Complete Release (pdf) I
Tickets I vs. Fresno State:
Video/Audio Stats I at Boise State:
Video/Audio Stats
PORTLAND PILOTS (2-7, 0-0 WCC)
vs. FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (6-2, 0-0 MWC)
Date: Friday, Dec. 14, 2012
Tip-off: 5:15 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena (Capacity): Chiles Center (4,852)
Live Video/Audio (free): PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
POR vs. FSU
Overall Series: 0-0
Here: 0-0
There: 0-0
Neutral: 0-0
Last 5/10: 0-0/0-0
Last 1: First Meeting
PORTLAND PILOTS (2-7, 0-0 WCC)
at BOISE STATE BRONCOS (5-4, 0-0 MWC)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012
Tip-off: 1:00 p.m. (Pacific)
Location: Boise, Idaho
Arena (Capacity): Taco Bell Arena (12,380)
Video ($): BroncoSports.com
Audio/Stats (free): BroncoSports.com
POR vs. BSU
Overall Series: 10-5
Here: 7-1
There: 3-4
Neutral: 0-0
Last 5/10: 5-1/8-2
Last 1: @POR 83, BSU 56 (Dec. 19, 2011)
THIS WEEK
• The Portland Pilots return to action this week with a pair of games against two teams from the Mountain West Conference, beginning with a home tilt against the Fresno State Bulldogs at 5:15 p.m. on Friday night at the Chiles Center.
• The game against Fresno State is the first half of a double header with the UP men.
• The Pilots then make a quick trek to Boise, Idaho, for a contest against the Boise State Broncos on Sunday at 1 p.m. (Pacific) at Taco Bell Arena.
• Surprisingly, this is the first meeting ever between the Pilots and Bulldogs, who enter Friday night’s game riding a four-game winning streak.
• Portland owns a 10-5 all-time record against the Broncos and the Pilots are 8-2 against BSU in the last 10 meetings.
LAST WEEK
• Sophomore Kari Luttinen scored a career-high 23 points, including 20 points in the second half, as the Pilots picked up a convincing 70-61 home win over the Nevada Wolf Pack on Friday night.
• Sophomore Cassandra Thompson and freshman Ellen Nurmi also had career highs against Nevada, scoring 18 and 15 points, respectively.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland’s game against Boston College on Nov. 24 marked the 1,000th game in the history of the UP women’s basketball program, which dates back to 1977-78; the Pilots, who jumped from NAIA to NCAA Division I in 1986-87, have an all-time record of 532-471 (.531).
• Portland does not have one senior on its roster.
• The Pilots returned eight letterwinners and three starters from last season.
• Three of Portland’s five freshmen originally hail from overseas, with Ellen Nurmi and Annika Holopainen both coming to The Bluff from Finland; Sara Ines Hernandez is from Italy.
• Portland has been to the post-season twice during the past four years, going to the WNIT in 2009 and the inaugural WBI in 2010.
• UP was selected to finish eighth in the WCC this year.
• Head coach Jim Sollars has more WCC wins (159) than any other coach in the 24-year history of the league, has compiled 365 career wins at UP and has been named league coach of the year an unprecedented five times.
• Sollars, who was the head coach at Portland State before coming to The Bluff, is 12 wins away from historic win No. 400 at the NCAA Division I level.
FROM ACROSS THE POND
• The Pilots have a well-established history of featuring Australians on their roster, including past Pilots Rachel Warren and Lauren Angel, but this season Portland features a trio of Europeans.
• Freshmen Ellen Nurmi and Annika Holopainen both came to The Bluff from Finland, while freshman Sara Ines Hernandez hails from Italy.
• Holopainen is averaging 7.6 points per game and has reached double figures three times this season.
• Nurmi is tops on the Pilots in three-pointers made (13), is third in scoring (7.8 ppg) and has scored in double figures three times, including a career-high 15 points against Nevada.
• Holopainen and Nurmi were also teammates on the same club team in Helsinki, and they were teammates for Finland’s U-16 and U-18 National Teams.
• Hernandez has extensive playing experience in the Italian Junior National Team system.
SOPHOMORE SURGE
• Kari Luttinen is following her stellar freshman season by leading the team in scoring as a sophomore.
• Luttinen, who was named to the WCC’s All-Freshman Team last year, ranks 10th in the league in scoring (11.5 ppg) and she poured in a career-best 23 points during a win over Nevada last Friday night.
• During a win at Idaho on Nov. 16, Luttinen recorded her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
OWNING THE PAINT
• Forward Cassandra Thompson is also enjoying her sophomore campaign by averaging 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
• The native of Athol, Idaho, is fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage (.528) and she landed on the Washington Dental Thanksgiving All-Tournament Team earlier this season.
• Thompson has also registered career highs in both points (18 vs. Nevada) and rebounds (14 at Idaho) this winter.
YOUNG GUNS
• The Portland Pilots don’t have a single senior on their roster, while 11 underclassmen figure to play prominent roles this season.
• The Pilots also only have three juniors, which includes top returning scorer Cassandra Brown, who is currently working her way back from off-season surgery.
• Portland’s other two juniors include returning starting point guard Alexis Byrd and top returning rebounder Amy Pupa.
CAREER MILESTONES
• Long-time Portland head coach Jim Sollars, who’s in his 27th year at the helm of the Pilots, coached in his 1,000th career game at Santa Clara last season on Jan. 5.
• Sollars had stops at Wenatchee CC (seven years) and Portland State (three years) before settling in at UP.
• Sollars has more WCC wins (159) than any other coach in the 24-year history of the league, has compiled 365 career wins at UP and has been named league coach of the year an unprecedented five times.
• He has 541 wins total, he’s led the Pilots to three WCC titles and one WCC Tournament title, and he’s guide Portland to four NCAA Tournaments.
• Sollars is also just 12 wins away from historic win No. 400 at the NCAA Division I level.
