Date: Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010

Location: Portland, Ore.

Tip: 7:00 p.m.

Arena: Stott Center (1,500)

Live Video/Stats: GoViks.com

Series: POR leads 24-22

Last Meeting: @POR 75, PSU 71 (Nov. 24, 2009)      

 

Date: Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010

Location: Portland, Ore.

Tip: 7:00 p.m.

Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)

Series: UI leads 17-14

Last Meeting: POR 67, @UI 56 (Dec. 11, 2009)

The Portland Pilots (9-4) will play their fifth straight road game with a tilt at Portland State (5-6) on Tuesday night before returning home to host Idaho (6-5) on Thursday. The Vikings and Pilots are set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at the Stott Center, while Thursday’s game against the Vandals is also a 7:00 p.m. starting time at the Chiles Center.

 

New for 2010-11 is UP’s GameCentral, a free internet portal that combines free video, audio and livestats in one location, making following the Pilots easier and more accessible than ever before. All home, non-televised men’s and women’s soccer games, volleyball matches and men’s and women’s basketball games will be available through the free service, which is also available on your iPhone, iPad, or iTouch. To access GameCentral, simply visit PortlandPilots.com.

 

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.

 

The Pilots split a pair of games in California last week. On Sunday, Dec. 19, Portland improved to 6-0 on the road with an 86-73 win over the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, Calif. Junior guard ReZina TecleMariam hit seven of 10 shots from the field en route to a career-high 20 points. Junior wing Natalie Day added 16 points to help the Pilots to a 48-16 edge in bench points.

On Tuesday, Dec. 21, the UC Irvine Anteaters handed the Pilots their first road loss of the season with a 73-56 decision in Irvine, Calif. UP couldn’t recover from a 15-point half-time deficit, despite 17 points from senior guard Tara Cronin.

 

The Vikings have lost three straight games, but are 3-1 at home this season. Most recently, PSU dropped a 69-53 decision to Georgia Tech on Dec. 22 at the Stott Center. Junior guard Eryn Jones, who is second on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg), scored a game-high 22 points against Georgia Tech. Sophomore guard Courtney VanBrocklin (13.1 ppg) and senior forward Kelli Valentine (10.1 ppg) are also averaging in double figures in points this season, while VanBrocklin is the team’s top rebounder (6.1 rpg). Sherri Murrell is in her fourth season as head coach at PSU. Last season, the Vikings went 18-15 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big Sky Conference tourney. Nine letterwinners and three starters returned.

 

The Vandals have lost three straight games and four of their last five after opening the season 6-1. Idaho lost their last two to WCC opponents, dropping a 93-62 decision at Gonzaga before losing 85-71 at Saint Mary’s. Senior post Yinka Olorunnife, who scored 20 points against the Gaels, leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg). Senior wing Rachele Kloke is also scoring in double figures for Idaho with a per game mark of 11.7. Head coach Jon Newlee is in his third season at the helm of the Vandals. Idaho returned six letterwinners and four starters from a team that was 11-20 one year ago. The Vandals finished third in the WAC with an 8-8 league mark.

 

The Pilots opened the season at 4-0 for just the third time in program history and for the first time since 2001-02. At 9-4, the Pilots have matched the program’s third best record after 13 games. UP also won its first six games on the road to open with a 6-0 record away from the Chiles Center for the first time in program history. Portland began its women’s basketball program in 1977 and began competing at the NCAA Division I level in 1986.

 

Portland is getting tremendous production off of its bench this season, which includes Natalie Day’s team-high 15.2 points per game. So far, 41.1 percent (390 of 948 points) of UP’s total scoring has come off of the pine. The Pilots’ bench has been outscored only once this season (23-18 by Oregon on Nov. 22), while the UP subs outscored Montana State’s by a ridiculous 60-6 margin on Dec. 10. Portland also posted an impressive 23-2 advantage in bench points against Hawai’i on Dec. 4 and outscored Pacific’s bench 48-16 on Dec. 19.

 

Portland’s game against Oregon on Nov. 22 was Jim Sollars’ 700th game as UP’s head coach. In 25-plus years, Coach has compiled a 344-364 (.486) overall record with the Pilots.

Last season, coach Sollars notched career win No. 500 when the Pilots defeated the Idaho Vandals 67-56 on Nov. 11 in Moscow, Idaho. In 35-plus years as a head women’s basketball coach, Sollars has compiled 521 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.

With 149 WCC wins, Sollars has won more league games than any other coach in the 23-year history of the conference.

 

During Portland’s 91-80 win over Washington State on Nov. 18, juniors Natalie Day and Nakeisha Brown became to first UP teammates to score at least 20 points in the same game since 2005. Day scored 25 against the Cougars, while Brown registered a career-high 22. During a win against UC Davis on Nov. 27, 2005, Whitney Grant (25) and Rose Sauer (20) both reached the 20-point mark.

 

Back for her second season with the Pilots is transfer Natalie Day, who is Portland’s top returning scorer. Day, a wing who came to The Bluff from Howard University prior to the 2009-10 season, averaged 11.2 points per game last year.

Now a junior, the native of Germantown, Md., is putting up a team-best 15.2 points per game, which ranks fifth in the WCC, and she has scored in double figures during 11 of 13 games. Day has two games of 25 points and she registered her first career double-double with 25 points and 11 boards against Oregon on Nov. 22. She’s also been active on the glass, averaging 5.6 rebounds per game, good for 10th in the conference.

 

Returning to run the point this season is veteran guard ReZina TecleMariam, who is now a junior for the Pilots and is second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg). TecleMariam has two games this season with 10 assists and is second in the WCC and 18th nationally in assists per game (5.8). Against Washington State on Nov. 18, Z registered her first career double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. She nearly posted back-to-back double-doubles in unorthodox style, putting up 16 points and a career-best seven steals against Air Force on Nov. 20. On Dec. 19, TecleMariam set another milestone with a career-high 20 points against Pacific.

TecleMariam had a break-out year last season, finishing fourth on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg) and second in both rebounding (5.6 rpg) and assists (3.8 apg). The native of Puyallup, Wash., started all 31 games and averaged 10.5 points per game during WCC contests.

 

After missing the majority of her first two years on The Bluff with leg injuries, junior guard Nakeisha Brown is making the most of her health this season. Brown, who has started all 13 games, is third on the team in scoring with an 9.5 points per game mark. During UP’s 91-80 win over Washington State on Nov. 18, the native of Houston, Texas, careered, going for 22 points on eight of nine shooting. She hit all four of her three-pointers against the Cougars and she’s reached double figures in scoring seven times this season. Prior to this year, Brown had played in only 19 games, averaging 2.0 points per contest.

 

The current crop of Pilots is starting to appear in the UP career record books. Senior Tara Cronin is fourth all-time in career free throw percentage (.791), ranks seventh in three-point percentage (.356) and in career three-pointers (84). Junior Alexis Gannis is fourth all-time with a career field goal percentage of .497, while junior guard ReZina TecleMariam’s career three-point percentage of .350 ranks eighth. Natalie Day’s career average of 12.5 points per game ranks 10th all-time.

 

After playing both volleyball and basketball during her first three years on The Bluff, senior forward Jessica Clemens is focusing on just hoops this season. As a junior, Clemens put up 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. During a win at San Francisco on Feb. 25, the Burns, Ore., native registered first her career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 boards.

 

Redshirt-freshman Sarah Griffin has taken on blogging duties for the women’s hoops team, and she’ll be checking in from time-to-time with her thoughts and some updates on the season. Make sure to bookmark www.portlandpilots.com/GriffinBlog and follow Sarah and the Pilots all season.