PORTLAND PILOTS (7-2)
WEEK 6: vs. UC Irvine / Air Force
 
UC Irvine Anteaters (7-1)
Day: Sunday
Date: Dec. 16, 2018
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 2:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. UCI
Overall: 3-3  •  Last 5/10: 2-3/3-3
H: 2-0  •  A: 0-3  •  N: 1-0
Last: @UCI 63, POR 52 (11/17/17)
 
Air Force Falcons (4-5)
Day: Tuesday
Date: Dec. 18, 2018
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 PM
Gym: Chiles Center
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. AF
Overall: 2-2  •  Last 5/10: 2-2/2-2
H: 1-1  •  A: 1-1  •  N: 0-0
Last: @POR 62, AF 51 (11/20/10)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots follow finals week by playing their two remaining non-conference games, hosting UC Irvine on Sunday and Air Force next Tuesday at the Chiles Center.
• Tip-off on Sunday for the Pilots and Anteaters is scheduled for 2 p.m., while Tuesday night's game against the Falcons is scheduled for 7 p.m.
• Links for a live stream and live stats for both games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots picked up a pair of home wins last week, pulling away from Warner Pacific to win 98-63 on Friday night before cruising past Willamette 82-27 on Sunday.
• Julie Spencer led six Pilots to score in double digits against Warner Pacific with 20 points, and Haylee Andrews collected her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
• All 12 players who played for Portland scored.
• On Sunday, the Pilots held the Bearcats to just 19 percent shooting, and Darian Slaga led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's 7-2 record to begin the year is the best start to a season since 1997-98.
• The Pilots also opened the year with three straight road wins, which hadn't happened since 2010-11.
• The Pilots are the top scoring offense in the West Coast Conference, averaging 77.7 points per game.
• Portland is also No. 1 in the WCC in three-pointers (9.0) and steals per game (10.1); they're No. 2 in scoring margin (+11.0), rebounds (41.2), and assists (15.7), and they rank third in field goal percentage (.433), three-point percentage (.351), and free throw percentage (.756).
• The Pilots are No. 23 nationally in three-pointers made per game.
• Senior guard Darian Slaga enters the week with 952 career points and is close to becoming the 25th player in Portland women's basketball history to join the 1,000-point club.
• Slaga's 16.6 points per game ranks third in the WCC, and she's also tied for third with 20 three-pointers made; the five three's she hit at Portland State are tied for the most in a game by a WCC player this season.
• Slaga ranks third all-time at UP with an .813 career free throw percentage, and she just entered the top 10 for career three-pointers with 113.
• Senior Julie Spencer is also on pace to reach the 1,000 career point milestone as she currently has 845 points.
• She ranks No. 4 all-time at Portland with 406 defensive rebounds; she's collected 595 career rebounds overall, and she's close to cracking UP's all-time top 10 in that category.
• Spencer is third in the WCC in rebounding (8.0 rpg), and she corralled 14 boards during a win at Weber State, which are tied for the second most rebounds in a game by a WCC player this season.
• She's also registered three double-doubles this year, which is tied for the most in the league.
• Portland freshman Haylee Andrews is off to a stellar start to her career, averaging 12.1 points and a team-best 4.4 assists through nine games, which ranks fourth in the WCC.
• Andrews opened her collegiate career with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists during a win over Utah Valley, and she corralled a career-best 10 boards against Utah Valley (Nov. 10).
• She also claimed her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists vs. Warner Pacific (Dec. 7); the 10 dimes are tied for the most in a game by a WCC player this season.
• Sophomore Maddie Muhlheim is a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line this season, and she's tied with Slaga for third in the conference with 20 three-pointers.
• 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.
• 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 UC Irvine Anteaters suffered their first loss of the season last Friday, which was a 78-70 set-back at home to San Diego State.
• The Anteaters are out-scoring their opponents by a 78.4 to 62.2 margin, and they rank seventh in the nation in steals per game (13.5).
• Sophomore forward Jordan Sanders is the team's top scorer (20.1 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 rpg).
• Tamara Inoue is in her third year as head coach of the Anteaters.
• The Air Force Falcons have dropped two straight, losing at Minnesota and at home to Navy.
• The Falcons hold a slight 62.6-61.4 scoring edge on their opponents.
• Sophomore guard Kaelin Immel (13.1 ppg) leads the Falcons in scoring, and junior forward Kassady Huffman (8.0 rpg is the team's top rebounder.
• Chris Gobrecht, who has compiled 557 career wins as head coach, enters her fourth season at the helm of the Air Force program.