PORTLAND PILOTS (4-1, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 4: vs. Utah State / at Portland State
 
Utah State Aggies (2-4, 0-0 MWC)
Day: Wednesday
Date: Nov. 28, 2018
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. USU
Overall: 2-2  •  Last 5/10: 2-2/2-2
H: 1-1  •  A: 1-1  •  N: 0-0
Last: USU 63, @POR 57 (11/16/2009)
 
Portland State Vikings (4-0, 0-0 Big Sky)
Day: Saturday
Date: Dec. 1, 2018
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 2:00 PM
Gym: Viking Pavilion
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. PSU
Overall: 29-26  •  Last 5/10: 4-1/6-4
H: 17-11  •  A: 11-13  •  U: 1-2
Last: PSU 77, @POR 71 (11/28/2017)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots host the Utah State Aggies this week before making the short trek across town to battle the Portland State Vikings.
• Wednesday's game with Utah State is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Chiles Center.
• Saturday brings a 2 p.m. game with PSU at the brand-new Viking Pavilion at the Peter Stott Center.
• Links for live streams and live stats for both games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots won their home opener last Saturday at the Chiles Center, defeating Cal State Fullerton 83-74 as Julie Spencer scored a career-high 26 points and Darian Slaga added 24.
• Spencer, who knocked down a career-best five three-pointers against the Titans, also collected 11 rebounds for her third double-double this season.
• Maddie Muhlheim also reached double figures for the third straight game, finishing with 13 points.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's 4-1 record to begin the year is the best start to a season since the 2010-11 team also opened 4-1.
• The Pilots opened the year with three straight road wins, which also hadn't happened since that 2010-11 season.
• The Pilots are No. 1 in the WCC in both three-pointers made (46) and three-point percentage (.380), they rank second in scoring offense (75.8 ppg), and are third in both field goal percentage (.435) and free throw percentage (.747).
• Maddie Muhlheim, Darian Slaga, and Julie Spencer have each hit 12 three-pointers, which ranks third in the WCC.
• Senior guard Darian Slaga is quickly approaching 1,000 career points as she enters the week with 888; she's trying to become the 25th player in Portland women's basketball history to join the 1,000-point club.
• Slaga's 17.0 points per game is No. 4 in the WCC.
• She also currently ranks third all-time at UP with an .805 career free throw percentage, and she sits just out of the top 10 for career three-pointers with 105.
• Senior Julie Spencer poured in a career-best 26 points with the help of a career-high five three-pointers against Cal State Fullerton.
• She also had 11 boards against the Titans for her conference-best third double-double.
• Spencer is second in the WCC in rebounding (9.2 rpg), and she corralled 14 boards during a win at Weber State, which is the most rebounds in a game by a WCC player this season.
• Spencer should also reach 1,000 career points by the end of the season, knock on wood, as she currently has 781.
• She also ranks No. 4 all-time at Portland with 393 defensive rebounds; she's collected 569 career rebounds overall, and she's close to cracking UP's all-time top 10 in that category.
• Portland freshman Haylee Andrews is off to a stellar start to her career, averaging 16.4 points through five games.
• Andrews is tops in the WCC in three-point percentage (.600, 6-for-10), she's fourth in assists (4.6), sixth in field goal percentage (.538), and No. 7 in scoring.
• Sophomore Maddie Muhlheim is a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line 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.
• Slaga earned All-WCC 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.
• 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.
• 2018-19 marks the fifth year for head coach Cheryl Sorenson, who was previously an assistant for the Pilots.
• 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 Utah State Aggies have lost two straight, both to Pac-12 teams (Colorado & USC).
• The Aggies are out-scoring opponents 67.8-63.2, and they hold a slight 35.8-34.5 edge in rebounds.
• Shannon Dufficy (14.2 ppg) leads three Aggies scoring in double figures, and she's the team's top rebounder (7.7 rpg).
• Jerry Finkbeiner is in his seventh season as the head coach at Utah State.
• The Portland State Vikings are out-scoring their opponents by a 78.8-48.2 margin, and they're holding the opposition to a .252 shooting percentage.
• Courtney West is shooting .670 percent from the field and is averaging team-bests of 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds; she's one of four Vikings scoring in double digits.
• Head coach Lynn Kennedy is in his third season with the Vikings, who were picked second in the Big Sky.
• The Pilots and Vikings have a lengthy history, first meeting back in 1977.
• Last year PSU won at the Chiles Center to end a string of four straight Portland wins in the series.