PORTLAND PILOTS (8-6, 1-2 WCC)
WEEK 10: vs. Pacific / Saint Mary's
 
Pacific Tigers (10-5, 3-1 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Jan. 9, 2019
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. PAC
Overall: 9-13  •  Last 5/10: 1-4/2-8
H: 4-5  •  A: 4-6  •  N: 1-2
Last: @PAC 87, POR 77 (2/2/19)
 
Saint Mary's Gaels (9-6, 4-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Jan. 11, 2019
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 2 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
TV: NBC Sports NW
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall: 21-47  •  Last 5/10: 1-4/1-9
H: 14-18  •  A: 6-26  •  N: 1-3
Last: @SMC 113, POR 85 (1/31/19)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots play their first home games in three weeks when they host the Pacific Tigers and Saint Mary's Gaels in a pair of West Coast Conference contests at the Chiles Center.
• On Thursday night, the Tigers visit The Bluff for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
• Saturday brings a 2 p.m. game with the Gaels, and the match-up will be shown live on NBC Sports NW.
• 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 this week and every Pilot home game.
• For information on all fan promotions, please visit PortlandPilots.com/Promotions.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots opened a big lead in the third quarter at BYU on Saturday before out-lasting the Cougars 57-48 at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah; it was Portland's first win over BYU since the 1998-99 season, and it ended a string of 20 straight Cougar victories in the series.
• Freshman Keeley Frawley hit four clutch three-pointers and matched a career high with 14 points, and Lauren Walker added a career-best 12 points, which all came in the first half.
• It's the first WCC win for first-year head coach Michael Meek.
• Previously, the San Diego Toreros pulled away from the Pilots in the third quarter en route to a 74-55 win on Thursday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.
• Haylee Andrews led the Pilots with 18 points against the Toreros.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Freshman Alex Fowler is off to a stellar start to her career, and the native of Townsville, Australia, is currently fourth in the WCC with a 16.0 points per game mark.
• Fowler, a forward, 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 also second in the conference in offensive rebounds (3.2), and she's fourth in field goal percentage.
• Fowler is 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 15th nationally in assists (17.9) and they rank 28th in steals (11.1).
• Portland is also tops in the WCC in both assists and steals, and they're second in margin of victory (+8.2) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.265)
• Guard Kate Andersen is enjoying a solid senior campaign, and she currently ranks 19th nationally in steals (3.0 spg); she's also third in the conference in steals 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 145 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 fourth in the conference with 28 three-pointer.
• The six steals Muhlheim collected at CSUN (11/21) are tied for the second 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 (238-41, .853) 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 OPPONENTS
• The Pacific Tigers have won three straight games.
• The Tigers are scoring 70.3 points per game and allowing 62.9.
• Valerie Higgins is the team's top scorer (16.1 ppg) and rebounder (8.8 rpg).
• Bradley Davis is in his fifth season as head coach at Pacific; the Tigers reached the WNIT Second Round last season.
• The Saint Mary's Gaels are a perfect 4-0 in the WCC.
• The Gaels are the top offensive team in the conference (76.4 ppg), and their 10.3 three-pointers per contest rank third nationally.
• Emily Codding is averaging 16.1 points, which is tied with Higgins for the most in the conference, and she's collecting 8.8 boards.
• Paul Thomas is in his 14th year as head coach of the Gaels, and he's led Saint Mary's to eight straight 20-win seasons.
 
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.