ePORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots women's basketball time will take the court for the first time when they host the Puget Sound Loggers in an exhibition game on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m., and the game is part of a double header with the men's team, who will host Westmont in the night cap.
 
"Puget Sound is a team that's finding it's new identity under second-year head coach Casey Kushiyama," said Portland head coach Cheryl Sorenson. "They return most of their starters and he's added some talented freshmen that should compete for playing time. They shoot the ball really well and have a strong inside presence. Because they are known to execute well on offense, especially special situations, it will be a challenge for our players to stay disciplined and execute our offensive and defensive philosophies."
 
The Pilots return the bulk of their roster from last year, which includes 10 letterwinners and redshirt-freshman Erika Kankfelt. The Pilots also feature their top three scorers from a year ago in senior guard Darian Slaga, senior forward Julie Spencer, and junior guard Kate Andersen. Slaga and Spencer both averaged double digits in scoring in 2017-18, putting up 12.6 and 11.0 points per contest, respectively. Spencer was also Portland's leading rebounder at 6.9 boards per game, and she and Slaga were earned All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention at the end of last season.
 
New to The Bluff are four freshmen as Elena Alaix (Madrid, Spain), Haylee Andrews (Townsville, Australia), Liana Kaitu'u (Salt Lake City, Utah), and Shasta Parker (Novato, Calif.) are in their first year with the Pilots.
 
Sorenson enters her fifth year at the helm of the program, and is joined on her staff by assistants Steve Lowe, Skyler Young, and Tiffany Gibson. Young and Gibson, who spent the past three years as Portland's director of operations, are in their first years as assistant coaches. Alex Brown takes over director of operations responsibilities.
 
Portland opens the regular season on the road next weekend, traveling to Utah Valley for a game against the Wolverines on Saturday. Portland's home opener is set for Nov. 24 against Cal State Northridge.