Complete Release (pdf) I GameCentral

PORTLAND PILOTS (3-2) vs. PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (2-1)
Date: Friday, November 25, 2011
Tip-off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Gym: Chiles Center (4,852)
Live Video/Audio/Stats:  PortlandPilots.com (free)
 
Overall Series: 24-23
Here: 14-9
There: 9-12
Unknown location: 1-2
Last: @PSU 64, POR 63 (December 21, 2010)
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (3-2) vs. MONTANA LADY GRIZ (2-2)
Date: Sunday, November 27, 2011
Tip-off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Gym: Chiles Center (4,852)
Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com (free)
 
POR vs. UM
Overall Series: 7-13
Here: 4-5
There: 3-8
Neutral: 0-0
Last: POR 62, @UM 55 (December 12, 2010)
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (3-2) vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (2-1)
Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tip-off: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Gym: Chiles Center (4,852)
Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com (free)
 
POR vs. EWU
Overall Series: 9-13
Here: 6-4
There: 3-9
Neutral: 0-0
Last: POR 77, @EWU 58 (Nov. 14, 2010)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots return home for three straight games at the Chiles Center, beginning with a game on Friday at 2 p.m. against the Portland State Vikings.
• Portland will also host the Montana Lady Griz on Sunday at 2 p.m. before welcoming the Eastern Washington Eagles to the Chiles Center next Tuesday for a 5 p.m. tip.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots were co-champions of the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawai’i after posting a 2-1 record during the weekend.
• The Pilots opened with a 82-64 win over host Hawai’i on Friday night; Natalie Day led four players in double figures with a game-high 19 points.
• Day then scored 18 points during a 99-64 loss to No. 18 DePaul on Saturday.
• UP concluded its stay in Honolulu with a dramatic 59-58 win over San Diego State on Sunday; the Pilots, who led almost the entire game, needed two free throws from Day with 2.8 seconds left to win it; Day was named to the all-tournament team.
 
CELEBRATE BLACK FRIDAY AT THE CHILES CENTER
• In the spirit of the biggest shopping day of the year, UP is offering fans some special ticket deals for the 2 p.m. game against Portland State on Friday.
• All kids wearing black will get into the game for free, while adults wearing black receive entrance at half price.
• It’s also “Youth Day” at the Chiles Center, which includes fun activities all afternoon in the arena’s concourse.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots, who went 16-15 overall last season, have posted three straight winning seasons and four straight years with a record of .500 or better.
• Portland has been to the post-season during two of the past three seasons, going to the WNIT in 2009 and the inaugural WBI in 2010.
• UP was selected to finish sixth in the WCC this year, while seniors Natalie Day and ReZina TecleMariam were voted to the pre-season all-conference team; UP joined conference favorite Gonzaga as the only two teams to place more than one player on the pre-season all-league team.
• Both Day and TecleMariam are on pace to reach the 1,000 career point plateau this year; Day, who transferred to UP from Howard as a sophomore, already has 1,067 career points and has scored 858 career points with the Pilots.
• Head coach Jim Sollars is in his 26th year at the helm of the Pilots; Sollars has more WCC wins (155) than any other coach in the 23-year history of the league, has compiled 353 career wins at UP and has been named league coach of the year an unprecedented five times.
 
A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE EFFORT... YET AGAIN
• The West Coast Conference has handed out two Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Awards this season, and Natalie Day has earned both of them.
• Day nabbed her second straight player of the week honor after averaging 19.3 points and 6.0 rebounds as the Pilots went 2-1 at the Rainbow Wahine Classic last weekend.
• Day earned the WCC’s first Player of the Week honor of the season by averaging 22.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game during the opening weekend.
 
THAT’S A LOT OF POINTS
• During the opening, senior Natalie Day became a 1,000 career-point scorer with her 22-point outburst against UC Irvine on Nov. 13.
• Day, who began her collegiate career at Howard before transferring to UP prior to the 2009-10 season, scored 209 points as a freshman with the Bison, and she’s tallied 858 career points so far with the Pilots for a career total of 1,067 points.
• The native of Germantown, Md., is on the verge of becoming the 20th career 1,000 point scorer in UP program history.
• Day also currently ranks eighth all-time at Portland with a career scoring average of 13.6 points per game, and is tied for ninth with 83 career three-pointers.
 
THAT TOO IS A LOT OF POINTS
• Senior ReZina TecleMariam is also poised to reach 1,000 career points this season as the native of Puyallup, Wash., currently sits at 818 career points.
• TecleMariam and Day would become the first Pilot teammates to reach 1,000 career points in the same season since Deanna Lansing and Wendy Toonen accomplished the feat back in 1997.
• Additionally, the Pilots have had a winning record during each of TecleMariam’s three years on The Bluff, and she currently ranks seventh all-time in career three-point percentage (.358) and career three-pointers made (100) and she ranks ninth with 333 career assists.
 
THEY DON’T CALL IT ‘GAMECENTRAL’ FOR NOTHING
• UP is entering its second year of providing fans with ‘GameCentral’, which is a free portal via PortlandPilots.com that offers live video, live audio and live stats all on the same page.
• ‘GameCentral’ is available for every home game that is not scheduled for a national television broadcast.
• The internet broadcast will feature a three camera production this season, instant replays, in-game live and taped interviews and on-screen graphics.
 
YO! CHECK US OUT
• Of course the Portland Pilots are on the Facebook, but the Pilots didn’t settle for just one page, they have two!
• Just visit Portland Pilots Women’s Basketball or Portland Pilots WBB and be sure to ‘like’ the page, or add the team as a friend.
 
A NEW LOOK
• For the first time in more than 30 years, the West Coast Conference has a new member as Brigham Young University formally joined the WCC last summer.
• With the change in membership, the WCC launched its new brand identity with a new logo (which can be seen in the far right column).
• It’s the WCC’s first visual change since 1995.
 
THE BLOGGER... OR BLOGGERS
• The Pilots will combine efforts this year on a season-long blog, as members of the team and coaching staff will take turns sharing their thoughts on the season.
• Visit, and make sure to bookmark, PortlandPilots.com/WBBblog.