PORTLAND PILOTS (3-1, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 3: vs. Cal State Fullerton
 
Cal State Fullerton Titans (2-3, 0-0 Big West)
Day: Saturday
Date: Nov. 24, 2018
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 12:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. CSF
Overall: 2-1  •  Last 5/10: 2-1/2-1
H: 1-0  •  A: 1-1  •  N: 0-0
Last: @CSF 66, POR 61 (11/25/2017)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots play their first home game of the season when they welcome the Cal State Fullerton Titans to the Chiles Center on Saturday, with tip-off set for 12 p.m.
• Links for a live stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots split their two games at the Bank of Hawai'i Classic in Honolulu last weekend, defeating host Hawai'i 72-65 on Friday before succumbing to Arizona 92-70 on Sunday.
• Freshman Haylee Andrews scored 17 points against the Rainbow Wahine, with 14 coming in the second half.
• Darian Slaga also scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Maddie Muhlheim chipped in 10 points, including four key free throws late in regulation.
• The Pilots shot 49 percent from the floor and held Hawai'i to 36 percent.
• Andrews (15), Slaga (14), and Muhlheim (14) also scored in double digits against Arizona, but the Wildcats' Aari McDonald poured in 32.
• The Pilots combined for 10 three-pointers against UA, matching a season-high.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots opened the year with three straight road wins, which hasn't happened since the 2010-11 season.
• Portland also began the season with a 3-0 record for the second straight year.
• After two weeks, Portland freshman Haylee Andrews is third in the West Coast Conference in scoring (18.5 ppg), is fifth in assists (4.3 apg), and is seventh in field goal percentage (.692); she's also scored in double digits all four games and poured in a career-best 23 points at Weber State.
• Senior forward Julie Spencer, who has two double-doubles, is second in the WCC in rebounding (8.8 rpg).
• There have been seven double-doubles recorded by WCC players so far this season, and the Pilots can claim three of them; Spencer had a double-double in each of the first two games of the season, while Darian Slaga collected her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 boards against Weber State.
• Slaga, a senior guard, enters the weekend with 864 career points and is close to becoming the 25th player in Portland women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points.
• She also currently ranks fourth all-time at UP with an .804 career free throw percentage, and she sits just out of the top 10 for most three-pointers with 102.
• Slaga and sophomore Maddie Muhlheim are tied for most three's in the WCC with nine this season.
• Last year Muhlheim set a program record for three-pointers by a freshman when she knocked down 48 from behind the arc.
• The Pilots returned their five top scorers from a year ago and they brought back 78 percent of their scoring from the 2017-18 season.
• 10 letterwinners and redshirt-freshman Erika Kankfelt are back for the Pilots, who feature an experienced roster
• Leading the returners is Slaga, who led the team last year in scoring with a 12.6 points per game mark.
• Slaga earned All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention as a junior, and she poured in a career-best 27 points against Saint Francis, which was the most points scored by a Pilot since 2015.
• Spencer also earned All-WCC Honorable Mention in 2017-18.
• Spencer was Portland's leading rebounder at 6.9 boards per game last season, and she registered four double-doubles as a junior.
• Spencer ranks No. 4 all-time at Portland with 388 defensive rebounds; she's collected 558 career rebounds overall, and she's close to cracking UP's all-time top 10 in that category.
• Last year the Pilots out-rebounded their opponents by an average of 38.0 to 35.8 boards per game; it was the first time Portland recorded more rebounds than the opposition since the 2009-10 season.
• The Pilots were selected to finish 10th in the WCC in the preseason coaches' poll, while Gonzaga was selected as the league favorite.
• 2018-19 marks the fifth year for head coach Cheryl Sorenson, who was previously an assistant for the Pilots; she assumed the reins of the program after long-time head coach Jim Sollars retired following the 2013-14 season.
• Sorenson, who starred collegiately at the University of Washington, was a high school All-American at nearby Clackamas High School.
• Back on the Portland bench is fifth-year assistant coach Steve Lowe.
• Skyler Young and Tiffany 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 has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Cal State Fullerton Titans enter the weekend with a 2-3 record, and they're coming off an overtime loss at home to Santa Clara.
• The Titans are scoring 68.4 points per contest, while allowing 69.8
• Senior post Daeja Smith is averaging a double-double on the year, with per game marks of 18.8 points and 12.6 rebounds.
• Four Titans are averaging double digits in points.
• Jeff Harada, who was previously the head coach at Central Washington, is in his second year at the helm of the Titans.
• Portland has won two of three all-time meetings with Cal State Fullerton, but last season the Titans prevailed 66-61 in Fullerton.