Thursday • Feb. 18 • 7:00 p.m. • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: PEPP leads 31-18
Last Meeting: POR 82, PEPP 76 (ot) - Jan. 23, 2010 (Malibu, Calif.)
Pilots (16-9, 5-5 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount (11-13, 4-6 WCC)
Saturday • Feb. 20 • 2:00 p.m. • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: POR leads 25-22
Last Meeting: POR 94, LMU 91 - Jan. 21, 2010 (Los Angeles, Calif.)
This Week in Pilots Basketball
The Portland Pilots (16-9, 5-5 WCC) play their final two home games of the regular season this week as they welcome West Coast Conference foes Pepperdine (16-8, 7-3 WCC) and Loyola Marymount (11-13, 4-6 WCC) to the Chiles Center. The Pilots and Pepperdine Waves are set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night, while Saturday’s game against the LMU Lions is slated for 2:00 p.m.
Saturday will mark the final regular season appearance at the Chiles Center for guard Laiken Dollente, Portland’s lone senior on the roster. Dollente, who will end her career as the record holder in several UP statistical categories, will be honored with a pre-game ceremony.
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 Pilots split their two WCC games in California last week. On Thursday night in San Diego, the Pilots picked up a crucial 74-68 win against the San Diego Toreros at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Pilots busted open a tie game at the half to take an eight-point lead, before holding on for the win. With the score tied at 56-56 and 5:38 remaining, sophomore ReZina TecleMariam hit a three-pointer, sophomore Natalie Day scored six straight points and sophomore Alexis Gannis converted down low to cap an 11-3 Portland run to give the Pilots their eight-point advantage. Z and senior Laiken Dollente, who hit all ten of her free throws, finished with a team-high 17 points each. Day added 12 off of the bench as five Pilots scored in double figures.
On Saturday, the Pilots came all the way back and then some from a first-half deficit, before Saint Mary’s rallied for a 67-64 win at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif. It looked bleak early as Saint Mary’s built a 30-11 first-half lead. The Pilots finally came to life with 6:22 left in the first stanza to embark on a 19-6 half-ending run to pull within 36-30 at the break. The run would continue into the second half and would grow to 30-9, allowing UP to claim its first lead at 41-39 with 16:45 left to play. The Pilots would eventually lead by six, but SMC chipped away at the lead and got a go-ahead bucket from Louella Tomlinson with 1:43 left. Tomlinson added some insurance with a jumper with just 17 ticks on the game clock. The Pilots had a good-look at a game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds, but Dollente’s attempt from way downtown was short.
Dollente hit five three-pointers and led all scorers with 27 points.
About Pepperdine
Senior post Miranda Ayim just missed posting a pair of double-doubles last week as the Waves picked up home wins against San Francisco (68-49) and Santa Clara (65-51). Ayim, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds against the Dons and went for 29 and 9 against the Broncos, is averaging team bests of 16.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Jazmine Jackson is the only other Wave scoring in double figures (11.8 ppg). Julie Rousseau is in her sixth season as head coach at Pepperdine. Eight letterwinners returned from a team that was 16-13 last year and finished third in the WCC with a 9-5 conference record.
Pilots/Waves Series
UP has won three of its last four against the Waves, including an 82-76 overtime win at Pepperdine earlier this season. Portland sophomore Natalie Day dropped a career-high 28 points during the win. Pepperdine still holds a 31-18 advantage in the all-time series.
About Loyola Marymount
Sophomore wing Alex Cowling averaged 28.0 points last week, including a 31-point outburst against USF, as LMU registered home wins over Santa Clara (73-61) and San Francisco (58-48). Cowling leads the Lions in scoring and ranks second in the WCC with a 17.2 per game average, while junior guard Renahy Young is putting up 14.6. Cowling is also the team’s top rebounder (6.5 rpg). Head coach Julie Wilhoit is in her 22nd season at the helm of the LMU program. Last season, the Lions were 18-12 and finished tied for fourth in the WCC with a 7-7 league mark. 11 letterwinners and four starters returned.
Pilots/Lions Series
The Pilots have won two straight against LMU after dropping 13 in a row in the series. Earlier this season, the Pilots set a program mark in field goal percentage (.618) during a 94-91 win at LMU. Portland leads the all-time series 25-22.
A Brief Look Ahead
Portland finishes the regular season with two WCC games on the road next week. On Thursday, Feb. 25, the Pilots will be in San Francisco, Calif., to face the San Francisco Dons at 7:00 p.m. at War Memorial Gym. Then on Saturday, Feb. 27, UP heads to Santa Clara, Calif., for a 2:00 p.m. tilt against the Santa Clara Broncos at the Leavey Center.
A week later, the Pilots travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the WCC Tournament, which is set for March 5-8 at the Orleans Arena.
I Hate Goodbye’s
Hard to believe, but Saturday will be the final regular season appearance at the Chiles Center for senior guard Laiken Dollente, one of the most prolific scorers and most accurate shooters in UP program history. Currently with 1,776 career points, Dollente will most likely finish her career as the No. 3 scorer in Portland history. The native of Yakima, Wash., 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 also currently ranks first all-time at UP in free throw shooting (.881) and three-point accuracy (.409), is second in free throws (543) and three-pointers made (205), is fifth in career points per game (15.3), is seventh in assists (377) and is ninth in field goals made with 514 career makes. She enters the final three weeks of the season 36 made free throws shy of setting a new career record in that category, and is 19 three-pointers away from the top of the that list.
Money from the Line
Laiken Dollente, who hit all 14 free throws during last week’s two games, is now the most accurate free throw shooter in the country. Dollente has hit 119 of 129 attempts this winter for a percentage of .922, which is just ahead of Kelsey Luna (82-for-89, .912) of Indiana State. Dollente, who is the most accurate free throw shooter in UP history with a career mark of .881, finished second in the country in free throw shooting as a sophomore.
As a team, the Pilots rank ninth in the nation with a free throw percentage of .767.
The Laik Show
This season, Laiken Dollente is scoring, spreading the wealth and crashing the glass. She leads the team and ranks third in the WCC in scoring (16.4 ppg) and is second in assists (4.6 apg). She also leads the league and the nation in free throw percentage (.922), while leading the WCC and ranking 21st nationally in three-point percentage (.431).
Dollente’s 31 points against Montana State on Dec. 21 are tied for the second most scored in a game by a WCC player this season. It was the third time in her career to score at least 30 points and the first since notching 30 on Jan. 27, 2007 at San Francisco. 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 scored 19 points at UVU for her second career double-double.
Dollente has been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week twice this season.
On Point
It’s no secret that UP’s success this winter has coincided with the improved and consistent play of sophomore point guard ReZina TecleMariam. Z is averaging career bests of 9.4 points per game, 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists. A native of Puyallup, Wash., TecleMariam has stepped up her play during the conference slate and is averaging 13.5 points per game during UP’s last five contests.
After grabbing nine rebounds during UP’s win at Idaho (Dec. 11), Z ripped down a career-high 11 boards in the victory at Washington State (Dec. 13). On Nov. 22, she scored a career-high 18 points during a 98-63 win over Sacramento State.
Perhaps her most impressive stat-lines this year 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).
Glad to Assist
The Pilots are playing unselfish basketball this winter and have the stats to prove it. UP is averaging 15.9 assists per game, which ranks second in the WCC and 22nd in the nation. The Pilots have three players in the top four in the WCC in assists, with Laiken Dollente ranking second (4.6 apg), ReZina TecleMariam third (3.9 apg) and Tara Cronin fourth (3.2 apg). Z ranks second in assists-turnover ratio (1.6), Cronin is third (1.4) and Dollente fourth (1.3).
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, who recently returned from a strained Achilles tendon, is second on the Pilots in scoring with an 11.6 per game mark, while averaging 4.0 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures 13 times.
During Portland’s two road wins at LMU and Pepperdine (Jan. 21-23), Day shot 17-for-24 (.708) from the field and averaged 23.0 points and 4.0 rebounds. She also hit six of nine (.667) three-pointers and went 6-for-7 at the free throw line. Against Pepperdine on Jan. 23, Day poured in a career-high 28 points on 11 of 15 shooting. She also went 4-for-5 on three-pointers, hit both of her free throws and scored nine points in overtime to help the Pilots to an 82-76 win.
The guard/forward from Germantown, Md., transferred to UP from Howard University and was expected to sit out the entire year. She will have two years of eligibility remaining following the season.
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 nine 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 six career double-doubles and registered four straight games of double-digit rebounds earlier this season. Gannis was named the WCC Co-Player of the Week after ripping down 17 boards against USF on Jan. 28, becoming the first Pilot to have that many rebounds in a game since 2006.
She currently leads the WCC in offensive rebounds (3.0 rpg) and ranks third in overall rebounding (8.1 rpg). She is fourth on the team in scoring (9.7 ppg) and her career field goal percentage of .508 ranks third all-time at UP.
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 510 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 333 wins.
With 147 WCC wins, Sollars has won more league games than any other coach in the 22-year history of the conference.
Quite the Trip
Portland’s two-game swing through soggy Southern California (Jan. 21-23) was a historical one for the Pilots. It marked the first time Portland won at both LMU and Pepperdine on the same trip since 1997.
During the 94-91 win at LMU on Thursday, the Pilots shot 61.8 percent (34-for-55) from the floor, setting a program single-game record at the NCAA Division I level. As an NAIA school, UP shot .644 against Humboldt State during the 1985-86 season. The 94 points scored were also the most scored by the Pilots in a WCC game since registering 101 in 1996, also against the Lions.
Two Sports? No Problem
Junior Jessica Clemens is now in her third year as a two-sport athlete at the University of Portland. Clemens, who is an outside hitter on the UP volleyball team, joined the Pilots in early December and is averaging career bests of 5.4 points and 4.3 rebounds. A native of Burns, Ore., and the sister of NFL quarterback Kellen Clemens, Jessica recorded a career high with 10 rebounds against Utah Valley on Dec. 29. She matched a season high with 14 points against Santa Clara on Jan. 30
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.
Nearly a Chalupa
Portland just missed reaching the century mark for the first time in 12 years when it defeated the Sacramento State Hornets 98-63 at the Chiles Center on Nov. 22. The point total is the highest for the Pilots since a 107-74 win over Idaho on Jan. 4, 1997. UP outscored Sac State 55-33 during the second half to match a program DI record for points in a half.
