Thursday • Jan. 14 • 7:00 p.m. • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: POR leads 29-25
Last Season: POR 74, @USD 66; USD 71, @POR 64; USD 74, POR 64 @WCC
Pilots (11-5, 0-1 WCC) vs Saint Mary’s (11-6, 2-0 WCC)
Saturday • Jan. 16 • 2:00 p.m. • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: SMC leads 27-20
Last Season: POR 64, @SMC 63; @POR 74, SMC 62
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The Portland Pilots (11-5, 0-1 WCC) will play their first home games in more than three weeks as they welcome the San Diego Toreros (10-6, 2-0 WCC) and Saint Mary’s Gaels (11-6, 2-0 WCC) to the Chiles Center for two crucial early-season West Coast Conference contests. The Pilots and Toreros are set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night, while Saturday’s game against the Gaels is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
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.
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 Gonzaga Bulldogs led big at the half and never looked back en route to a 90-54 win over the Portland Pilots on Saturday at the McCarthey Center in Spokane, Wash. Senior guard Laiken Dollente led the Pilots with 17 points. Junior Jessica Clemens was the only other Pilot to score in double figures with 10 points. Gonzaga senior Heather Bowman led all scorers with 23 points. Portland scored the first two points of the game and led 11-10 after Dollente drilled a three-pointer 7:30 in. But GU responded with a three by Courtney Vandersloot that gave a lead to the Bulldogs that they would never relinquish. UP was still within seven points moments later, but Gonzaga ended the half on a 22-8 run to enter the locker room with a 42-21 lead.
Following the break, UP briefly pulled within 18 points after a three by junior Tara Cronin. But Gonzaga responded once again as the Pilots never got closer than 20 the rest of the way. The Pilots hurt themselves with a season-high 29 turnovers, which led to 35 GU points. The Bulldogs also owned the key, posting a 44-35 edge in rebounds and a sizable 52-12 advantage in points in the paint. The Bulldogs were also effective in transition as they outscored the Pilots 18-0 in fast break points. UP could muster just five points off of 15 Gonzaga turnovers.
About San Diego
The Toreros opened conference play with home wins over Santa Clara (60-44) and San Francisco (54-47) last weekend. USD has won five straight games and is led by sophomore guard Dominique Conners with a 14.1 points per game mark. Junior guard Sam Child is putting up 13.4 points per game, while junior forward Emily Hatch is the team’s top rebounder (7.6 rpg). Cindy Fisher is in her fifth season as head coach of the Toreros. San Diego returned eight letterwinners and three starters from a team that was 19-13 overall last year and tied for fourth in the WCC with a 7-7 league mark.
Pilots/Toreros Series
San Diego took two of three from Portland last season, but the Pilots still lead the overall series 29-25. Last January, Alexis Gannis scored 20 points to help UP win 74-66 at San Diego. The Toreros then defeated the Pilots 71-64 in Portland and 74-64 at the WCC tourney.
About Saint Mary’s
The Gaels picked up home conference wins against San Francisco (76-64) and Santa Clara (83-55) last weekend. SMC junior center Louella Tomlinson registered double-double’s during both games, including a 35-point performance against the Dons. Tomlinson has three triple-doubles this season, leads the nation in blocks (6.9 bpg) and leads the WCC in both scoring (17.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg). Four Gaels are averaging double figures in points. Head coach Paul Thomas is in his fourth season at the helm of SMC. The Gaels were 11-19 last season, tied for fourth in the WCC with a 7-7 record and returned 13 letterwinners and four starters.
Pilots/Gaels Series
UP won both meetings with the Gaels last season but still trail in the all-time series 20-27. In Moraga last winter, Lauren Angel hit a buzzer-beating jumper to send the Pilots to a 64-63 win. Portland also won 74-62 at the Chiles Center behind 22 points from Laiken Dollente.
A Brief Look Ahead
After their two home games this weekend, the Pilots take to the road with a pair of WCC games in Southern California next week. UP is set to face the Loyola Marymount Lions on Thursday, Jan. 21 in Los Angeles before heading to Malibu for a tilt against the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday, Jan. 23. Portland then finishes the month of January with home conference games against San Francisco (Jan. 28) and Santa Clara (Jan. 30).
Money from the Line
Dollente, who is the most accurate free throw shooter in UP program history with a career percentage of .880, has been money from the line once again and currently ranks second in the country. The senior guard has made 81 of 87 attempts this winter for a percentage of .931, which ranks behind only Kelsey Luna (62-for-65, .954) of Indiana State. Dollente finished second in the country in free throw shooting as a sophomore.
As a team, the Pilots rank fourth in the nation with a free throw percentage of .794 (200-for-252)
Career Builder
With 11 points at Seattle on Sunday, Jan. 3, senior guard Laiken Dollente moved up to No. 3 all-time in career scoring at the University of Portland. Now with 1,629 career points, Dollente sits behind only Martha Sheldon (1,953) and UP’s all-time overall leading scorer Lorena Legarde (2,568). Sheldon (1988-92) is Portland’s all-time leading scorer at the NCAA Division I level as Legarde’s (1981-85) career took place when UP was still competing as an NAIA school.
Dollente, a native of Yakima, Wash., also currently ranks first all-time at UP in free throw shooting (.879) and three-point accuracy (.413), is second in free throws (505) and three-pointers made (186), is fifth in career points per game (15.2) and is eighth in assists (342). She recently cracked the top 10 in field goals made with 469 career makes, which rank tenth.
The Laik Show
This season, Dollente is scoring, spreading the wealth and crashing the glass. She leads the team and ranks second in the WCC in both scoring (16.4 ppg) and assists (5.1 apg). She also leads the league in free throw percentage (.931) and is second in three-point percentage (.472), while ranking second and 12th nationally, respectively.
Dollente is averaging a career-best 4.3 rebounds per game and her 31 points against Montana State on Dec. 21 are the second most scored in a game by a WCC player this season. It’s the third time in her career to score at least 30 points and the first since scoring 30 at San Francisco on Jan. 27, 2007. Dollente’s career high of 32 points came at Portland State on Dec. 9, 2006.
She also handed out a career-high 10 assists during the win at Utah Valley on Dec. 29, becoming the first UP player to dish 10 assists in a game since Trisha Felts accomplished the feat on Feb. 26, 2000.
Dollente has been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week twice this season.
500 and Counting
Head coach Jim Sollars notched career win No. 500 when the Pilots defeated the Idaho Vandals 67-56 on Nov. 11 in Moscow, Idaho. In 34-plus years as a head women’s basketball coach, Sollars has compiled 505 wins at three different schools. He began his head coaching career in 1976 at Wenatchee Valley Community College, where he tallied 154 wins in seven years. During three years (1983-86) at the helm of Portland State, Sollars added 23 more wins to the resume before moving to The Bluff. While at UP, the native of Longview, Wash., has posted 328 wins. He’s 505-434 (.538) overall, 351-409 (.462) at the NCAA Division I level and 328-352 (.482) at Portland.
He’s easily the most winningest coach in UP program history and with 142 West Coast Conference wins, Sollars has won more WCC games 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.
On Point
It’s no secret that Portland’s recent success has coincided with the improved and consistent play of sophomore point guard ReZina TecleMariam. Z is averaging career bests of 8.0 points per game, 6.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists. After grabbing nine rebounds during UP’s win at Idaho (Dec. 11), the native of Puyallup, Wash., ripped down a career-high 11 boards in the victory at Washington State (Dec. 13). She had 10 rebounds by halftime against the Cougars and she scored a career-high 18 points during a 98-63 win over Sacramento State on Nov. 22.
Perhaps her most impressive stat-lines were at Idaho (10 pts, 9 rebs, 6 assts, 0 TO’s, 40 mins) and at Seattle (13 pts, 9 rebs, 7 assts, 1 TO, 43 mins).
Seize the Day
Before the season began, the NCAA waived its one-year residence requirement for sophomore transfer Natalie Day and she is taking full advantage. Day is second on the Pilots in scoring with a 11.6 per game mark, while averaging 3.8 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures 10 times this season and she poured in a career-high 19 points at Air Force on Nov. 20. She drained five three-pointers during the win over the Falcons.
The guard/forward from Germantown, Md., transferred to UP from Howard University and was expected to sit out the entire year. She has three years of eligibility remaining.
A Career Year
Junior post Lauren Angel, who ranks second on the ream in scoring (11.6 ppg), has been a steady presence down low for the Pilots. She’s scored in double figures 11 times this season, while she scored eight points four times. Angel, a native of Wollongong, Australia, has matched career highs this season in points (18 vs. Portland State) and assists (3 vs. Pacific) while setting career highs in rebounds (11 vs. Utah State), steals (4 vs. Utah State) and blocks (4 vs. Sacramento State). She also recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 11 boards against Utah State on Nov. 16.
Alexis: The Pursuit of Perfection
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 five times this season and she dropped a career-high 21 points against Eastern Washington on Nov. 14. The native of Phoenix, Ariz., has also recorded her first three career double-doubles with 10 points and 12 boards at Air Force (Nov. 20), 19 points and 10 rebounds against Portland State (Nov. 24) and 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds at Utah Valley (Dec. 29).
She currently ranks fourth in the West Coast Conference with a 7.7 per game mark and she is fourth on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg).
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.
