PORTLAND PILOTS (3-2, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 4: vs. Montana State Bobcats (1-2, 0-0 Big Sky)
Day: Thursday
Date: Dec. 17, 2020
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 1 p.m.
Gym: Chiles Center
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. MSU
Overall: 13-7 •  Last 5/10: 2-3/5-5
H: 7-2  •  A: 5-5  •  N: 1-0
Last: MSU 70, @POR 66 (12/11/16)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots play their final scheduled non-conference game of the season when they host the Montana State Bobcats on Thursday, with tip-off set for 1 p.m. at the Chiles Center.
• An online video stream and live stats for the game are available, and links for those can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• During last Friday's win over Northwest, the Pilots registered 30 steals, which missed matching a program record by one; the Pilots have twice made 31 steals in a game, against Southern Oregon in 1984 and Concordia in 1996.
• The 31 steals are the most for the Pilots since compiling 25 at UC Riverside in 2000, which is the program record for steals against a DI program.
• Sophomore forward Alex Fowler was named WCC Player of the Week (Dec. 7) after averaging 16.0 points during Portland's two games; it's the fourth career weekly conference honor for Fowler, and the first one this season.
• Fowler's week included a 20-point performance during a win over Seattle U, and she netted 12 against the No. 9 Oregon Ducks; against the Redhawks, Fowler made all five of her field goal attempts in the second half, she shot 7-for-13 overall, connected on all six of her free throws, and added six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
• Three times this season the Pilots have collected more than 20 assists in a game (22 at SU, 24 vs. SU, 26 vs. NU) and they rank 21st in the nation averaging 19.2 dimes per contest.
• Portland is also 21st in steals per game (12.6).
• Individually, junior point guard Haylee Andrews ranks first in the WCC with a 5.0 assists per game mark.
• Senior sharpshooter Maddie Muhlheim ranks third all-time at UP with 193 career three-pointers; Deana Lansing holds the school career record with 223 three's and Laiken Dollente sits in second with 194.
• As a sophomore in 2018-19, Muhlheim she set a program single-game record when she hit nine three's against USD.
• The Pilots, who are led by second-year head coach Michael Meek, are coming off a historical season as Portland made a magical run at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., to win the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship and earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
• It was a the first WCC Tourney title for the Pilots since 1994, and Portland would have made their first appearance at March Madness since 1997, had the tourney not been cancelled due to COVID.
• The Pilots were picked to finish third in the WCC this season in the preseason coaches poll, and they received a first-place vote.
• Andrews and Fowler were both voted to the Preseason All-WCC Team.
• Andrews and Fowler are two of four returning starters for the Pilots, who lost only graduated senior Kate Andersen from the starting five.
• Last year the Pilots lead the league in scoring (69.5), field goal percentage (.449), assists (16.2), and three-point percentage defense (.267).
• Fowler is coming off perhaps one of the best seasons in program history; the forward led the conference in scoring with an 18.0 points per game mark, she was named the WCC's Newcomer of the Year, was voted to the All-WCC First Team, was tabbed the WCC Tournament MVP, and she joined Andrews on the all-tournament team.
• Her .539 career field goal percentage ranks No. 1 on Portland's all-time single season charts since the Pilots began playing at the NCAA DI level in 1986, and he and 17.9 points per game career mark is second; all-time, Fowler is second in program history in field goal percentage and third in scoring, and she's 10th with a .769 free throw percentage.
• Andrews is No. 10 all-time at UP in career points per game (13.5).
• Meek ranks fourth in career winning percentage (254-48, .841) among active coaches with five-plus years of experience at all divisions of women's college basketball.
• The game vs. Seattle U on Dec. 6 was No. 300 as a head coach for Meek.
 
A HISTORICAL SEASON
• 2019-20 was a season of milestones for the Pilots as then first-year head coach Michael Meek led the team to a 21-11 overall record for the program's first 20-win season since 1996-97.
• Portland went 11-7 in the WCC to finish fourth, and this came after the Pilots were selected 10th in the preseason coaches poll.
• You have to go back to 1996-97 to find a season with more conference wins for the program; that year the Pilots went a perfect 14-0 in league play when the WCC featured just eight teams.
• The Portland faithful flooded to the Chiles Center last year to support the Pilots, and 2019-20 featured two of the biggest crowds in program history.
• The 1,772 that came to the game vs. San Francisco on Feb. 15 was the fifth biggest crowd ever, and the contest with Gonzaga on Feb. 29 featured the sixth largest crowd at 1,709.
• The Pilots swept the regular season series vs. Saint Mary's for the first time since 2008-09.
• On Jan. 4, the Pilots won 57-48 at BYU, ending a 20-game losing streak to the Cougars; it was the first win for Portland over BYU since the 1998-99 season.
• The wins at USF and SCU (Jan 16-18) marked the first WCC weekend road sweep for the Pilots since 2009-10 (also at USF & SCU).
• The Pilots saved perhaps their best performance for Las Vegas when they stormed through the WCC Tournament to claim the title for the first time since 1994.
• The tourney featured wins over three teams that swept the Pilots during the regular season: Pacific (Quarterfinals), No. 11 Gonzaga (Semifinals), San Diego (Finals).
• The win over the No. 11 Zags was the Pilots first win in the series since defeating Gonzaga in 2009 in Spokane, a stretch of 23 straight Bulldog wins.
• It was also the first win over a ranked opponent since topping the No. 24 San Diego Toreros at the Chiles Center in 2014.
• By winning the WCC, the Pilots claimed their first berth to the NCAA Tournament since 1997.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Montana State Bobcats defeated North Dakota this season, and their losses came at BYU and Utah.
• Darian White is the team's leading scorer (19.7 ppg), and Tori Martell (13.7 ppg) is also averaging double figures in points, White is 14th in the country in steals (3.7).
• As a team, the Bobcats average 68.3 points and are allowing 72.3; the team's 79.5 free throw percentage ranks 19th in the nation.
• Reigning Big Sky Coach of the Year Tricia Binford is in her 15th year at the helm of the program, and the Bobcats went 25-6 last season.