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Tickets PORTLAND PILOTS (2-13, 0-4 WCC)vs. GONZAGA BULLDOGS (12-4, 4-0 WCC)Date: Saturday, January 9, 2016
Tip-off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena (Capacity): Chiles Center (4,852)
Live Video: TheW.tvLive Stats: PortlandPilots.com POR vs. GON Overall Series: 27-44
Here: 14-19
There: 10-23
Neutral: 3-2
Last 5/Last 10: 0-5/0-10
Last 1: GON 85, @POR 63 (Jan. 31, 2015)
THIS WEEK • The Pilots end a three-game homestand this weekend when they host northwest rival Gonzaga on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center.
• Tip-off for the Pilots and Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on TheW.tv.
LAST WEEK • The Pilots dropped a pair of home games last week as both Santa Clara and San Francisco claimed conference wins at the Chiles Center.
• Against the Dons on Saturday, Holly Blades came off the bench on fire, scoring 15 first-half points to keep the Pilots within reach; but USF pulled away after the break for an 82-63 win.
• Ellie Woerner led the way with 13 points against the Broncos on Thursday, but Santa Clara prevailed 67-45.
• Woerner scored 13 points against the Dons as well, extending her streak of double-digit scoring to five straight games.
ABOUT THE PILOTS • Freshman wing Ellie Woerner is off to an impressive start to her collegiate career; she leads the team in scoring with an 12.1 points per game mark, which is tied for 15th best in the WCC, and she grabbed a career-best nine boards at Pepperdine (Dec. 23), matching a season-high for the Pilots.
• She's also scored in double digits in five straight games and she's reached double figures during 12 of her 15 career games, which includes a career-high 19 points in her collegiate debut vs. Willamette (Nov. 14).
• Woerner is one of six newcomers for the Pilots, to go along with just six returners.
• Junior transfer guards Holly Blades and Rachelle Owens both came to The Bluff from the College of Southern Idaho, while forward Corissa Turley previously attended College of the Sequoias.
• Blades is tops on the team with 25 three-pointers, while Turley leads the team in free throw percentage (.833).
• Completing the newcomers are three freshmen, two of which hail from the Pacific Northwest; post Julie Spencer is originally from Chehalis, Wash., while Woerner calls Sammamish, Wash., home; Darian Slaga is from Prescott Valley, Ariz.
• Headlining Portland's six returners are junior guards Hannah Mattson and Kaylie Van Loo; both Mattson and Van Loo appeared in all 30 games last year, with each making eight starts.
• Sophomore posts Ashley Gray and Sara Zaragoza also return after promising freshman campaigns; Gray is shooting 55.1 percent from the field and is tops on the team in rebounds with a 3.9 per game mark.
• During the summer, Zaragoza helped Spain claim the gold medal the 2015 U20 FIFA European Championships.
• Cheryl Sorenson is in her second season as head coach of the Pilots after assuming the role last year after long-time coach Jim Sollars' retirement; she spent her first three years on The Bluff as an assistant coach.
• The Pilots lost three 1,000-point scorers to graduation; Cassandra Brown (1,396 points), Kari Luttinen (1,366 points) and Jasmine Wooton (1,130 points) all reached that historic milestone last year, becoming the first Pilot trio to do so in the same season.
• Brown captivated the nation last year when she won the 2015 State Farm Three-Point Championship (men's and women's) on ESPN, which was part of Final Four Weekend in Indianapolis, Ind.; Brown defeated Dayton's Andrea Hoover in the women's final before conquering Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos, who was the men's champion.
• Portland has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • Gonzaga sits on top of the WCC standings with an unblemished 4-0 league mark; the Bulldogs are 12-4 overall and have won six straight.
• The Bulldogs feature a balanced scoring attack, with freshman forward Jill Barta (10.7 ppg) leading three players scoring in double figures; senior post Shelby Cheslek is nearly averaging a double-double (10.3 ppg; 8.6 rpg).
• Former GU assistant Lisa Fortier is in her second year as head coach after leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season.
