PORTLAND PILOTS (3-14, 1-5 WCC)
WEEK 11: vs. San Francisco / Gonzaga
 
San Francisco Dons (9-8, 3-3 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Jan. 19, 2017
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
TV: CSN-NW
Online Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. USF
Overall: 31-31  •  Last 5/10: 0-5/3-7
H: 19-10  •  A: 12-17  •  N: 0-4
Last: @USF 90, POR 69 (1/28/16)
 
Gonzaga Bulldogs (13-4, 4-2 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Jan. 21, 2017
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 2:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. GON
Overall: 27-47  •  Last 5/10: 0-5/0-10
H: 14-20  •  A: 10-25  •  N: 3-2
Last: @GON 67, POR 55 (1/7/17)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots return home this week for a pair of West Coast Conference home games, which includes an appearance on Comcast SportsNet on Thursday night.
• Thursday's televised contest is against the San Francisco Dons, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at the Chiles Center.
• On Saturday, the Gonzaga Bulldogs visit The Bluff for a 2 p.m. game.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots concluded a three-game stretch away from the friendly confines with a trip to Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount.
• On Thursday against the Gaels, Holly Blades buried six three-pointers and scored 20 points, but Saint Mary's prevailed 92-76.
• Hannah Mattson added 11 points, while Kaylie Van Loo finished with eight points and nine assists.
• On Saturday at LMU, the Lions out-scored the Pilots by 10 points in the second quarter en route to the win.
• Blades led the Pilots in scoring for the second straight game with 13 points, and Van Loo finished with 10 points and eight assists.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Kaylie Van Loo just missed matching a program record when she recorded eight steals against Santa Clara on Jan. 5; Tami Standish holds the program record of nine steals, which she set in 2000.
• Van Loo, a senior point guard, currently leads the WCC and ranks 26th nationally in assists (5.8 apg); during WCC play, Van Loo is handing out a league-best 7.5 dimes per contest, while averaging 11.0 points.
• Senior Holly Blades is second in the WCC in overall three-pointers (39), and she's buried a league-high 18 three's against conference opponents; she's averaging a team-best 11.8 points per game in six WCC games, and she's averaging 16.3 points in Portland's last three games.
• Sophomore Julie Spencer is cleaning up the glass during the first few games of the West Coast Conference slate, averaging 8.5 boards per contest; her career-high 18 rebounds against Pacific (Dec. 31) are the most by a Pilot since Amy Pupa collected 19 during a game in 2013.
• Spencer has scored a career-high 14 points three times and has recorded two double-doubles on the season.
• Fellow sophomore Darian Slaga is also having a stellar second season on The Bluff, leading the team in scoring with a 11.4 points per game mark.
• Slaga, who had come off the bench every game this season before starting at Pepperdine (Dec. 31), scored a career-high 24 points against UW on Nov. 27; that's the most points scored by a Pilot since Cassandra Brown scored 26 in February of 2015.
• 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.
• As a team against conference foes, the Pilots are first in three-pointers made (44).
• Kaylie 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.
• 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.
• Portland has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• San Francisco senior guard Rachel Howard leads the Dons in scoring (13.9 ppg) and recently became a career 1,000-point scorer.
• USF is averaging 66.2 points, while allowing 67.9 per game.
• Head coach Molly Goodenbour is in her first season after taking the reins of the program in September.
• The Bulldogs feature the stingiest defense in the WCC, allowing just 57.7 points, while scoring 73.1.
• Sophomore forward Jill Barta is second in the league in scoring (17.4 ppg), and senior forward Kiara Kudron is fourth in rebounding (8.1 rpg).
• Former GU assistant Lisa Fortier is in her third season as head coach of the Bulldogs.