Video w/ Sound from Jasmine Wooton & Coach Sollars

PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots women's basketball team officially began the 2013-14 campaign with the first practice of the season on Monday afternoon at the Chiles Center. Expectations are high for the program as the Pilots welcome back 11 letterwinners and four starters from last year's team.
 
Back is leading scorer and junior guard Kari Luttinen, who ranked seventh in the WCC last season with a 12.5 points per game average. Starting junior point guard Jasmine Wooton (9.2 ppg, 3.0 apg) also returns, as does redshirt-junior guard/forward Cassandra Brown, who missed all of last season with an injury. As a sophomore in 2011-12, Brown averaged 10.8 points per game during league play and exploded for a career-best 32 points during a win over Santa Clara at the WCC Tourney.
 
Senior forward Amy Pupa started all 31 games last year and she was Portland's top rebounder (8.2 rpg). Her 19 rebounds against Pepperdine missed tying a program single-game record by one.
 
Portland's roster features three newcomers, which includes 2012 Alaska State High School Player of the Year Hannah Mattson. Mattson missed most of her senior year with an injury, but she registered per game marks of 15.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists as a junior. Freshman transfer guard Kaylie Van Loo, who earned all-state honors at Glencoe High School in Hillsboro, comes to UP from the University of Idaho and freshman guard Stefania Sideri has extensive experience with the Greece Junior National Teams.
 
Head coach Jim Sollars is entering his 28th year at the helm of the Pilots and he's just three wins away from career win No. 400 at the NCAA Division I level. He's compiled 551 career wins overall and he has 374 W's with the Pilots.
 
Portland is scheduled to play an exhibition game at home against Concordia on Tuesday, Oct. 29 before opening the regular season at the Chiles Center against Eastern Washington on Friday, Nov. 8.