Date: Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011

Location: Portland, Ore.

Tip: 7:00 p.m.

Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)

Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

Series: POR leads 26-24

Last Meeting: POR 80, @USF 52 (Feb. 25, 2010)

 

Date: Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011

Location: Portland, Ore.

Tip: 2:00 p.m.

Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)

Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

Series: SCU leads 30-24

Last Meeting: SCU 74, POR 61 (March 6, 2010 @ Las Vegas)               

 

The Portland Pilots (9-9, 0-3 WCC) return home this week to host the San Francisco Dons (3-14, 0-3 WCC) and the Santa Clara Broncos (6-11, 2-1 WCC) in a pair of West Coast Conference games at the Chiles Center. The Dons visit for a 7:00 p.m. game on Thursday night, while Saturday’s tip-off with the Broncos is set for 2:00 p.m.

 

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.

 

The University of Portland also unveiled online Virtual Guides for the 2010-11 season. The University teamed with Pursuant Sports for production of the new guides, which includes an All-Sports Guide as well as sport-specific guides for men’s and women’s basketball and both soccers. The Virtual Guides are another resource for fans, media and recruits to learn about University of Portland Athletics, its rich history, and to hear from coaches and administrators on campus. The addition of extensive video interviews and highlights has been incorporated into the new Virtual Guides, which can be accessed through 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.

 

Portland is fresh off a trip to Southern California, where it dropped games to LMU and Pepperdine. On Thursday night, the Lions were able to overcome an early first-half deficit to defeat the Pilots 78-70 at Gersten Pavilion in LA. Tara Cronin had 16 points to lead Portland, while Lauren Angel added 13. The Pilots actually had more field goals and one more three-pointer than LMU, but the Lions were able to convert 19 of 28 free throws en route to the win. The Pilots were just 4-for-6 from the foul line.

In Malibu on Saturday, Portland used a huge second-half run to force overtime with Pepperdine, but the Waves would prevail 68-58 at Firestone Fieldhouse. Angel had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but her jumper at the buzzer was just a few inches short. The Pilots ended the game on a 27-11 run to tie the score and force the extra period. Angel and Alexis Byrd both scored a team-high 11 points, while Jessica Clemens just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

 

The Dons opened play in the WCC with three straight home losses. Last week, USF lost 73-51 to Saint Mary’s and 72-60 to San Diego. Junior guard Vania Singleterry registered a double-double against the Toreros with 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Kelly Jo Mullaney is the only Don averaging double figures in scoring with a per game mark of 10.3. Senior forward Donnisha Taylor is the team’s top rebounder, averaging 6.4 boards per game. 2009 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and former U.S. National Team member Jennifer Azzi is in her first season as head coach at USF. 10 letterwinners and three starters returned from a team that was 5-27 overall and 1-13 in the WCC last season.

 

Overall: POR leads 26-24 

Here: POR leads 17-6 (Neutral USF 4-0)      

There: USF leads 14-9 (last UP W in 2010)                                

First Meeting: @POR 68, USF 48 (1987)

Last Meeting: POR 80, @USF 52 (2/25/10)

Last 5: POR 5-0  

 

The Broncos have won six of their last nine games after opening the season 0-8. Santa Clara opened league play by defeating San Francisco (69-50) and San Diego (62-57) before losing 77-68 at home to Saint Mary’s last weekend. Sophomore guard Meagan Fulps (12.4 ppg) leads the team in scoring, while senior forward Lena Gipson is averaging a double-double with per game marks of 11.4 points and 10.6 rebounds. Gipson is the top rebounder in the WCC and ranks 18th in the nation. Head coach Jennifer Mountain is in her third season at the helm of the Broncos. Mountain returned nine letterwinners and three starters from last season, when the Broncos went 5-27 overall and 1-13 in the conference.

 

Overall: SCU leads 30-24 

Here: POR leads 13-10 (Neutral SCU 2-1)   

There: SCU leads 18-10 (last UP W in 2010)              

First Meeting: @SCU 62, POR 59 (1986)

Last Meeting: SCU 74, POR 61 (3/6/10 - Las Vegas)

Last 5: POR 4-1

 

The Pilots close the month of January with a road trip to San Diego and Moraga, Calif. On Thursday, Jan. 27, UP is set to play the USD Toreros at 7:00 p.m. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Then on Saturday, Jan. 28, the Saint Mary’s Gaels will host Portland for a 2:00 p.m. tilt at McKeon Pavilion. The Pilots then begin their second swing through the WCC with a road game at Gonzaga on Feb. 4.

 

The Pilots opened the season at 4-0 for just the third time in program history and for the first time since 2001-02. 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 13.3 points per game. So far, 40.5 percent (510 of 1259 points) of UP’s total scoring has come off of the pine.

The Pilots’ bench has been outscored just twice this season (23-18 by Oregon on Nov. 22 and 19-12 by Pepperdine on Jan. 15), 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 344-369 (.482) 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 13.3 points per game, which ranks ninth in the WCC, and she has scored in double figures during 13 of 18 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 5.2 rebounds per game, tops for the Pilots among active players.

 

Junior ReZina TecleMariam has played both guard positions this season and has been perhaps Portland’s most consistent player. TecleMariam, who is second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg), has two games this season with 10 assists and is second in the WCC in assists per game (5.4). 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 made 16 starts, is third on the team in scoring with an 8.1 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 (.793), ranks sixth in career three-pointers made (89) and seventh in three-point percentage (.352). 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 12.0 points per game sits just out of the top 10 at No. 11.

 

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.