Thursday • Feb. 26, 2009 • 7:00 p.m.
Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: POR leads 29-23
Last Meeting: POR 74, USD 66 (Jan. 29, 2009 - San Diego, Calif.)
Pilots (16-11, 9-3) vs. Santa Clara (3-24, 1-11)
Saturday • Feb. 28, 2009 • 2:00 p.m.
Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: SCU leads 29-21
Last Meeting: POR 50, SCU 38 (Jan. 17, 2009 - Santa Clara, Calif.)
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The second-place Portland Pilots (16-11, 9-3 West Coast Conference) control their own destiny with two home games this week to wrap-up the regular season. The Pilots, who trail first-place Gonzaga and lead third-place Pepperdine by one game, first host the San Diego Toreros (15-11, 6-6 WCC) at the Chiles Center on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. UP then welcomes the Santa Clara Broncos (3-24, 1-11 WCC) to town for the regular season finale on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Portland will honor its five seniors, Karlie Burris, Carly Koebel, Allyson Sievers, Jennifer Wassom and Andrea Wujek, with a pregame ceremony prior to Saturday’s game.
The Pilots can claim one of the top two seeds at the WCC Championships with a pair of wins this week. The top two seeds in the conference automatically advance to the tourney’s semifinals, set for Sunday, March 8 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
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 split a pair of conference road games in Southern California last week. In front of a national television (CBS College Sports) on Thursday night, the Pepperdine Waves pulled away from UP for a 64-55 win. The Pilots, who trailed for most of the game, pulled with one point and four points a couple of times late in the game, but the Waves were able to hold on. The loss overshadowed a big game for Portland senior Allyson Sievers, who just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior Laiken Dollente also flirted with a double-double, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds, which match a career high.
With second place in the WCC on the line, sophomore Lauren Angel scored a team-high 16 points to help lead the Pilots to a 57-55 comeback win over the Loyola Marymount Lions on Saturday afternoon. Saturday’s win, which featured five ties and six lead changes, means UP has defeated every WCC team this season. The Pilots played a stifling defense and held the Lions to an opponents’ season-low 26.2 percent (16-for-61) shooting on the day.
About San Diego
The Toreros have lost six out of their last nine games. Last weekend, USD easily defeated Saint Mary’s 94-52 at home. Senior forward Kiva Herman ranks second in the WCC in scoring with an 17.8 per game average. Senior post and reigning WCC player of the week Amber Sprague is fifth in the conference in scoring (15.7) and is the top scorer in USD program history. Sprague is also averaging a team-high 7.6 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
UP freshman Alexis Gannis scored a career-high 20 points to help lead the Pilots to a 74-66 win at San Diego earlier this season. USD claimed two of three meetings with UP last season, but Portland still leads the all-time series 29-23. The Pilots are 16-6 against USD all-time in Portland.
About Santa Clara
The Broncos are set to travel to Gonzaga on Thursday night. After beginning the conference slate 0-11, Santa Clara picked up a 51-46 win over San Francisco at home last Saturday. Senior guard Sara Majors led the way against the Dons with a team-high 13 points. Sophomore forward Lena Gipson, a transfer from Fresno City College who leads the WCC in rebounding, is nearly averaging a double-double for the season. She’s putting up 13.0 points and grabbing 9.9 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
The Pilots snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Broncos with a 50-38 win in Santa Clara earlier this season. Santa Clara still owns a 29-21 advantage in the all-time series. The Pilots hold a slim 11-10 edge over the Broncos in games played in the Rose City.
A Brief Look Ahead - The WCC Tourney
Following this week’s games, the Pilots travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the WCC Championships at the Orleans Arena. The four-day tournament begins on Friday on March 6 and concludes on Monday, March 9.
With two wins this week, the Pilots would claim one of the top two seeds at the tourney. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds automatically advance to the semifinals, set for Sunday, March 8. The No. 5 through No. 8 seeds will compete in Friday’s opening round to determine who will advance to the next round of the tournament. Waiting for the winners in the quarterfinals will be the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, who will have first-round byes into Saturday’s games.
I Hate Good Byes
Saturday marks the final regular season appearance at the Chiles Center for Portland’s five seniors. Guard Karlie Burris, center Carly Koebel and forwards Allyson Sievers, Jennifer Wassom and Andrea Wujek will be honored with a pregame ceremony prior to the 2:00 p.m. game against Santa Clara. UP’s senior class has improved in the wins’ column each year, culminating with Portland’s first winning season since the 1998-99 season.
A Season of Milestones
At 16-11 overall and 9-3 in the West Coast Conference, the Pilots are enjoying their finest season in 10 years. With at least three games remaining, UP has already guaranteed itself of its first winning season since 1998-99, when Portland went 16-13 and advanced to the WNIT. The 16 wins are also the most since that same year.
Portland has matched its conference win total (9) from the four previous seasons combined. The Pilots currently hold sole possession of second place, which would be their best finish in the conference since the 1996-97 team finished first with a perfect 14-0 record. 9-3 is also the fourth best league mark after 12 games for UP since joining the WCC in women’s hoops in 1987-88.
UP’s win over LMU last Saturday gave the Pilots a win over every WCC team this season. The last time the Pilots did that was during their undefeated run through the league in 1997.
The Pilots were nearly unstoppable on the road this season during the WCC slate, going an impressive 6-1 away from the Chiles Center. Last Thursday’s loss at Pepperdine was the first to a WCC opponent on the road this season. The six conference road wins are the most in a season for the Pilots since the 1996-97 team went a perfect 7-0 away from the Chiles Center. The eight road wins overall are the most since the 1997-98 team also won eight road games.
WCC Player of the Week... Again
Sophomore Tara Cronin became the second straight Pilot to be named the WCC’s Player of the Week (Feb. 9) after notching her second career double-double to help the Pilots defeat Gonzaga 70-67 in Spokane on Feb. 8. 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.
The previous week it was freshman Alexis Gannis who nabbed WCC’s Player of the Week (Feb. 2) 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 .676 from the field during WCC games.
Each Win Brings A New Record
Head coach Jim Sollars, who has won 141 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 316-344 (.479) all-time at Portland. Sollars, who coached at Portland State before moving to UP, has 339 total wins at the NCAA DI level and 493 wins overall.
The Laik Show
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 currently sits at No. 9 on the all-time scoring list with 1,305 career points and is just four points shy of moving up to No. 8 all-time.
West Coast Cronin
5-10 sophomore guard Tara Cronin, who was named the WCC Player of the Week on Feb. 9, has stepped up offensively during conference play. Cronin has reached double figures in scoring eight times during league play and is currently averaging 12.5 points per WCC contest. On Sunday, Feb. 8, Cronin notched her second career double-double with career highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds during a 70-67 win at Gonzaga. On the season, she is putting up 9.7 points per game, which ranks second on the team. Cronin, who has led the Pilots in rebounding 12 times this year, is averaging a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game. She is also shooting .840 (63-75) from the free throw line and has a missed just two free throws during WCC play, going 27-for-29 (.931).
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 206-120 record for a winning percentage of .632. The Pilots are 7-4 at home this year.
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 1,305 career points, she ranks No. 9 on UP’s all-time scoring list and is just four points shy of moving up to No. 8.
Dollente also ranks first all-time at UP in free throw shooting (.876) and three-point accuracy (.404), ranks third in free throws (409) and three-pointers made (146) and is fifth in career points per game (14.8).
Dollente has been a scoring machine this season, leading the Pilots in points 14 times. She is averaging 14.9 points per game, which ranks sixth in the WCC, has scored at least 20 points six times and has reached double figures 21 times. During the win against Manhattan on Dec. 19, Dollente dished out nine assists, becoming the first Pilot to accomplish that feat since Da’Love Woods in 2001.
Pilots to Finish Seventh
The Gonzaga Bulldogs were chosen as the favorite to win their fifth straight WCC women’s basketball regular season title. The Pilots were tabbed to finish seventh, while Dollente was voted to the WCC’s preseason all-conference team.
