Sunday • Feb. 8, 2009 • 1:00 p.m.
Spokane, Wash. (McCarthey Center - 6,000)
Live Audio: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: GoZags.com
Series: GON leads 31-26
Last Meeting: GON 60, POR 49 (Jan. 7, 2009 - Portland, Ore.)
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The Portland Pilots (12-10, 5-2 West Coast Conference) will look to continue their road success this weekend as they travel to Spokane, Wash., for a showdown with conference-leading Gonzaga (19-4, 7-0 WCC). The Pilots and Bulldogs are set to play on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at the McCarthey Center. Portland is 4-0 this season in WCC games on the road. A free audio broadcast of Sunday's game will be available at portlandpilots.com.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots picked up two huge road-wins last weekend to take over sole possession of second place in the conference. UP entered the weekend as a part of a four-team log jam for second place. On Thursday, the Pilots dispatched of one part of that log jam with a 74-66 win at San Diego. The Pilots were fueled by a career-high 20 points from freshman Alexis Gannis, who shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. The Pilots scored a first-half season high of 45 points to build a 15-point halftime cushion. UP then calmly withstood a couple of USD second-half runs, while not allowing the Toreros any closer than seven points after the break. Portland shot a blistering 61.2 percent from the floor and got 15 points, four assists and a team-high five rebounds from junior Laiken Dollente.
On Saturday, sophomore Lauren Angel hit a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the Pilots to a 64-63 win over Saint Mary’s in Moraga, Calif. It was just the second field goal of the day for Angel. Portland had to scrap back from a 13-point deficit early in the second half to defeat the Gaels, who also entered the weekend tied for second. Gannis had her second straight solid game, finishing with 13 points and a career-best eight rebounds. Junior Tara Cronin matched Gannis with 13 points and eight boards. Senior Karlie Burris notched 12 points and six assists.
About Gonzaga
The Bulldogs sit just out of the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. The Bulldogs have won eight straight since losing a hard-fought game to Tennessee at home on Dec. 30. Last weekend, GU defeated Saint Mary’s 91-63 and San Diego 109-73. The 109 points are the most points scored by the Zags since the 1985 campaign when GU defeated Seattle Pacific 111-84. Reigning WCC Player of the Year Heather Bowman, a junior forward, leads the league in scoring (19.9 ppg) and is fifth in rebounding (8.0 rpg). Sophomore guard Courtney Vandersloot (15.1 ppg), the reigning conference player of the month, and junior guard Tiffanie Shives (10.1 ppg) are also averaging double figures in scoring. One-time UP assistant coach Kelly Graves is in his 12th year at the helm of the GU program. Nine letterwinners and four starters returned from a team that was 25-9 (13-1 WCC/1st) last year and advanced to the Second Round of the WNIT.
Pilots/Bulldogs Series
Gonzaga has won 16 straight games against Portland and owns a 31-26 advantage in the all-time series. Portland’s last win against Gonzaga came in Spokane in 2002. That win was part of a run during which UP took 16 of 18 games from GU, dating back to the 1993-94 season. The Bulldogs are 17-9 all-time against the Pilots in Spokane. During this season’s first meeting in Portland on Jan. 10, Vandersloot scored a game-high 19 points as GU pulled away late for a 60-49 win.
A Brief Look Ahead
The Pilots return to the Chiles Center for their first home game in almost three weeks when they host the San Francisco Dons on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7:00 p.m. Saint Mary’s then visits for a game on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2:00 p.m. The Pilots then head to Pepperdine (Feb. 19) and LMU (Feb. 21) the following week.
To New Beginnings
Portland, which is 5-2 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 7-0. That squad would finish with a perfect 14-0 WCC record and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Portland’s 5-2 league record is the fifth best beginning to league play since the Pilots joined the WCC in women’s hoops in 1987-88.
Gannis Nabs WCC Player of the Week
After her breakout weekend in California, freshman Alexis Gannis was named the WCC’s Player of the Week. It’s the first such honor for Gannis and the first for the Pilots this season.
On Thursday, 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 more 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 to help Portland improve upon its best start in WCC play since the 1996-97 season.
“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 4-0 record away from the Chiles Center during WCC action. Portland, which is 6-5 on the road overall, has already won at San Francisco, at Santa Clara, at San Diego and at Saint Mary’s to take over second place in the conference.
Four 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.
Each Win Brings A New Record
Head coach Jim Sollars, who has won 137 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 312-343 (.476) all-time at Portland. Sollars, who coached at Portland State before moving to UP, has 335 total wins at the NCAA DI level and 489 wins overall.
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.
