PORTLAND PILOTS (2-8, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 6: at Boise State
 
Boise State Broncos (8-1, 0-0 MWC)
Day: Sunday
Date: Dec. 18, 2016
Place: Boise, Idaho
Time: 1:00 PM (Pacific)
Gym: Taco Bell Arena
Video: TheMW.com
Stats: BroncoSports.com
 
POR vs. BSU
Overall: 12-7  •  Last 5/10: 3-2/6-4
H: 8-2  •  A: 4-5  •  N: 0-0
Last: BSU 89, @POR 49 (12/6/2015)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots follow finals week with a trip to Boise, Idaho, to face the Boise State Broncos on Sunday at 1 p.m. (Pacific) at Taco Bell Arena.
• Portland then takes a break for the holiday before returning to the court to open play in the West Coast Conference at home against Pacific on Dec. 29.
 
LAST WEEK
• On Sunday at the Chiles Center, the Montana State Bobcats overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to escape with a 71-66 win over the Pilots.
• Darian Slaga, who scored a team-high 17 points off the bench, netted 10 points in the fourth as the Pilots built a 58-53 lead.
• Slaga was one of four Pilots to reach double-digits in scoring, which also included Julie Spencer, who matched a career high with 14 points.
• Previously the Pilots led at Oregon after the first quarter, but the Ducks used a big second half to claim an 81-41 win in Eugene.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Sophomore Julie Spencer is enjoying a breakout year for the Pilots as the sophomore has scored a career-high 14 points during three of Portland's last four games.
• The forward also recorded her first career double-double and the first double-double by a Pilot this season with 14 points and 12 boards during a win over Portland State on Nov. 30.
• Senior 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; Jennifer 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.
• Sophomore Darian Slaga's career-high 24 points against UW on Nov. 27 are the most points scored by a Pilot since Cassandra Brown scored 26 in February of 2015.
• Despite coming off the bench every game this season, Slaga leads the team in scoring with a 10.9 points per game mark.
• 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 is currently third in the WCC in assists (4.8) and minutes played (36.0 mpg), Blades ranks fourth in three-pointers (19), and Slaga is fifth in free throw percentage (.862).
• 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 four others are receiving votes.
• Portland has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Broncos were receiving votes in the national rankings recently and suffered their first set-back of the season last weekend at No. 11 Washington.
• Senior guard Brooke Pahukoa, a Preseason All-Mountain West Team selection, leads the Broncos in scoring (14.7 ppg), while junior forward Shalen Shaw is averaging 11.7 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds per contest.
• 12th-year head coach Gordy Presnell is one win shy of career win number 600; he led the Broncos to the NCAA tourney in 2007 and 2015.