Complete 2010-11 Schedule I GameCentral
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots women’s basketball team will open the 2010-11 season by hosting the Concordia Cavaliers in an exhibition game on Monday night at the Chiles Center. Tip-off between the Pilots and Cavaliers is set for 7:00 p.m.
The Pilots, who have made back-to-back post-season appearances, are coming off their most successful season in 12 years. UP returns nine letterwinners and four starters from last year’s team that went 18-13 for the most wins in a season since 1997-98.
Senior Tara Cronin and junior ReZina TecleMariam return to the backcourt, while senior Lauren Angel and junior Alexis Gannis are back to battle down low for the Pilots. Gannis earned WCC Honorable Mention last year after nearly averaging a double-double, posting per game marks of 9.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. TecleMariam (9.2 ppg), Angel (9.0 ppg) and Cronin (8.9 ppg) also came close to averaging in double figures in points last season.
Also back is junior wing Natalie Day, who is Portland’s top returning scorer after putting up 11.2 points per game during her sophomore campaign, her first as a Pilot. Day spent the summer playing for the Virgin Islands National Team at the 2010 Central America and Caribbean Games. She was in the tourney’s top 10 in both scoring and rebounding.
Freshmen Cassandra Brown, Alexis Byrd, Amy Pupa and Elyse Snyder will be making their collegiate debuts against the Cavaliers. During the summer, Brown played for the 2010 Canadian Junior Women’s National Team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
In the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Pilots were picked to finish fifth, while Gonzaga was selected to win its seventh straight league title.
Portland will play one more exhibition game on Thursday before opening the regular season next week at Boise State. On Thursday night, the Pilots will host Seattle Pacific at the Chiles Center at 6:00 p.m. Then on Friday, Nov. 12, Portland will be in Boise, Idaho, for the season opener at 3:00 p.m. (Pacific) against the Broncos.
