PORTLAND PILOTS (3-10, 1-1 WCC)
WEEK 9: vs. Santa Clara / at Gonzaga
 
Santa Clara Broncos (6-7, 1-1 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Jan. 5, 2017
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SCU
Overall: 30-40  •  Last 5/10: 0-5/3-7
H: 15-14  •  A: 11-23  •  N: 4-3
Last: @SCU 66, POR 47 (1/30/2016)
 
Gonzaga Bulldogs (9-4, 0-2 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Jan. 7, 2017
Place: Spokane, Wash.
Time: 2:00 PM
Gym: McCarthey Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: GoZags.com
 
POR vs. GON
Overall: 27-46  •  Last 5/10: 0-5/0-10
H: 14-20  •  A: 10-24  •  N: 3-2
Last: @GON 86, POR 51 (2/13/2016)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots have another home-and-away West Coast Conference weekend, first hosting the Santa Clara Broncos on Thursday night before traveling to Spokane, Wash., on Saturday to face the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
• Tip-off with the Broncos on Thursday at the Chiles Center is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest at Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center will begin at 2 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots began play in the WCC by splitting their two games last week, succumbing 84-74 to Pacific at home on Thursday in a hard-fought contest before recovering to claim a 71-61 road win at Pepperdine on Saturday.
• Against the Tigers, sophomores Darian Slaga and Julie Spencer had big nights, registering 23 points and 18 rebounds, respectively.
• The 18 boards by Spencer are the most by a Pilot in a game since 2013.
• On Saturday, senior Kaylie Van Loo scored 13 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter and Spencer claimed a double-double as the Pilots pulled away from the Waves in the second half.
• Van Loo also matched a career high with nine assists, and it's the second double-double of the season for Spencer, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Sophomore Julie Spencer is cleaning up the glass during the first two games of the West Coast Conference slate, averaging a league-best 14.0 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, has two double-doubles on the season and is fourth in the WCC in overall rebounding (8.2 rpg).
• Fellow sophomore Darian Slaga is also having a stellar second season on The Bluff, leading the team in scoring with a 12.4 points per game mark; against league opponents the guard is averaging 17.0 points, which ranks sixth in the WCC.
• 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.
• 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.
• Blades buried a team-high 50 three's last year, which is the 10th most three-pointers during a season in program history.
• Senior Kaylie Van Loo has been a steady presence on the floor for the Pilots, averaging 15.0 points and a league-high 9.0 assists in two WCC games; overall she's third in the WCC in both assists (5.3 apg) and minutes played (35.5 mpg).
• 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.
• Two of Portland's opponents are currently ranked in the national polls, while two 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 Broncos claim the highest RPI (89) in the WCC and opened the league slate with a home win over BYU (64-63) and an OT road loss at San Francisco (77-68).
• Sophomore guard Emily Wolph leads the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and she's tops in the WCC in three-pointers (33) and free throw percentage (.906).
• SCU is scoring 65.2 points per game and is led by first-year head coach Bill Carr, who was most recently the men's head coach at Point Loma Nazarene.
• The Bulldogs, who have been receiving votes in the national polls most of the season, are an uncharacteristic 0-2 in the WCC, suffering losses at Pepperdine and at home to Pacific.
• Gonzaga is averaging 73.5 points as a team and is led by senior forward Jill Barta's 17.2 points per game.
• Former GU assistant Lisa Fortier is in her third season as head coach of the Bulldogs.