PORTLAND PILOTS (1-5, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 4: vs. Portland State / at Weber State
 
Portland State Vikings (2-2, 0-0 Big Sky)
Day: Wednesday
Date: Nov. 30, 2016
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. PSU
Overall: 28-25  •  Last 5/10: 3-2/5-5
H: 16-10  •  A: 11-13  •  U: 1-2
Last: POR 69, @PSU 53 (11/24/2015)
 
Weber State Wildcats (5-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
Day: Saturday
Date: Dec. 3, 2016
Place: Ogden, Utah
Time: 1:00 PM (Pacific)
Gym: Dee Events Center
Video: BigSkyConf.com
Stats: WeberStateSports.com
 
POR vs. WSU
Overall: 2-7  •  Last 5/10: 0-5/2-7
H: 2-3  •  A: 0-4  •  N: 0-0
Last: WSU 57, @POR 55 (11/27/2015)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots face a pair of teams from the Big Sky Conference this week, first hosting Portland State on Wednesday night before traveling to Weber State on Saturday.
• Tip-off with the Vikings at the Chiles Center is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
• Saturday's game with the Wildcats will begin at 1 p.m. (Pacific) at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.
 
LAST WEEK
• On Sunday Darian Slaga poured in a career-high 24 points, but the No. 15 Washington Huskies prevailed 83-53 at the Chiles Center.
• The 24 points are the most scored by a Pilot since Cassandra Brown scored 26 in February of 2015.
• The Pilots advanced to the Great Alaska Shootout title game last week where they pushed USC to the brink before the Trojans held on to win 67-54 in Anchorage.
• Portland led a handful of times during the first half against the Trojans and cut a 19-point third-quarter deficit to just six points early in the fourth.
• Previously Holly Blades drained seven three pointers en route to a career-high 21 points as the Pilots topped host Anchorage Alaska 66-57.
• The Seawolves entered the game as the sixth-ranked NCAA Division II Team.
• Blades was named to the all-tournament team after matching a UP program record for three-pointers in a game.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Holly Blades matched a program record when she buried seven three-pointers, out of just 10 attempts, during Portland's win over UAA at the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 27; Jenn Wassom is the only other Pilot to notch seven three's in 2005.
• Blades was named to the Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team after the Pilots advanced to the title game, with the help of her career-high 21 points against UAA.
• Julie Spencer had a solid trip to Alaska, scoring a career-high 11 points during both games; she also had eight boards during both contests, coming up just one rebound shy of her career-high (9).
• Darian Slaga's career-high 24 points against UW on Sunday are the most points scored by a Pilot since Cassandra Brown scored 26 in February of 2015.
• Portland returned a veteran squad in 2016-17 as the Pilots feature a group of 10 returning letterwinners after losing just one player to graduation last season.
• Headlining the returners is a deep supply of guards, led by senior point guard Kaylie Van Loo; last season Van Loo averaged 7.9 points per game and 2.7 rebounds, and she ranked fifth in the WCC in assists, handing out 3.7 dimes per contest en route to All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Van Loo also throws the javelin for the UP track & field team, and she was the first thrower in Portland women's track & field program history to compete at NCAA Nationals last spring; she earned All-American Honorable Mention with an 18th-place finish at the 2016 NCAA's.
• Van Loo just missed qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials by one spot.
• Van Loo currently leads the WCC in minutes played (36.0 mpg) and is fifth in assists (4.3); Slaga is second in the league in free throw percentage (.882), while Blades ranks second in three-pointers (14).
• Blades buried a team-high 50 three's last year, which is the 10th most three-pointers during a season in program history.
• Third-year head coach Cheryl Sorenson, who was previously an assistant for the Pilots, assumed the reins of the program after long-time head coach Jim Sollars retired following the 2013-14 season.
• Sorenson starred collegiately at Washington and was a high school All-American at nearby Clackamas High School.
• Joining Sorenson are third-year assistant coaches Steve Lowe and Brianna Chambers, while assistant coach Drew Muscatell returns for his second year on the Portland bench.
• Two of Portland's opponents are currently ranked in the national polls, while three others are receiving votes.
• Portland has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Vikings have won two straight games and are averaging 80.0 points per contest.
• Sophomore transfer Sidney Rielly leads the Viks and ranks 21st nationally in scoring (21.0 ppg).
• Lynn Kennedy is in his second year as head coach for the Vikings.
• The Wildcats' 5-0 start was the program's best beginning to a season ever.
• Sophomore Emily Drake (15.0 ppg) and senior Deeshyra Thomas (14.0 ppg) are Weber State's top scorers.
• Bethann Shapiro Ord, who's in her sixth season as head coach, led the Wildcats to their most wins (23) ever last season.