Complete Release (pdf) I Game Coverage:
Live Video Live Stats PORTLAND PILOTS (2-11, 0-2 WCC) at GONZAGA BULLDOGS (9-4, 2-0 WCC)Date: Saturday, January 3, 2015
Tip-off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Spokane, Wash.
Arena (Capacity): McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Live Video: TheW.tvLive Stats: GoZags.com POR vs. GU Overall Series: 27-42
Here: 14-18
There: 10-22
Neutral: 3-2
Last 5/Last 10: 0-5/0-10
Last 1: @GU 72, POR 61 (Feb. 22, 2014)
THIS WEEK • The Portland Pilots play one game this week when they travel to Spokane, Wash., to face West Coast Conference rival Gonzaga on Saturday.
• Tip-off for the Pilots and Bulldogs at the McCarthey Center is set for 2 p.m.
LAST WEEK • San Diego opened WCC play with an 87-65 win over the Pilots on Saturday evening at the Chiles Center; Cassandra Brown led the Pilots with 23 points and the Toreros shot a red-hot 74.1 percent in the second half en route to the win.
• Against BYU on Monday night, the Pilots led for almost the entire game before the Cougars used a game-ending 10-0 run to escape with an 83-79 win; Kari Luttinen scored 22 points, Brown added 21 and Jasmine Wooton had 18 points and a career-high nine assists.
• The Pilots led by 12 points twice early in the second half.
ABOUT THE PILOTS • Senior Cassandra Brown has scored at least 20 points in two straight games and is averaging 22.0 points against WCC foes; she has a team-best six games this season of at least 20 points and scored a season-high 26 vs. Portland State (12/12).
• Brown (11-11) & Jasmine Wooton (16-16) are a combined 37-for-37 from the free throw line in two WCC games.
• Both Brown (1,087 points) and Kari Luttinen (1,103) became 1,000 career point scorers earlier this season; Brown reached the milestone during the win over Portland State (Dec. 12), while Luttinen scored her 1,000th career point during a win against Utah (Nov. 29).
• Wooton (925 points) is also poised to join the 1,000 point club; Portland has never had three players reach 1,000 career points during the same season.
• Wooton had a career-best nine assists against BYU, which was the most assists by a Pilot since ReZina TecleMariam handed out nine assists on Jan. 2, 2012.
• Brown was named to the Nugget Classic All-Tournament Team (Nov. 28-29) after averaging 14.0 points per game to help the Pilots claim the consolation trophy; during Portland's win over Utah (Nov. 29) she had 20 points and nine boards.
• Brown leads the WCC in three-point shooting (.431, 31-for-72) and is fifth in scoring (17.2 ppg); she also ranks third in free throw percentage (.881, 37-for-42) and fourth in three-pointers made.
• Head coach Cheryl Sorenson is in her first year at the helm of the UP women's basketball program; Sorenson spent three years as an assistant coach with the Pilots before replacing long-time head coach Jim Sollars, who retired after 28 years on The Bluff.
• Jasmine Wooton was named to the All-West Coast Conference Preseason Women's Basketball Team and the Pilots were tabbed to finish seventh in the preseason coaches' poll.
• Last season Wooton exploded for a career-high 36 points during a 73-65 win at Pacific on Dec. 28; it's the most points scored by a Pilot since Martha Sheldon also scored 36 in 1991.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • Gonzaga is a perfect 2-0 in the WCC and is 9-4 overall after defeating both BYU (78-62) and San Diego (67-49) in Spokane last weekend.
• Senior post Sunny Greinacher leads three Bulldogs averaging double digits in points with a 14.1 per game mark.
• Former Gonzaga assistant coach Lisa Fortier is in her first year at the helm of the Bulldogs after replacing former head coach Kelly Graves, who left for Oregon during the off-season.
