PORTLAND PILOTS (7-4, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 8: at #17 Gonzaga (11-1, 0-0 WCC)
Day: Sunday
Date: Dec. 29, 2019
Place: Spokane, Wash.
Time: 1 p.m.
Gym: McCarthey Center
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. GU
Overall: 27-52  •  Last 5/10: 0-5/0-10
H: 14-23  •  A: 10-27  •  N: 3-2
Last: GON 93, POR 62 (2/9/19)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open play in the West Coast Conference when they travel to Spokane, Wash., to play the No. 17 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Sunday.
• Tip-off for the northwest rivals is set for 1 p.m. at the McCarthey Center.
• Links for a live stream and live stats for the game can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
TICKETS/PROMOTIONS
• Fans can visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or call/text 503-943-GoUP for information on tickets for every Pilot home game.
• For information on all fan promotions, please visit PortlandPilots.com/Promotions.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots ended the non-conference portion of their schedule with a convincing 82-42 win over the Willamette Bearcats on Thursday, Dec. 19 at the Chiles Center.
• Haylee Andrews led the Pilots with 18 points, seven assists, and a career-best five steals; she shot nine of 11 from the floor as the Pilots shot 56 percent overall as a team.
• Kate Andersen added 15 points, Alex Fowler shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field to finish with 11 points in 14 minutes, and Maddie Muhlheim chipped in with 10 points.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Freshman forward Alex Fowler is off to a stellar start to her career, and the native of Townsville, Australia, currently leads the West Coast Conference in scoring with an 17.7 points per game mark.
• Fowler posted two double-doubles during her first four collegiate games, and she's scored at least 20 points a team-best four times this season.
• She's 23rd in the nation in field goals (81), and in the WCC she's number one in field goal percentage (.566), she's fourth in offensive rebounding (3.3), and she's fifth in blocks (1.1 bpg).
• Fowler is also one of two Pilots to be named the WCC Player of the Week (Nov. 25) this season when she averaged 23.5 points and 7.0 rebounds during Portland's games at CSUN and Air Force; Fowler exploded for a career-high 27 points against the Matadors, and she was 19 of 25 (.760) from the field overall.
• Sophomore guard Haylee Andrews was the league's inaugural player of the week (Nov. 11) after she averaged 23 points and 8.5 rebounds during Portland's two season-opening wins.
• Andrews posted a double-double against Utah State with 18 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, and she poured in 28 points against the Weber State; she also shot 67% from the field.
• The Pilots began the season 4-0 for only the third time ever in program history, and it was the first time since 2010-11.
• The Pilots are 8th nationally in assists (19.5), they rank 22nd in field goal percentage (.459), and are 28th in steals (11.5).
• Portland is also tops in the WCC in both assists and steals, they're second in field goal percentage (.449) and margin of victory (+11.8), and they're third in scoring (72.4 ppg) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.255)
• Guard Kate Andersen is enjoying a solid senior campaign, and she currently ranks 23rd nationally in steals (3.1 spg); she's also second in the conference in steals, fourth in field goal percentage (.542), and 10th in scoring (13.6 ppg).
• Andersen scored a season-high 21 points against Abilene Christian (Nov. 29), and earlier this year she registered her second career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds during a win at Air Force (11/23).
• Maddie Muhlheim ranks seventh all-time at UP with 142 career three-pointers, and last year she set a program single-game record when she buried nine three's against San Diego.
• She's currently second in the conference with 25 three-pointers this season.
• The six steals Muhlheim collected at CSUN (11/21) are tied for the most in a game in the WCC this season.
• The Pilots are under the guidance of first-year head coach Michael Meek, who came to The Bluff after a successful nine-year stint at George Fox University.
• Meek is the sixth head coach in UP women's basketball program history, and he easily got off to the best start ever for a first-year head coach at Portland.
• Meek led George Fox to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, which included NCAA Division III championship game appearances in 2012 and 2015.
• Meek ranks fourth in career winning percentage (237-39, .859) among active coaches with five-plus years of experience at all divisions of women's college basketball.
• First-year assistant coach Sharon Rissmiller ('01) is a UP alum who starred on the court for the Pilots from 1997 to 2001; she still ranks ninth all-time with a .770 career free throw percentage, and she compiled 1,069 career points.
• Portland has been to four NCAA Tournaments (1994-97), two WNIT's (1998 & 2009) and one WBI (2010).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The lone blemish on No. 17 Gonzaga's record was an overtime loss at then-No. 3 Stanford.
• Gonzaga is tops in the WCC in most offensive and defensive categories, including scoring (73.3 ppg), scoring defense (53.9), field goal percentage (.474), three-point percentage (.404), and free throw percentage (.759).
• Junior forward Jenn Wirth leads four Bulldogs scoring in double digits with an 11.4 per game mark; her twin sister LeeAnne is the team's top rebounder (5.5 rpg).
• Lisa Fortier is in her fifth season as head coach of the Bulldogs, and she's led GU to three consecutive NCAA tournaments.
 
THE WORLD CUP
• Freshman Alex Fowler led Australia in both scoring and rebounding as they finished second overall at the 2019 FIBA U-19 Women's World Cup last summer in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Fowler averaged 9.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, she was fourth overall in rebounding, and she landed on the World Cup's All-Star Team.