Thursday • Feb. 12, 2009 • 7:00 p.m.
Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: USF leads 24-23
Last Meeting: POR 68, USF 50 (Jan. 15, 2009 - San Francisco, Calif.)
Pilots (13-10, 6-2) vs Saint Mary’s (9-15, 5-4)
Saturday • Feb. 14, 2009 • 2:00 p.m.
Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: SMC leads 27-19
Last Meeting: POR 64, SMC 63 (Jan. 31, 2009 - Moraga, Calif.)
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The Portland Pilots (13-10 6-2 West Coast Conference), who sit alone in second place of the WCC after last weekend’s win at league-leading Gonzaga, return home this week to host the San Francisco Dons (6-17, 2-7 WCC) and the Saint Mary’s Gaels (9-15, 5-4 WCC) at the Chiles Center. On Thursday, the Pilots and Dons are set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s tilt with the Gaels is slated for 2:00 p.m.
Saturday’s match-up with Saint Mary’s is UP’s annual “Pink Zone” game, an initiative begun by the WBCA to raise breast cancer awareness in women’s basketball, on campuses and in communities. Fans are encouraged to join the two teams in wearing pink to the game. The University will also use the game against the Gaels as a chance to “Pack the House”, a national competition aimed to promote women’s basketball attendance and awareness. The goal is to set a season-high in attendance at a UP women’s basketball game.
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 Pilots remained perfect on the road in the WCC with a huge 70-67 win against first-place Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., on Sunday. Spokane native and Gonzaga Prep graduate Tara Cronin notched her second career double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds to help hand the Zags their first conference loss.
The Pilots, who led for much of the game, built an 11-point advantage early in the second half. But Gonzaga battled back and took a 67-65 lead with less than a minute remaining. That’s when Cronin took possession of the ball at the free throw line, made a couple of moves down the lane and hit a scooping lay-up while being fouled and falling to the floor. Cronin sank the and-one to give the Pilots a 68-67 lead with 26 seconds remaining. After a defensive stop, which included two blocked shots, Cronin hit two more free throws to make it a three-point UP lead with :07 left. GU got a good look on its final possession, but Janelle Bekkering’s three-pointer skimmed off the back rim at the buzzer. It was the first win for UP over Gonzaga since 2002, a string of 16 straight losses.
About San Francisco
The Dons are without the services of senior Necolia Simmons and junior Danesha Wright who have both been suspended for the rest of the season due to a violation of team rules. Simmons was averaging 12.9 points and 9.2 rebounds. USF dropped two league contests at home last weekend to San Diego and Saint Mary’s. Senior guard Shay Rollins leads the Dons in scoring (16.5) and is one of two active USF players averaging double figures in points. 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 defeated the Dons 68-50 at San Francisco on Jan. 15. San Francisco still owns a 24-23 advantage in the overall series, but the Pilots hold a 15-4 edge in games played in Portland. The two teams split their two meetings last season.
About Saint Mary’s
The Gaels, who won a pair of conference games against USF and Santa Clara last weekend, play at Gonzaga on Thursday night. Sophomore forward Louella Tomlinson leads the nation in blocks with a 5.6 per game average and is on pace to break her own NCAA single-season record in blocked shots. She also has two career triple-doubles and leads the Gaels in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg) this winter. 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
Lauren Angel hit a jumper as the buzzer sounded to give UP a 64-63 win at Saint Mary’s on Jan. 31. The Gaels still lead the all-time series 27-19. The Pilots are 17-9 all-time against SMC in Portland. The teams split their two meetings last season.
A Brief Look Ahead
The Pilots have one more road trip before finishing the regular season at home. Next week, the Pilots travel to Southern California for conference games at Pepperdine (Feb. 19) and at LMU (Feb. 21). Portland then returns to the Chiles Center to host San Diego (Feb. 26) and Santa Clara (Feb. 28) to wrap up the regular season.
WCC Player of the Week... Again
Sophomore Tara Cronin became the second straight Pilot to be named the WCC’s Player of the Week after notching her second career double-double to help the Pilots defeat Gonzaga 70-67 in Spokane on Sunday. Cronin hit her first seven shots en route to a 9-for-14 shooting performance. Her 22 points and 13 rebounds were both career highs. No points were more crucial than the traditional three-point play Cronin had to give Portland the 68-67 lead with 26 seconds remaining. On GU’s ensuing possession, Cronin came up with a huge blocked shot to preserve the Portland lead with eight seconds left. She then hit two more free throws to help ice the win.
Last week it was freshman Alexis Gannis who nabbed WCC’s Player of the Week honors. On Jan. 29, Gannis was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and scored a career-high 20 points to help UP defeat host San Diego 74-66. The Phoenix, Ariz., native didn’t let up on Saturday with 13 points and a career-best eight rebounds during a dramatic, last-second 64-63 win at Saint Mary’s. She shot 75.0 percent (15-for-20) and averaged 16.5 points and 5.0 rebounds during the weekend. On the season, Gannis is shooting a ridiculous .697 from the field during WCC games.
To New Beginnings
Portland, which is 6-2 and alone in second place in the WCC, is off to its best start in conference play since the 1996-97 team opened the league slate at 8-0. That squad would finish with a perfect 14-0 WCC record and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Portland’s 6-2 league record is the fifth best beginning to league play since the Pilots joined the WCC in women’s hoops in 1987-88.
“Pack the House” with Pink
The Pilots are asking you to join the global, unified effort to raise breast cancer awareness and funding at their annual “Pink Zone” game, which is set for Saturday, Feb. 14 against the Saint Mary’s Gaels at 2:00 p.m. at the Chiles Center. Fans are encouraged to join the Pilots and Gaels in wearing pink to the game. Tickets to the game are available for $3 and all fans wearing pink will receive entry into the game for just $2. The Pilots will be decked out in pink warm-ups and the game’s officials will use pink whistles. Limited edition pink Pilot t-shirts will also be available for a donation. The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association began the WBCA Pink Zone, formerly known as “Think Pink”, in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women’s basketball, on campuses and in communities.
The University will also use the game against the Gaels as a chance to “Pack the House”, a national competition aimed to promote women’s basketball attendance and awareness. The goal is to set a season-high in attendance at a UP women’s basketball game. During last season’s “Pack the House” and “Pink Zone” weekend, 1,218 fans came to the Chiles Center to watch the Pilots defeat the San Francisco Dons. It was the eighth largest home crowd in UP women’s basketball history.
A Kid Zone, featuring free ice cream to the first 500 fans, tattooing, sign-making and pom poms, will precede the 2:00 p.m. tip-off on Saturday and an autograph zone will follow the game.
Road Warriors
The Pilots are getting it done on the road this season with a perfect 5-0 record away from the Chiles Center during WCC action. Portland, which is 7-5 on the road overall, has already won at San Francisco, at Santa Clara, at San Diego, at Saint Mary’s and at league-leading Gonzaga to take over second place in the conference.
Five conference road wins are already the most in a season for the Pilots since the 1996-97 team went a perfect 7-0 away from the friendly confines of the Chiles Center. The seven road wins overall are the most since 1997-98 when the Pilots were 8-7.
Each Win Brings A New Record
Head coach Jim Sollars, who has won 138 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 313-343 (.477) all-time at Portland. Sollars, who coached at Portland State before moving to UP, has 336 total wins at the NCAA DI level and 490 wins overall.
