PORTLAND PILOTS (2-6, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 5: at Oregon / vs. Montana State
 
Oregon Ducks (6-1, 0-0 Pac-12)
Day: Friday
Date: Dec. 9, 2016
Place: Eugene, Ore.
Time: 6:00 PM
Gym: Matthew Knight Arena
Video: Pac-12.com
Stats: GoDucks.com
 
POR vs. ORE
Overall: 5-27  •  Last 5/10: 1-4/2-8
H: 5-9  •  A: 0-18  •  N: 0-0
Last: @ORE 92, POR 53 (12/12/2015)
 
Montana State Bobcats (5-3, 0-0 Big Sky)
Day: Sunday
Date: Dec. 11, 2016
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 12:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. MSU
Overall: 13-6  •  Last 5/10: 3-2/6-4
H: 7-1  •  A: 5-5  •  N: 1-0
Last: @MSU 86, POR 57 (11/20/2015)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots travel to Eugene on Friday night to face the Oregon Ducks before returning home to host the Montana State Bobcats at the Chiles Center on Sunday.
• Tip-off for the Pilots and Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena is set for 6 p.m., while Sunday's game with Montana State is scheduled for 12 p.m.
• Links for live video and stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com
• Sunday you can also bring a toy to the Chiles Center and receive a free general admission ticket as part of KGW's Annual Great Toy Drive.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots built a big lead at home Wednesday night against the Portland State Vikings before prevailing over their crosstown rivals 79-68.
• Sophomore Julie Spencer registered career highs in both points (14) and rebounds (12) en route to her first career double-double.
• Sophomore Darian Slaga poured in 18 points off the bench, while senior Kaylie Van Loo claimed 15 points, while matching a career high with nine assists.
• It was Portland's fourth straight win over PSU.
• On Saturday in Ogden, Utah, the Weber State Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field to post a 76-37 win over Portland.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Sophomore Julie Spencer is coming off her first career double-double and the first double-double by a Pilot this season with career highs of 14 points and 12 boards vs. PSU (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.
• 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 minutes played (36.0 mpg) and is fourth in assists (4.6), while Blades ranks second in three-pointers (17).
• 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 OPPONENTS
• The Ducks sit just out of the latest AP Top 25, coming in at No. 26.
• Oregon is 18th in the nation in field goal percentage (.478), is 25th in scoring offense (80.9 ppg) and is led offensively by junior guard Lexi Bando (13.7 ppg), who is one of three Ducks scoring in double figures.
• Freshman forward Ruthy Hebard is the team's top rebounder (7.3 rpg).
• Head coach Kelly Graves, who left Gonzaga to go to Oregon and was an assistant coach for the Pilots in the 1990's, is in his third season at the helm of the Ducks.
• The Bobcats have won four straight.
• Senior guard Peyton Ferris (16.7 ppg) leads Montana State in scoring, while also averaging 7.0 rebounds per game.
• Tricia Binford is in her 12th year as head coach at MSU, and the Bobcats are coming off a historic year, which included a Big Sky title and a WNIT berth.