PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland senior Laiken Dollente was named to the All-West Coast Conference First Team for the third time in her career, while sophomore Alexis Gannis earned all-conference honorable mention as the league announced its postseason awards on Monday. Dollente earned conference honors all four years on The Bluff, while Gannis landed on the WCC’s All-Freshman Team last season.
Dollente, a guard, will end her career as one of the most prolific scorers in program history. Currently with 1,840 career points, Dollente is the No. 3 scorer in program history and is the second leading career scorer during UP’s time at the NCAA Division I level. The native of Yakima, Wash., also currently ranks first all-time at UP in career free throw shooting (.883) and three-point accuracy (.404), is second in free throws (561) and three-pointers made (211), is fifth in career points per game (15.3), is seventh in assists (400) and is eighth in field goals made with 534 career makes.
Dollente currently leads the country in free throw shooting, hitting 137 of 148 attempts this winter for a percentage of .926. She also leads the team and ranks third in the WCC in scoring (16.3 ppg) and is second in assists (4.8 apg). Dollente scored 31 points against Montana State and handed out a career-high 10 assists during the win at Utah Valley, becoming the first UP player to dish 10 assists in a game since 2000. She was named the WCC Player of the Week twice this season.
The only year Dollente didn’t earn all-conference first-team honors was during her sophomore year, when she garnered all-league honorable mention.
Gannis, a forward, has reached double figures in rebounding 11 times this season and she dropped a career-high 21 points against Eastern Washington on Nov. 14. The native of Phoenix, Ariz., leads the team and ranks third in the WCC in rebounding (8.3 rpg), while averaging 9.6 points per game. She also has a team-high seven double-doubles this winter and she 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 (3.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (.609) during WCC contests, while her career field goal percentage of .509 is tied for second all-time at UP.
Dollente, Gannis and the Pilots next head to Las Vegas, Nev., for the WCC Championships this week at the Orleans Arena. Portland is the No. 4 seed after finishing the regular season 18-11 overall and 7-7 in the WCC. The Pilots received a first-round bye and will face either No. 5 San Diego or No. 8 Santa Clara at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 6. The Toreros and Broncos are set to play on Friday.
2010 All-West Coast Conference Honors
Player of the Year
Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga
Defensive Player of the Year
Louella Tomlinson, Saint Mary’s
Newcomer of the Year
Katelan Redmon, Gonzaga
Coach of the Year
Kelly Graves, Gonzaga
All-WCC First Team
Miranda Ayim, Pepperdine
Heather Bowman, Gonzaga
Dominique Conners, San Diego
Alex Cowling, LMU
Laiken Dollente, Portland
Vivian Frieson, Gonzaga
Lena Gipson, Santa Clara
Jontelle Smith, Saint Mary’s
Louella Tomlinson, Saint Mary’s
Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga
All-WCC Honorable Mention
Rheina Ale, San Francisco
Sam Child, San Diego
Alexis Gannis, Portland
Jazmine Jackson, Pepperdine
Tiffanie Shives, Gonzaga
Alyssa Shoji, Santa Clara
Renahy Young, LMU
WCC All-Freshman
Shay Cooney-Williams, Pepperdine
Meagan Fulps, Santa Clara
Kate Gaze, Saint Mary’s
Tifa Puletasi, Saint Mary’s
Felicia Weinberg, San Diego
