. Sollars, who coached at Portland State before moving to UP, has 343 total wins at the NCAA DI level and 497 wins overall.
WCC Coaches Pick Pilots to Finish Fourth
Portland senior guard Laiken Dollente was voted to the WCC’s Preseason All-Conference team, while Gonzaga was chosen as the favorite to claim the West Coast Conference women’s basketball title for the second straight year in the 2009-10 preseason coaches poll. The Pilots were picked to finish fourth.
Seize the Day
The NCAA has waived the one-year residence requirement for sophomore transfer Natalie Day, meaning she is eligible to play this season for the Portland Pilots women’s basketball team. The guard/forward transferred to UP from Howard University and was expected to sit out the entire year. Day, who has three years of eligibility remaining, is one of three newcomers on the roster, joining junior transfer Egle Karolyte and freshmen Sarah Griffin and Sarah Kliewer.
Two Sports? No Problem
Junior Jessica Clemens is now in her third 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 this week.
In 21 games last season, Clemens averaged 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures three times as a sophomore, twice scoring a career-high 13 points.
